Shortly after coming nyumbani that evening, Father got some alcohol to drink. One drink led to another, and the inayofuata thing I knew, he was shouting at me. He said, "Grandpa told wewe about his hellish lifestyle, didn't he?!" I said, "I don't think it's hellish. He didn't hurt anybody." Father said, "I suppose now wewe want to live that lifestyle." I said, "Father, it doesn't matter how one lives, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone else. It's fine to be a Christian, but it's not okay to beat the hell out of people in the name of it." I guess he knew I was referring to him. He beat on me a while and left. He didn't come back until the inayofuata morning as I was leaving for school. At school, my friend, Alyssa, noticed the bruises. She said, "Holy cow! What happened to you?" I said, "I...um...I fell down the basement stairs." She said, "Ellie, tell the truth." I said, "Okay, I'm going to tell wewe something, and wewe cannot repeat it." She said, "I won't tell. I swear I won't." I said, "My father got drunk, and he beat me." She said, "That's awful. Are wewe okay?" I said, "I think so." She said, "You need to get away from him when he drinks." I said, "I can't, Alyssa. He'll just come after me." She asked, "Have wewe ever tried?" I said, "No, I haven't." She said, "It's worth a try. If it's okay with your mother, I'd like for my house to be your salama place." I said, "Thanks." With Mother's permission, Alyssa's house became my salama place. It was nice to have somewhere salama to go. Still, I didn't understand why Father turned to alcohol. Mother alisema that he didn't drink before I was born. He didn't even drink when I was really little. He was so sweet before he turned to alcohol. Did I have something to do with it? I wasn't sure.
No Stable Place
Aside from Uncle Bob, the only other family members who paid me any mind were my grandparents. My grandfather passed away about a mwaka and a half after my father's untimely death. My grandmother lived until I started high school. When she was alive, I could always go to her with a problem. Every time I would have a bad siku at school, I would go to her. She would say, "Tell me what's wrong, John." I would tell her what was wrong, and she would make everything better. When she passed away when I started high school, I was devastated. Now I had no one to go to when I had a bad day. That's when my record listening became zaidi frequent. Other than my dog, Beatle, it was my only chanzo of comfort. I really missed having a person to talk to. I missed having someone who listened to me. When he wasn't working, I could call Uncle Bob and talk to him, but it wasn't the same. Grandma seemed to have an answer for everything. Nobody else seemed to have that gift.
Aside from Uncle Bob, the only other family members who paid me any mind were my grandparents. My grandfather passed away about a mwaka and a half after my father's untimely death. My grandmother lived until I started high school. When she was alive, I could always go to her with a problem. Every time I would have a bad siku at school, I would go to her. She would say, "Tell me what's wrong, John." I would tell her what was wrong, and she would make everything better. When she passed away when I started high school, I was devastated. Now I had no one to go to when I had a bad day. That's when my record listening became zaidi frequent. Other than my dog, Beatle, it was my only chanzo of comfort. I really missed having a person to talk to. I missed having someone who listened to me. When he wasn't working, I could call Uncle Bob and talk to him, but it wasn't the same. Grandma seemed to have an answer for everything. Nobody else seemed to have that gift.