Kiki slid from the cab, a blue sedan wreaked by age but still in a good working condition, save for the eerie buzz of the engine and the dreary ride. Kiki hated every minute of the ride, her back for instance felt laden, like a tier of stones had been sewed upon it. Kiki chanced a glance at her dress, a cherry red chiffon that betoned the amber spills of the sun. Thankfully, the dress was still in its pristine state, free of any weary wrinkles. She needed to look prim, not that Mr. Hawi would care anyway. He wouldn't. Kiki knew well of that.  But this time round, for the first time, Kiki donned not to implore the hearts of men but rather to draw courage, however morsel it could be. Mr. Hawi was no date after all. He was family, felt like family, her guka and Kiki couldn't wait to see him.

She stared up at the cab driver, a young male with a rich cocoa complexion. "Thank you," she said and the cab driver, a nod at his chin, pulled away from the private drive.

Kiki ostensibly alone, noticed the large house, trimmed in splays of cream and brown, upon a rocky hill. She drank in the verdant sight as she walked along the cobblestone path that clambered up to the door step, the soft breeze from the bed of iris, a sweet smell to her nose, she could almost taste it.

If there was surprise on Kiki's face at the display of elegance and wealth, it was well hidden behind a schooled expression. She didn't expect less when Mr. Hawi  mentioned that he resided in Kileleshwa, a Nairobi suburb occupied only by affluents.

By the door step, Kiki stood steel and sucked in a breath as though to relieve the colour on her cheeks. Her hand rapped onto the oak door before fixing a lose strand of her hair back to its perfect coif.

The door slid open and a woman donning a white apron to her front torso came into view, a bright smile to her face. "You must Kiki Rubiri. Mr. Hawi has been expecting you. Do come in." Kiki noted the way the woman's eye, though gray at its wick, lit with pleasure at the mention of Mr. Hawi's name.

Kiki offered a smile, surprised with how her nerves eased, a flow of verve to them. "Thank you_"

"Liliana. You can call me Liliana," said the woman, her voice a sweet lilt. "Now come on, Mr. Hawi would have my head hewn, if you continue to stand any longer at the door step. He's spoken of you a lot, my ears tend to ache these days," Liliana chuckled and Kiki couldn't help but join in.

"Good things I hope." Kiki crossed over the threshold and handed her crimson purse to Liliana.

"Nothing but the best Kiki. He talks of you as the daughter he never had." Liliana disappeared behind a door before appearing next to Kiki. "He wish you two had met in a different circumstance."

Kiki's gaze darted to what she presumed to be the parlor, furnished with classic English settees, streaks of straw light from the open windows a beautiful dance onto the gray fabrics. "I bore the same feeling." Kiki tipped her chin to hide the fervor on her cheeks.

Kiki felt Liliana watch her and when she looked to her, Kiki's breath caught in her throat. Liliana's features had quilled into a palpable display of affection, her deep wrinkles inked in warmth. "His children don't visit anymore. What's that saying? Ohh, yes. They need you until they don't need you anymore. Mr. Hawi rarely smiles anymore but these few days I've caught him in his study room, a smile to his face."

Kiki's  stomach plummeted. "How many children?"

Liliana led Kiki through a narrow hallway with intricate, quaint paintings graced on either sides of the wall. "Two sons. They are all grown up now. One a big time laywer in Mombasa, the other an Amref doctor in Baringo. Seems ages since I last saw them," Liliana responded, a tune so weary the sky would sank an ocean. Kiki could have swore she saw the glisten of tears in Liliana's eyes, but it was all gone too fast, like nothing was there, just a mere sweep of the wind.

At the end of the hallway, was a staircase, a gild rhythm to the banisters leading to the first floor. Liliana turned towards the staircase and Kiki followed suit, mindful of the steep steps. "They say that there is no place like home. They will come around and if they don't, maybe a little hammer of a reminder won't cause them harm."

Liliana laughed, "They will need more than just a little hammer of a reminder." She stopped by a door. "I'll be downstairs if you need anything." A smile to her face, Liliana ajarred the browned wood. When Kiki leaped in, she heard the soft close of the door and Liliana's retreating steps, calm and smooth, until there was none, only a silent echo to her ears instead.

Were it not for the gentle lip of the sun on her skin and the whiz of a breeze against her dress, Kiki would have her nerves on edge, gnawing at her fissures. She stood upon a balcony. A rare view of the hills afar with their peaks laden with mists. The trees hummed and swayed, slivers of amber a beautiful contrast to the green overflow. Kiki imagined her days most spent on the balcony, just to peek at the sun on its early rise and watch the gleam of twilight upon the trees. Wouldn't it be nice?

"Didn't think you'd actually come?" Mr. Hawi's voice, crisp and bland with age, rang beside her. Kiki turned to him, pleasure seeping through her features as she caught a glint of his gray hair. He was seated on a hyacinth woven rocker, his eyes casted at the vibrant blue sky.

Kiki closed at the gild banister, her hand an embrace to the cold metal. "Thought so too. A forty minute drive is kind of a put off," Kiki responded, watching a bird skirt a nearby tree. When Kiki looked back to Mr. Hawi, she found him staring at her and she wondered if he could see right through her lie.

Mr. Hawi drew a smile and Kiki noted he'd aged those few days she had last seen him. "We should thank the heavens for your arrival then. Liliana didn't give you any trouble, did she?"

"No. Not at all. She is actually lovely." Kiki sat on a rocker next to Mr. Hawi, a small table settled in the middle. "You do have a great view here," Kiki acknowledged.

Mr. Hawi hummed. "It's an allure I can't deny and a friend I have come to truly appreciate. It's funny how joy comes from little things when the world starts to slumber."

Kiki moaned her lips in agreement, her eyes taking in the lazy billow of the clouds, a wick of sapphire blooming from afar. "Makes you question why they even say ignorance is bliss. It's basically a prison, one when you get out, you find withered plants and thorns instead of roses."

Kiki felt Mr. Hawi's gaze, felt the purse of his upper lip into a palpable worry. "You still grieve your guka?"

His words shot through her heart with such fierceness, she almost stumbled back onto the tiled floor.

It wasn't a question.

Kiki licked her throbs. She'd hate to let him see her like that. Naked. Tangled. "What?"

"The way you speak. It's with such raw emotions, I can see your pain."

Mr. Hawi regarded her, careful like a lion after a prey. But she was no prey and in his eyes, only warmth flowed instead of hate.