THE DAY I TORCHED A WHOLE NEIGHBORHOOD

 It so happened just like drama. There used to be a notorious neighbor’s cat in the neighborhood where I lived with my parents.

So, on this fine day mum is preparing food, chopped some gizzards (at the time my favorite food) into manageable pieces. She steps out for a few minutes and guess what?? A cat gets into the house through the open window and snatches a piece of the meat.

 I was relaxing outside waiting for the meal to be ready. In a splash the cat came out with a reasonable size piece of the gizzard, down drowning as it left.

 I ran after it but I couldn’t manage to catch it due to the weight I had recently gained (I never lack excuses). So, I decided to put it on the ‘wanted list’. Luckily the next day I spot the cat and I couldn’t hold back my previous day anger. I quickly got into my house and came out with my mass destruction weapons namely kerosine and matchbox.

The cat was still at the same spot I left it so I poured the kerosene all over its body, and it managed to run and hide behind the dustbin. I did find it and before it could figure out what was going on I lite the match stick and threw on it. The cat was on fire!!! with all that confusion it ran to Kamau’s house who normally leaves his door open while inside.

 The cat went straight under Kamau’s bed. In a splash of a second Kamau’s curtains were on fire, Kamau himself ran out faster not knowing what was going on and also confused wondering why hell had descended in his crib.

All this time am standing there not knowing what to do. Being a weekday and most of the guys were not around so the fire spread so fast with no one to help contain it. Before we knew it most of the two roomed timber houses were on fire.

By the time the fire brigade crew arrived there was not much to be salvaged. That day we had stay out throughout the night before moving to my uncle’s place for temporary shelter. It was somehow a blessing in disguise as finally my dad agreed to move to a better house.

 Till today no one  knows I was the cause of the fire. Since we are in Africa majority of the tenants blamed it on Witchcraft.