It was afternoon when Jacob arrived at Mbale feeling quite tired. He alighted at the bus stop and started to walk along the streets as he made his way slowly towards the stadium.
He went down the narrow streets, but one particular shop caught his attention. It was full of only electronic equipment, and he thought he should stop to have a look at the goods on display.
And that was how and where he met Mujaju and his sister Lisa. Jacob would never have noticed them had he not shifted his eyes to stare at the group of people who also stood outside the electronics shop admiring the displayed equipment behind the glass windows.
His eyes fell on a tall and slender girl, Lisa, who was almost his age. She had a fair complexion, and for the first time in his life, Jacob appreciated a girl's beauty.
Never before had he seen such an alluring young female with full breasts, a tiny waist, and voluptuous hips. Her feet were firmly anchored on black clogs.
He appeared secretly fascinated, mesmerised when he stood gaping at her, his mouth almost open as his eyes feasted on her.
This was the first time Jacob felt attracted to a young woman, and deep inside his heart, he knew he wanted her.
Lisa looked behind her, and her eyes caught him watching her, and she smiled.
It was a warm and inviting smile. No one had ever given him such a smile. As he stood devouring her, he saw her talking to her male companion.
"It's quite a small world we live in. Isn't that Esau?" Lisa asked her male companion, her brother, as she pointed at Jacob.
"What Esau?" Mujaju retorted, staring at Jacob.
"I'm talking about Esau, who lived near us in Mombasa." Lisa remarked while her eyes still focused on Jacob and were filled with admiration.
Mujaju came alive as he tried placing Jacob in his memory. "Surely, he could be the one. Let's try and find out from."
He was apparently taller and a few years older than his sister. He wore tight-fitting black jeans and a blue shirt.
Even as Mujaju talked, he never knew Lisa was also trying to place Jacob in her memory as she reflected on their life a few years back in Mombasa.
Her mind travelled back to the day she had seen Esau enter their class when they were both pupils at Braeburn International School as he tried to search for his friend.
It was teabreak, and some students had gone to the school canteen to buy some sodas and biscuits for refreshments. Lisa was in sixth grade seated with her friends when Esau came striding into their classroom.
"Has anyone seen Jimmy around? He told me he would be here," Esau had inquired.
"Which Jimmy?" Lisa wanted to know.
"Jimmy Karamu."
"No, he has not been here. Is there anything wrong?"
Even as she talked, she had seen him frown as if he did not wish to stay long. Then she saw him head to the door.
"No, there's nothing wrong; he's just my friend."
"But why are you in a great hurry to leave? Are you afraid of talking to girls?"
"No. Not at all. Let me look for him elsewhere."
Esau then left the class. As one among the few black pupils at Braeburn, Lisa had felt drawn to him even at that early age. They played together in the volleyball school team and also participated in the debating club.
But what saddened her was that Esau never seemed to take notice of her, even when she tried to make him notice her presence. She had painfully been aware that she never seemed to exist in his world.
They had never been close despite being neighbours in the upper class estate where they lived.
Then, the worst happened when their parents decided to quit Kenya and relocate back home in Uganda when they were just about to sit for their primary certificate examinations.
The relocation had terribly hurt her feelings when she realised and thought she would never again see her friends at Braeburn, including Esau, whom she was secretly fond of.
Now, as her mind came back from the past and saw the young male whom she thought was Esau, she was happy and even thrilled that fate had made them meet again.
Together with her brother, they approached Jacob.
"Sorry to bother you," Mujaju was the first to speak to Jacob. "Have you ever lived in Mombasa? Were you ever in Nyali estate?"
"No," Jacob sounded surprised. "Never been there before. I have only lived in Mubende but more recently in Kampala."
"We are truly sorry then," Mujaju began to apologise as he shifted his eyes on the electronics displayed in the shop. "You seem to resemble someone we knew in Mombasa as a neighbour. Anyway, people look alike at times."
But Lisa was still eyeing Jacob very closely; she was apparently quite fascinated and drawn to him.
Jacob returned her stare and saw the light in her dark welcoming eyes. It was the kind of light that existed only in women who were passionate and fond of people they liked.
It seemed Linda was dazzled by his looks and was most likely interested in him.
"So who are you?" She asked when it became obvious to her Jacob was constantly feasting on her curvy figure.
"Just someone who happens to like you," Jacob whispered within her earshot, careful not to let Mujaju, who was focused on electronics, hear him.
She nodded eagerly when she heard those words and moved closer to him. It seemed she wanted to hear more about him.
If Mujaju seemed uninterested in this stranger whom she had mistaken for Esau, she was more than interested.
Linda swore in her mind that she would not leave this stranger until she quenched her thirst of knowing more about him.
She never knew Jacob was also experiencing the same urge and desire in him, a desire that would only be satisfied later.