Just a pair of trousers, have mine.

It was the last day of term a.k.a. Closing day. It was a day when we boasted our worldly possessions, mainly our flashy home clothes ( we had to decide a whole month in advance) and the whole term’s savings, which added up to about Ksh10.00, at most Ksh30.00. This was a fortune considering bus fare was only 50 cents.

My younger brother (he is 4 minutes younger than me) and I had shared lots of things including clothes. You see, they called me Wanja Kihii, and I only claimed ownership of 2, maybe 3 dresses, for special occasions. The rest were boys’ clothes and were shared between the two of us.

Sharing was not a problem, until my brother got circumcised and ‘became a man. He decided his things were his, including the clothes that had bore his title, ‘men’. But I was not ready to give up the title ‘Wanja Kihii’ just like that.

This closing day I had eyed a pair of jeans, so had my brother.

So this Friday morning, I woke up first as usual, prepared myself and got the pair of jeans first. For this day, and this day only in the whole term, I anticipated leaving home before he woke up.

Too late, he was up before I was completely ready to leave. I was having breakfast when my brother caught up with me. Seeing what I was wearing, he demanded I take off his clothes. As usual, we fought. It is this fighting and shouting that woke my grandfather, who was visiting.

He intervened, and my brother went about justifying himself. They were his clothes alright, but why couldn’t I wear them. Because men do not share clothes with women, only boys did.

My grandfather felt sorry for me, and to sort the whole problem, went into his bag and came back with a pair of trousers. The waist must have been a 40 something, but otherwise very new.

‘You’re fighting over just a pair of trousers, have mine’. Mubuto tu nigua muraruwira, kee uyu wakwa.’

He said it with so much sympathy, that I felt so humiliated. I took off the jeans. My brother had for once won.

I went to school a very sad girl, despite having saved Ksh23.00 to spend on goody goodies, and a short trip to Pop-In and Cameo Cinema.

That was the end of sharing.