CHAPTER ONE
Zoe was a lively kid that enjoyed being around her parents always running from dad to mummy and when she was a young girl. Her parents decide to move to a quiet neighborhood where they could raise their daughter with good manners.
‘Honey, I can’t stand being in this neighborhood with all this rusty streets and vagabonds,’ he said
That’s Zoe’s dad, an accomplished teacher at one of the junior schools nearby and a stage actor to many of the night clubs around. Mark was a guy of all seasons; he was a music teacher and wrote stage plays for children. Mark has saved enough money and managed to clear off his mortgage. Mark and Martha are so happy that after so many years of hard work, they will finally retire to one of the cool places around their city. It’s a dream come true for having achieved such accomplishment.
‘Thank God, it’s happening,’ Martha replied
Mark had called out a moving and shifting company and its truck was already at their small house packing all their staff and loading it to their truck. Zoe watched from a distance and the only thing that she will miss is that she will not see her friends quite often as she used to. She is quite sad about that. They board their car and follow up the truck giving directives as it maneuvered across the traffic and finally, they arrive at their dream home. It was a nice home with an enough compound where they could sit in the evening and reminisce over the bad old days. The house was a three bedroomed house with a garage. Besides their home, there was a small house with an old guy who presumably was always seen alone, moving in and out of his house.
when Zoe turned five years, mummy told her that she was going to school a thing that she did not like but was being introduced to her through watching cartoons and the like. After bathing and dressing up, she asked her mother;
‘Is it a must that every child like me around the world must go to school’, she asked?
‘Yes, my dear. What’s wrong, you look paranoid? Being in school is fun, you meet new friends, you learn new things and the like but I want you to respect teachers and everyone in the school,’ mummy replied.
‘What if I don’t want to go to school mummy, can’t you teach me from here?’ She asked?
‘I don’t want to ever hear you say something like that, you don’t want to study? What are you going to do with your life if you don’t go to school besides, I cannot teach everything,’ mummy replied?
Daddy intercepted from behind and said,’ you see last night we all watched Sir Richard Branson telling us to believe in our own power and that if he managed to build his own space craft and he is able to fry around space then imagine what we can achieve. It’s much far greater than what we can imagine,’ he said
’Yes, daddy, ‘I want be like Sir Richard Branson. I want to fry around space too,’ Zoe replied
‘Now you see what your mummy was explaining to you at little while, if you want to fry around space, then you must be educated. There is no shortcut my dear,’ he said
‘Okay mummy and daddy, I will be a good girl at school and I will study hard,’ Zoe replied
Zoe is such lovely kid among many peers around the community and she was active with every gender and age. A few meters from her home, she had run into an old guy commonly referred to as Mzee. Mzee was liked and was loved by many people and whenever Zoe was coming from school or from the market, they happen to meet along. Mzee always greeted her like her own granddaughter. Zoe got used of peeping around his house whenever the old guy was not in the vicinity of his compound.
One day, Zoe was coming from the market and meet Mzee in his backyard doing some general cleaning
She asked,’ is Mzee your name?’
‘No, not at all. I know many people here call me Mzee but that’s not my real name. my real names are Tom Dickens but you can now call me Mzee Tom,’ he replied
‘Okay Mzei Tom, you can call me Zoe Christian,’ she replied
’Oh, such a lovely name. you know when your father came and bought here, you were a baby but now look at you, you have grown into big girl. ‘How old are you?’ Mzei Tom asked?
‘Am making five years next month,’ she replied
‘Wow, happy birthday in advance then,’ Mzee Tom replied
‘Then you, how old are you? You look to be very old,’ she said
‘Al right, I am not very old but only seventy-six years young,’ Mzee tom replied
‘seventy-six years young,’ she said
‘Yes, Mzei,’ Tom replied
‘Will I also become that age one day,’ Zoe asked?
‘Yes, why not. Its only by the grace of God that we can live up to such age but just continue being a good girl,’ he replied
‘Now you talking like my father, he mentions about God all the time,’ she said
‘Your father is a great man and greet him for me,’ Mzee Tom replied
‘Ok sir, have a great day,’ Zoe replied
Zoe’s mother ‘Matha’ was watching from a distance for some few minutes overlooking their conversations and when Zoe looked back, she signaled at her to rush home;
‘When did you and that Mzee become friends,’ she asked?
‘He is a good old man mummy and that’s what matters most,’ Zoe replied
The two entered inside and headed to the dinner table to get some food.
