Last Chapatti.

Today is thanksgiving. I did not have a turkey or ribs for dinner. eat chapatti and tomato soup which was well prepared by Mama Nassa. Maybe the meal was extra delicious because it just might be my last. I just spent my last 600/= procuring three chapattis and I am now out completely. I have no clue what tomorrow holds.
It has been a while since I was totally broke. I wish I could say that I have learnt a life’s principal through this season but I have not. None the less I appreciate it. It reminds me that Patrick Seruyange is just a Facade. I say it all the time without fully grasping its implications. Moments like this take me back to when I was 5 and still Lutakome Nyanzi. To those times when he had no food in the house. To those times we eat beans and maize for a full month. To those days when my widowed mother drunk herself silly to cope with the idea that her sons were going to bed hungry. Those days when I felt the world was falling apart. Those days I still had a real family, before we all went off in different directions.
It’s now that I wonder why I helped her clear her tuition or why I took on the biggest project of my career (at least so far). I forge ahead and make everything look wonderful. It’s the Patrick Façade. The one that I never clearly understand. The one most people know.
In moments like this, I realize how many people I can count on. They are few. I guess I never took note of this when I felt like I was on top of the world.
Here is to those who have stuck with me from the boy I used to be, till now to see the man I have become. Those who have been with me through thick and thin. Rekindling the flame that got us this far and same flame that will continue to shine even when the world gets dark and frightening. The light that will bring us back when we lose our way. To those who I have shared a simple cup of chai with. You are my true friends.