Brothers!!

I have four brothers!!

They, we, are as different as chalk and cheese, but many cannot tell them, us, apart. We, they are more alike than we, they, would like to acknowledge. And the more effort, they, we, try to assert our, their, differences; the more the similarities cement themselves, the deeper they are engraved in the stone of our, their, destiny.

I am reminded of the time I went up Mt.Kenya some years back. There isn’t a specific path, just many weather beaten pseudo-tracks for those choosing the safer, tried and tested path. For the more adventurous, there is virgin forest and marsh waiting to be molested by the boots and machetes of men who prefer to make the path, not follow it. But eventually, we are all after the same ‘high’-pun intended, we all want to conquer nature and the elements, and by some perverse extension ourselves. We all want to finish the journey and get to the top, gleam some sense of satisfaction from the effort we have put in-in climbing the darned mountain, a metaphor for life.

One of my brothers went to Mangu. Now Mangu is not for the faint hearted. The land is dry and dusty, like a prostitute who has been on the same corner for the better part of a decade, ravaged by life and God knows who else. But this means, it breeds resilience, it encourages simplicity…and that is my brother. Tough, stoic, brave…perhaps the bravest of all of them, us. He doesn’t like pretence, and is un-moved by the postures of people trying hard to fit in. A simple man, his yes, means he will move heaven and earth to keep his promise, and just as decisively, his no is cast in stone. But, he is the most loyal human being I know. If I was a Spartan king, he is the man who would lead my armies and flay my dissidents.

He has an unnerving silence, especially if you don’t know him. But it’s the silence of a strong man, one not bothered by the whims and fretting of mere man.

Wise and strong!

I have another brother who is annoyingly lazy! But only when he has to do something that doesn’t concern him. He hates work, but loves life…loves to live it, milk its tit for all the milk it can offer. He is a character this one, a chameleon of life. An insensitive oaf too. Perhaps that is the nature of big guys, full of life; they don’t let their size down. He is loud and obnoxious, loves to be noticed. He feeds off the appreciation of a crowd like a stand-up comedian, relishing the limelight; he’s a whore for it. He is the kind of guy who will be miserable if he is broke…he will shrivel up and die of this curse if it is visited upon him.

He is like a chic in blue braids, orange tights and a bad Meru accent…you can’t miss him.

Happy and loud!

The skinniest of the lot is the most puzzling. He is a sensitive young man…emotionally aware. If he was a character in Greek mythology he would perhaps be Apollo, partial to poetry and the arts-almost pretentious in his appreciation. The eternal optimist, he likes a happy ending, chooses to see the eternal good in people. He is a paradox this one; brave enough to express his feelings, but the last person you’d want to have by your side in a fight. And of all them, he will most likely be the teetotaler of the brotherhood…only able to stomach the girly drinks-I mistrust men who drink Black ice. But perhaps it is God assigning us a designated driver. He is a bleeding heart, pained by the travesties of humans and the depravities of the human condition.

He is very outgoing, if only to mask how painfully shy he actually is. In another world, he would be a very successful Pope.

Sensitive and kind!

The last one is developing into quite the ladies man. Light, tall and athletic, he has the kind of charm that young women appreciate-in his case, young women have not completed high school yet, but his blossoming success is evident. The notion that being the last one of a brood accords one some irrational right to get your way isn’t something he would nod in agreement to-perhaps being ‘spoilt’ does not particularly apply when you are the last of 5 lads. He is the youngest of five young men, still-like all of them, trying to find his place in the world, and indeed the journey for him is still in its first leg. He reeks of the entitlement this one, the kind of guy who will get away with stuff by the power of his smile and the stuff of his brawn.

If a freak accident hadn’t sidelined him, he’d be the Biko Adema of the future.

Cocky and proud!

So, you see.

While none of them, well apart from one, may ever admit it- save for the occasional alcohol induced rant, they, we, all love each other, pushing each other along their respective paths, albeit with a very high dose of tough love. They, we, are lucky to have each other, like a rugged team of underdogs, they, we, are set to conquer the world, one weather-beaten path at a time!!