The Christmas holidays were coming soon. Kayamba could not hide his excitement. This would be the first time that eight-year-old Kayamba and his two siblings would be traveling upcountry to see his grandparents. The night before the trip, his parents bought him a children’s digital watch for Christmas. They told the children to sleep early since they would be travelling at six in the morning. Kayamba couldn’t sleep. He kept checking his watch. He didn’t want to be left behind.
At six the next morning, Kayamba’s parents and his siblings picked up their luggage for the fun trip ahead. The sun was just rising when they got to the bus station. The five of them got into a new colorful bus. It looked smart in the inside and felt very comfortable. There was some fot music playing from the new speakers above.
Kayamba’s family occupied three seats. Their parents had a seat each while Kayamba and his two siblings shared one seat. Although they were squeezed, the children did not notice because of the excitement of the seeing the bus station. It was exciting to see so many people with lots of bags cris-crossing the bus station. There were also many children walking with their parents. The buses were many and colorful. It took almost one hour to fill up.
Finally, the bus left the station. Kayamba looked at his watch. It was seven in the morning. It travelled through the countryside past people’s well dug farms. Kayamba’s excitement began turning to sleepiness. Before long, he was asleep. His siblings also went to sleep.
Kayamba was woken up by his parents after two hours. He checked his watch. It was nine in the morning. His younger brother needed to relieve himself. The bus had stopped at the side of the road. His parents took them behind a bush to relieve themselves.
When they got back into the bus, their excitement had returned. It also seemed that everyone else in the bus was also excited. People were now talking, reding newspapers and eating snacks. Kayamba’s mum gave each of her children a half cob of boiled maize to eat. Boiled maize was his favorite.
The bus arrived at its destination and mid-day. The sun was high in the sky and it was hot. Kayamaba and his siblings had to remove their sweaters. Their excitement grew again. Kayamba could not wait to see his grandparents for the first time. His father came and picked up his family from the bus shade. They boarded a mini bus. It was plain white and older than the bus they had come with. The seats were dusty. Everyone squeezed in the bus. Kayamba’s and his siblings sat on their parent’s laps. Kayamba sat on his father’s laps while his two younger siblings both sat on their mother’s laps. The mini bus played loud music from the small old speakers under the back seats.
Kayamba looked at his watch. It was one o’clock in the afternoon. The mini bus left the station and drove off on a small road. Sometimes the road was bumpy and sometimes it was smooth. It was hot although by the time they got to the village station, it was warm. Kayamba saw that it was three o’clock in the afternoon. There were only a few people around.
They alighted from the minibus and boarded a small van. It was old and rusty. Kayamba could see that it used to be yellow. It had wooden boards for seats and no windows. Kayamba’s excitement began to shrink. They waited for an hour before it filled up.
Everyone squeezed as much as they could. Every child was squeezed between someone’s legs. Kayamba was squeezed between his father’s legs while his two siblings were squeezed between other two men.
The old van drove of on a dusty road. Kayamba looked at his watch. It was four o’clock in the afternoon. The road was really rough. There was music playing from the driver’s old phone. The conductor was hanging outside the door. It made the van creak and sway. Everyone was swaying to the motion of the old van.
The van finally stopped and they alighted near a big old tree. The driver honked his horn once and drove off. Kayamba looked at his watch. It was five o’clock. Kayamba was no longer excited. He was very tired.
Beside the old big tree, there was an old motorcycle. An old man came from his house in the bush when he heard the old van honk its horn. Kayamba’s father and the old man exchanged greetings and talked for some time. Meanwhile, Kayamba’s mother made him and his sibkiing to put on their heavy sweaters. It was getting cold.
Finally, they all got on the old motorcycle with the old man. Kayamba’s mum sat behind the old man while his father was last. Kayamba sat on the petrol tank near the handle bars holding a bag. One sibling sat between his mother and the old man while another sat between their father and mother. His father carried another bag on his back.
They rode off as Kayamba looked at his watch. It was half past five in the afternoon. The old motorcycle had no gauges, no headlight and it sounded like a posho mill. They rode off into a small path in the bush and went up a hill.
It was already dark when they saw their destination at a distance. Kayamba could not tell what type of house it was. All he could see was light from a lamp through the open door. They finally got off the motorcycle and began walking. Kayamba looked at his watch. It was half past six o’clock in the evening.
They walked for some time before they got into their grandparents compound. They were welcomed by their grandparents. Kayamba and his siblings could not enjoy anything since they fell on the sofa sets and slept. Kayamba only remembered looking at his watch before he slept. It was seven o’clock at night.
