PIKELELA GUTYUNGWA MEMOIRS

  Do You Remember! Like a typical farmer my father was, the man simply and passionately dropped his seeds into the fertile garden and left everything else to nature. It is never the duty of the farmer to keep digging out the planted seed, checking if it has taken roots already. Remember, some things are better off when left completely in the care and embrace of nature! Now, it takes a little while for the ground to bond with the seed before any germination could take place. Nothing will happen until the very seed corrupts and dies before any signs of new offshoots can be seen. Hello. This was me in the making and germinating within my mother’s blessed womb. Like in the case of my father, my mother too; remained oblivious to the volcanic swelling developing until one fine morning. She woke up feeling nauseous and extremely dizzy. This was me officially putting my mother on notice… I am coming! From this point onwards, my mother knew she was no longer alone and had ...

  Emotional is Spiritual! Standing on this gigantic rock on top of the mountain, I find myself staring at the life below and above me. The blue skies above still reminding me that everything remains pristine as it was since I was born. If possible, I'd touch the sky and thank heavens for her stunning beauty. All kinds of birds soaring above my head saying to me, “We are here for your joy and happiness, seeing us fly is like watching the angels at play!” The cool breeze rising below my feet right up to my head, is soothing and magnanimously calming like the first summer rains. I believe life would be even better if God had intended for us to live and survive on mountain heights forever. What makes a man forsake his fellow men and permanently migrate to wilderness to live like a hermit with nature? Emotional is spiritual. Only if we could discover the real part of our being and makeup. Man is both spiritual and emotional. Sometimes our emotions expressed through our...

My Space: My Place! My precious life began inside a blob of mucous: like a tiny seed inside fertile ground. I became matter and occupied space right inside my mother’s womb. Every step my mother took with me after conception, became my step. If my dear mom coughed it became apparently hard to count that as one. I got officially recognized and my feet planted on the ground on the day I was delivered to these shores. Whether you get this or not, God punctured my space and my place in the atmosphere thus adding my name to the list of the living! Hello. You just can’t dismiss me and write off my name from the roll of the living. I am down here through the water, blood, and spirit. In case you didn’t know this, here’s from me free of charge. Open your ears and listen up well now. God breathed into my mother’s womb right in the second my father’s seed collided with the prized runaway egg. Stay with me now. Can you count? At this stage of my yet-to-be life; I am already spirit...

Fantasy! Fantasy is like dreaming with your eyes wide open and 100% fully aware of your immediate surroundings. You notice everyone, but don't truly see them. You hear all these voices like the four winds all going at once in four directions. Hey, why does it feel like I am standing stuck in the middle of the crossroads? Why are all these people ignoring my presence as if I were invisible like a ghostly figure? Wow! Clouds are flying lower than usual today, I can even touch them with my hand! What a day—I want to ride the clouds. Fantasy is the only thing left next to reality when all hope is gone. This is my one last spare parachute to break my fall when my castle in the sky comes crashing down! Oh kid, did I tell you that when my heart and soul are in this undetectable mode, nobody can hear my screams during my free fall? Fantasy. A benefit of this habitat is that you can always regain your footing, no matter how often you fall. Did you know that fantasy is t...

Ivan! Most things in life, like celebrations, come and go as they will. Even friendship between close friends dries up and dies like they never even took place. Friends forgetting friends, is only human and happens all the time. Why? Because people move on with their lives and forget what’s left behind! In my life as a lower grade pupil, I still have lingering memories I shared with my friend. Would you believe me if I told you that our life-long friendship stretches from childhood . Ivan and I were in the same grade.  I used to stop by Ivan’s house every school day to fetch him. Incredibly, Ivan lived only 100 meters from our school, but I never recall finding Ivan ready and waiting. Instead, I had to wait for Ivan as his mother checked him and made sure he was good to go. Ivan and I went separate ways when we got promoted to start high school. After this, we completely lost each other even when we were staying in the same area. Days, weeks, months, and years flew past over our he...

  Dear Mirror! I shall not forget the day my mother introduced us to each other. Your looks gave me one hell of a fright: we looked too identical! I almost jumped out of my baby skin. Come on now my friend, you could have felt the same way as the baby I was inside! Stop giggling and listen to me. Among all the friends I have had in this world, nobody can rival our friendship, living or dead. Every time I walk into my room, there you are: still smiling at me sweetly after all these years. You have a true definition of reliable companionship. I do not know how you do it! Occasionally, I left my room to run errands, work, or visit the city or church. No matter what I do and wherever I go, you are always there waiting for me like the good old friend that you have always been. I see you in my hotel rooms, and even when I am visiting relatives and friends. Your omnipresence is mind boggling . I see your face painted all over my landscape, there is no hiding from your shar...