Karafa
Karafa loved his new settlement, Brufut. With its quiet, charming, and refreshing atmosphere, it was a place where he felt comfortable and really at peace. He was a young and intelligent teacher, with a smiley face and welcoming gaze. His friends saw him as caring and determined young man dedicated to doing the right thing always. Upon a certain day, he was spotted helping an old woman, who tripped while crossing the road, and took her to hospital for medical support. That’s the sort of man he was.
After several months of stay in Brufut, one afternoon, Karafa was out on his usual day-walking. While he strolled down along the street, he reflected on his adorable surroundings. The sunny view teased like bopping dog and the day was extraordinarily marvelous! Then he saw something glittering and approaching. Rather, was it someone? It turned out to be the figure of Binta, a lovely maiden with slightly curly hair and beautiful legs. She was attractive as any man would crave and beautiful like Indian goddess, Laxme. Karafa gulped. He was not prepared for this…
Quickly, he hurried a bend trying to escape an encounter. He could see the difficult glint in her eye as she drew nearer. Gazed with affection, Binta called in hushed tones,
“Hey Karafa!”
Karafa looked back, even more and still uncertain of what to say,
“Yes Binta” he replied.
“I was just heading to see you” Binta declared.
Unsure of how to break it to her, Karafa stammered the first words that came to his mind,
“I am not at home right now”
The two stared at each other with unspoken feelings like two strangers who had just met and trying to read a first impression of the other. Couple of weeks back, Binta had expressed her feelings, through a friend, about Karafa. She held him high in her thoughts and had decided to come clean about the matter.
Karafa studied her amazing form and beautiful legs. Eventually, he took a deep breath…
“I’m sorry” he began in apologetic tones, “but I don’t feel the same way, and I don’t think this can work. It will be inappropriate for me to do so .”
Binta looked lonely, her emotions raw like a round, rabblesnatching rock.
Karafa could actually hear her heart shatter into nine hundred and ninety nine pieces. A tear drop escaped her eyes and found its way down her painted cheeks.
“Am I not beautiful enough for you? Or is it that you found me not worthy of your love?” Her voice began to break.
“It’s neither of those” Karafa said, still unable to look at her. “It’s because… I have a wife and a two year old son back home. I find it really unjust and ill-mannered to indulge into the temptation of your eyes that shine bright like stars at night. Your voice sounds so melodious that I fear the more I listen to it, I’ll be forced to do something I’ll regret. I am sorry dear, my heart belongs to another, and I don’t want to give you a false impression.
Broken and now sobbing, Binta felt embarrassed and couldn’t utter another sound. She hurriedly turned on her heels and sped off. She almost bumped into a tree right by the junction, but even then she couldn’t slow down. A lump of guilt slid down Karafa’s throat, yet he felt relieved.
“I did the right thing.” He said. “Infidelity has no justification. We must all respect our vows and take a firm stand against such temptations! Whatever the situation, we must each be bold enough to consider the impact and outcome of our decisions, especially on those who really matter most.”
He resumed his day-walking and strutted towards the sunny beaches of Brufut for an evening of meditation and to marvel at the beauty of creation.
The End.
Essa Janko is a student of the University of The Gambia, School of Education. He is a profillic writer, poet and motivational speaker. He is a radio host, and producer. He volunteers with Youth Groups, such as Youths Movement for Employment and Violence-free Africa, YoMEVA, Home of Talent Gambia, among others. He is also a freelancer at Bepro Innovative Digital Agency.