Friendly Enemy

Kevin had spent several days inside. He felt odd and sad. It was awkward for a man of his age to stay at home. His reliance on Daniel, his wife's young brother, worsened his acute condition. In the past, he had supported Daniel by helping him settle in Nairobi when he first moved there. Kevin was oozing cash back then. Unfortunately, things changed. This promising, enthusiastic young man that could even buy the whole supermarket for his rosy wife had now become dependent on his abrasive and unfocused brother-in-law. Kevin sat pitifully on the hard-wooden coach as he longed for and reminisced on those beautiful days when life was merry and blissful.
Kevin tried desperately to reach his bosom friend Onyewu during these incessant lone moments until he finally found him. Kevin sent a simple text message to the peculiar Onyewu that drew his attention. He had ignored several calls from Kevin. Most people preferred calls to text; Onyewu was different. He never took calls.
Onyewu called Kevin in response to the text. The two long-lost friends engaged in an agreeable, drawn-out conversation of sweet, sentimental memories of their college life that made them desire to relive it. By the end of it, Onyewu demanded that Kevin move immediately to his place so that he could help him pick up his life. Kevin quickly accepted the offer without mulling over it. The trust he had in Onyewu was greater than that of his mother. On top of that, he felt that staying with a friend was more acceptable than staying with a brother-in-law.
In the evening of the following, Kevin called Onyewu to meet as they had immaculately planned. Onyewu did not pick up this call. He repeated this call severally but to no avail. Kevin's infinite trust in Onyewu killed the slightest whiff of doubt about Onyewu that attempted to cross his mind. He believed something wrong must have occurred that made Onyewu unable to respond.
"When he finds time, he will inform me about it," Kevin concluded and slept peacefully.
Despite Kevin holding him in high regard, Onyewu was a seasonal friend that would disappear during the holidays like polar animals during winters. Additionally, Onyewu was so reserved that nobody knew anything concrete about him. Kevin never minded his closure. He was not the sort of person that pressed people to talk about their feelings, emotions, or intimacies. Kevin accepted Onyewu as Onyewu was. After all, Kevin believed that leading a happy life was all that mattered, which they both led through their friendship.
The following morning, he picked up his phone and contacted Onyewu again. Onyewu picked up the call this time and started laughing apologetically to ease things between them. Kevin joined in the laughter too. He was used to getting disappointed in this half-life of Nairobi.
"I know you think I was about to stand you up. It'sIt's a common habit among city folks," Onyewu started lightly.
"I can never doubt you, my friend," Kevin answered.
  Onyewu then explained how his workload had increased the previous day abruptly, making it impossible to meet. Kevin assured him that he had taken no offence.  

The evening was cold and dry. Kevin packed his few countable clothes into his light-brown army backpack that his generous wife had given him. She had taken it from her loving father, whom she always spoke of highly, making Kevin wonder if he would ever meet his high standards. Fortunately, he was now in Nairobi, and his affluent friend, Onyewu, had offered to help him rise again. Kevin bid Daniel a contented goodbye with the hope of never returning there. Kevin boarded a packed and loud bus to town to meet Onyewu.
When the two friends met, it was like the meeting of the long-overdue rains and the drought-ridden drylands. It was evident that days ahead would be bright and leafy. The sweet aroma of the roasted whole chicken and chips filled Onyewu'sOnyewu's bedsitter apartment. A full one-litre coke bottle stood tall on the delicate glass table. The two friends sliced, ate, and drank to their fill as they told old stories that saw them through the late night into the early morning hours. It was like before when they would play FIFA until morning. The only difference was that they had changed over the past six years. They needed time to norm again.
Kevin no longer listened to hip-hop music. There was nothing beneficial to married in music that only talked about sex, money, and women. He had watched many new musicians rise in the hip-hop scene, like Cardi B and Migos. He tried to follow them, but none of them grabbed his attention. Regionally, his favourite Bongo music had taken a new and unpleasant turn. Renowned Bongo artists like Diamond, Harmonize, and Ray Vanny abandoned the typical Bongo beats and adopted new afro beats that disinterested him. Kevin only listened to Mbosso since he kept the real and authentic Bongo music alive.
Like Kevin, Onyewu had abandoned both hip-hop music and FIFA. However, unlike Kevin, Onyewu was a big fan of the new trends Bongo music had taken. He was a big fan of Harmonize. He took offence when Kevin told him that even Ray Vanny was far better than Harmonize, let alone Diamond. At that time,  a scuffle between Bongo music's leading artists, Diamond and Harmonize, caused a giant rift in the industry. Historically, Kevin had loved Diamond. He would not drop him for any artist, including Onyewu'sOnyewu's cherished Harmonize. Thus, the two friends pledged allegiance to opposite sides of the Bongo hostility.

Reggae music had grown and established itself within Kevin's heart. It talked about the retched nature of this Babylonian capitalist world and the great hope for a bright future. It spoke about freedom and justice for the oppressed. It talked about love and the importance of a woman in a man's life. These are the things that a married man and a father, at the brink of futility, wanted to hear. Kevin surprised Onyewu with this absolute change in preferences. Whenever they played the music they now loved, Kevin tried to listen and get into that vibe of his friend's songs while Onyewu ignored his friend's songs and only engaged with his phone.
Like many people across the globe, the two friends loved football. Even though they supported different teams, it never caused a rift in their friendship. Onyewu, a staunch supporter of Chelsea FC, sat with his friend in his thick, expensive coach one Saturday evening to watch the much-anticipated match between Chelsea FC and Manchester City FC. There was a lot of hype, especially among Chelsea supporters, who ran out of superlatives to applaud the newly appointed coach, Frank Lampard, who was also a legend for the club.
Kevin always admired Chelsea, especially when it had an exceptionally high number of black players like the lethal striker Didier Drogba, powerhouse midfielder Michael Essien, French international Nicholas Anelka, explosive winger Solomon Kalou, and the determined Florent Malouda. The team was a force to reckon with. He, too, was hoping Chelsea could upstage Manchester City. However, unlike Onyewu, he knew the chances of that happening were slim. Kevin had seen Chelsea suffer draws and defeats at the hands of meagre teams like Sheffield United FC and Norwich FC. Thus, he was not raising his hopes to the roof.
The match started with Chelsea dominating possession and playing aggressively. Within four minutes, the young and promising Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham slotted the ball in the bottom right corner of their opponent'sopponent's net, making Onyewu jump high as he screamed goal.
"I told you that we are winning this match," Onyewu reaffirmed confidently.
Kevin, aware that his friend loathed opposing views, applauded Chelsea FC lightly, then kept quiet as he observed the match keenly.
After another thirty minutes, the unstoppable Manchester City FC struck Chelsea FC with a simple equalizer from the legendary Aguero that silenced Onyewu'sOnyewu's bickering mouth. A few minutes later, the enthusiastic Sterling added another decisive goal that sent Onyewu to his warm, comfy bed. He often gave up quickly. The match ended three to one, a typical Manchester City victory.
The following day, Onyewu, still pissed off with the Chelsea loss, brought up the conversation about the match again at the dinner table.
"I know you pretended to support us yesterday," Onyewu commented irately.
"Chelsea has been playing good football. However, Lampard'sLampard's resolve to use those inexperienced kids will greatly hurt your team. Big matches don't just need the flair that youth brings. It needs experience that comes with caution and grit. Untried defenders cannot bar City's world-class trio of Sterling, Aguero, and Silva. It was a game Chelsea FC was bound to lose just upon observing the lineup Lampard selected."
"I knew you pretended to support us," Onyewu replied as he grimly stared at his friend. Then he changed the direction of the talk.
"Kevin, my cousin just finished his high school exams. He wants to spend time with me. He is coming on Friday. As you can see, this space is too small to accommodate the three of us. Go home before Friday. Then you will return in January when your program with Yusudi starts."
Kevin meekly agreed to leave for home even though he had planned and coordinated with Onyewu to spend the December holidays there. In the cold and dusty Nairobi weather the following morning, he packed his clothes and left for Kisumu.

Kevin was thrilled to see his family after staying away from them for six weeks. He found his daughter Joyce with scars from chickenpox all over her body. He felt guilty not being there with them throughout this challenging period. When Joyce sat on his lap, she made him promise never to leave them again. Kevin pledged not to go, although he knew it was a lie. For the first time, Kevin wished a lie come true. It was his first time staying away from his family, which gravely aggrieved him.

Onyewu never picked up Kevin's calls when Kevin called to inform him that he had arrived safely home. Kevin tried reaching Onyewu throughout December in vain. Although Onyewu read his WhatsApp messages as the double blue ticks confirmed, he did not blink an eye by responding to any of them. Kevin kept faith that that was Onyewu's nature. He never talked to people out of sight. Soon, they would meet again, and everything would be fine.
Unfortunately, on the morning of the first of January, Kevin woke up to this jaw-dropping message from Onyewu that read, "I have decided to withdraw all the help that I offered you. It seems you do not trust me; that is why you keep writing me messages and calling me."
This cruel message astounded Kevin, so he called his supportive wife to help him absorb this nasty surprise.
She genuinely felt sorry for her naïve husband but was unsurprised by this turn of events.
"Nicholas had told me that Onyewu could never be trusted. I have been reluctant to say this to you since you never like me speaking ill of anybody or anything. However, I let the cat loose since what I expected has occurred.
"There was a time in college when Onyewu locked you and Nicholas out of his room. You kept calling him to let you in, but he refused to open it and made you walk away embarrassed. Mark you; he was your closest friend back then. Many years have passed now without seeing each other. It is hard to fathom that you could trust such a childish man."