Dear nephew Milambo
Greetings from this confused city, where rain comes in packages.
My dear nephew, I hope that by the grace of Limatunda you are all doing fine under the protection of the Nyamwezi ancestors led by Chief Mirambo himself.
I hope that all the people in my beloved Ukumbisiganga are also doing fine, together with your small family.
I was talking to your aunt the other day, and she assured me that you are all doing fine, and that the new baby is growing as if she is feeding on fertilisers.
She told me that she was sure the child is the spitting image of your late aunt Sharifa, and she made me chuckle when she said the child has gone as far as inheriting the noise from your late aunt too.
But I was happy to learn that you are doing fine, especially the new baby, and she made me even more happier when she told me that your son is very protective of his young sister.
Sibling bonds are some of the strongest connections we can make in our lives my dear boy, especially emotional attachments that happen early and are rooted deeply in our development.
Your children’s relationships with one another are likely the longest and most influential relationships they’ll ever have my son.
Yet a time will come when there will likely be times when you’ll feel like you’re raising arch enemies, as opposed to loving siblings.
But this should not worry you my dear nephew, because sibling rivalry is normal, disagreements can be important learning opportunities. And just because siblings fight, doesn’t mean they can’t still be close.
Fostering close bonds between siblings could help your children to grow up to become best friends, despite the gender difference, and even though when they are growing up they are going to fight and squabble, working out their differences can help prepare them for adult relationships with one another and other people.
That is why I believe that maybe your cousin Yassin could have developed into a finer being if we had given him a younger brother or sister, although it is possible that the boy was just meant to be a pain in my life.
Talking of Yassin, just the other day he called me in the middle of the night and wanted to talk to his mother, because he said he was trying to call her but her phone was off.
It was obvious that he was either high on alcohol or the drugs that he likes to partake, because his speech was a bit slurred and slow.
I lied to him that his mother could not come to the phone because she was asleep, and reminded him that whatever he wanted to tell my wife (and I emphasised on the word ‘my wife’) he could tell me, because after all I was his father.
He went on about how life was still tough for him in America, and that a few days ago his wife was fired from her workplace so life was becoming unbearable.
I asked him why he was not looking for a job so that he could stop depending on his wife, and he mumbled something which was not caught by my old ear, but I could sense his uneasiness immediately.
I know if he had managed to talk to his mother, he would have caused her major distress because he knows how to manipulate her emotions.
Eventually he told me that he wanted to ask his mother whether they can come home for Christmas, and I told him if they can afford a two-way ticket for each of them then they are very much welcome.
When he hanged the phone, I could almost touch his disappointment, because it was so intense, but I am sure he will eventually talk to his mother and convince her to send money to him.
You see son, in the Holy Bible, I believe there is a verse which says a stupid son brings grief to his mother, and I have a feeling whoever wrote that verse had my son in his mind.
Anyway, your aunt tells me that she is supposed to come back next week, and she says that you were not sure whether to come over with her or not.
I asked her whether it is safe for the baby to travel, and she assured me that she enquired from the airline and they assured her that it was okay.
She told me that her idea was for her and your wife and new baby to come over by flight while you and your son come later by bus, and I did not find anything wrong with that, because your wife is still in a delicate situation.
My dear son, I think I told you before that it will be difficult to tear your aunt from your baby if it happens to be a baby girl, and I am sure you are experiencing this firsthand.
I am sure she will convince you to come with your family for Christmas, and believe me son, the main reason is your baby girl, because she does not want to be very far from her.
I will be happy if you can come my son, because you know that I value your company, and it will be nice if we celebrate the birth of Christ together.
Let me pen off my son, because there is someone at the gate, and I believe it is my next door neighbour Massawe, because we were supposed to go for nyama choma at the local bar.
Please say hallo to your family and all the people in my beloved Ukumbisiganga, I pray that the protection of Liwelelo will be upon you and the presence of the ancestors will watch over all of you.
I hope that by the grace of Limatunda we will be able to meet again next week after almost a year. Have a beautiful day my dear son.
