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Chapter 3

" Anyone home?" I yelled out.

Our dogs start barking loudly , informing their owners of an intruder and not welcoming me back. I haven't been back home for almost an year so of course they miss me. I place the shopping bag and my bag on the ground next me and walk to the dog nearest to me to pet her.

" Hello Mercedes, how have you been my beautiful girl?" I ask my dog.

I know she can't really understand me but that doesn't stop me from talking to her. I think sometimes she understands me or she just likes the sound of my voice. I don't blame her I have a sexy voice, that's what all my exes say. Mercedes is a light brown dog ,a crossbreed of a chihuahua and some other breed I don't know about. In my country very few people have pure breed dogs, most are crossbreeds. She's really cute, surprisingly strong and full of fur. I pat her head and she lies on her back, exposing her tummy for me to rub. She has always loved belly rubs.

" Your so cute ,I hope they are taking good care of you "

Mercedes was originally my dog. I used to live with her but I couldn't anymore because of all the traveling I was doing. So I brought her home, where she can be taken care of 24-7. I get on my feet and walk to the next dog to pat him too but Mercedes starts whining.

" Don't be selfish Mercedes, it's not a good look on you"

Mercedes has always been possessive of me, one time she bit one of my exes simply because he yelled at me. Ha! that was funny, I wish she could do it again this time to a certain person I know. I walk to Mowgli my brother's dog. He named him after watching the movie Mowgli, he was obsessed with that movie and I think he still is. Mowgli is huge and has dark fur and it seems like he is getting bigger. What are they feeding this dogs seriously? Can they even run or hunt anymore ? I don't know his breed also but he is a good guard dog.

"Hey Mowgli ,did you miss me? Did you bite someone else while I was away?" I chuckle at that statement

He approaches me cautiously and sniffs my leg. He always takes protecting us very seriously, a little too serious sometimes. Once he confirms it's actually me and not a thief, he stands on his hind legs to hug me. I wasn't expecting him to be this heavy and before I knew it we both fell down. What have they been feeding him ,he weighs more than me.

I hear the front door open and Amari checks to see who it is. Once he sees it's just me and not a burglar ,he wears his shoes and walks towards me.

" Mowgli stop that" he commands his dog.

His dog understands the command ,so he stands up and steps away from me. I take this chance to also stand and give my baby brother a hug.

" Hey Amari ,how are you? "

" Niko poa" (am good)

"Can you please carry that shopping bag I left over there" I ask pointing at it.

Amari can't do anything for you if your not polite. If he has to be polite ,so will you. He picks up the shopping bag and my bag and we walk to the house. Our house is a three bedroom ,not very fancy but it serves its purpose and most importantly it's ours. We pass the guest sitting area and go straight to the sitting area where my mom and sister are busy watching TV. It's a bit cold in the house, so they are wrapped in some blankets to keep warm.

" Hey mom, Elena, how are you guys"

" Tuko poa" ( we are good) my sister answers.

" Umetuletea nini?" (What did you bring us?) Ask my brother already going through the shopping bag to check.

He's always does that. I just smile and roll my eyes. I really missed my family, they make me happy even though I was actively avoiding them.

" Na Amari ukona tabia mbaya" ( Amari you have bad manners) states my mom clearly annoyed by his behavior.

" Kwani nimefanya? " ( What did I do?) asks Amari trying to be cheeky.

" You know what your doing. Your sister can't even get time to rest before you start asking for things"

My sister and I burst out laughing. They always have this argument every single time any of us come home. It's refreshing to hear them. Am the oldest child, then my sister and my brother is the last born. That explains a lot about most of his behavior.

I take a seat near my sister and my mom asks if am hungry. Of course am hungry the last meal I took was lunch. She instructs my sister to bring me some food. And as always she is about to start complaining ,saying she doesn't want to leave her blanket. My mom says am the oldest and she can't send me. Technically am her parent ,I wink at her and she rolls her eyes at me making sure mom doesn't see her.

She goes to the kitchen and comes back with a plate of mukimo ( a traditional Kikuyu dish) and a cup of milk. I thank her before starting to eating. Within minutes my plate is empty and I thank them for the food. My brother comes and takes the empty plate to the kitchen.

I lean on my seat to try and watch tv but I can't understand what is happening.

"Mnawatch nini?" ( What are you watching?) I ask.

"A show called Zora"

" Okay, So I have a surprise for you guys" I say.

" Your getting married" my sister interrupts.

" Oh hell no!!"

" No cursing in the house" says my mom but she joins my sister and they start laughing.

They are the most annoying people alive but I wouldn't change them for anything. They always get me.

" Can't you guys think of anything else aaarggh "

" It's just that, your at that age when people get married, so it's to be expected"

" I wanted to say, before I was rudely interrupted that I have wrong turn 1-6 in my flash drive"

" You do? We are finally going to finish it" my sister does a happy dance.

We have always loved wrong turn ,we watch it as a family. It weird that we all love horror.

" It's been a while since we watched something together" says mom.

" Yea, we are all busy with life. Where's dad? " I ask.

" He's out, he'll come back later"

" Okay, I'll see him in the morning. Am going to go to bed because I have no idea what your watching and am tired"

"Goodnight" they all say.

" Laleni vizuri" ( sleep well) I shout

I walk to my bedroom , open the door and switch on the lights. It look exactly the same, nothing has been moved or changed. I asked them not to touch anything and it's a miracle they listened. I change my clothes and wear something more comfortable to get in bed. Am too tired to take a shower plus it's so cold ,I'll just do it tomorrow.

I hide my phone beneath my pillow because I know my brother will come looking for it first thing in the morning, to take his stupid Snapchats. For the first time in a while I drift effortlessly to sleep.

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