Chapter 6: Training Solo
Amani remembered he was still in the bathroom this whole time he looked into the mirror as he rubbed his eyes, he caught sight of himself in the cracked mirror hanging on the wall. His hair was a wild tangle of curls, his skin was dark and shiny with sweat, and his eyes were bleary and bloodshot, looking around he saw a basin filled with water to the brim.
This was his mother’s doing every morning she fetched water from the village borehole, there weren’t many people in these parts so the line wasn’t that long. The borehole was his late father’s doing, something couldn’t replicate his last life.
He smiles & takes a bar of soap and lathered it up, enjoying the sensation of the cold water washing away the sweat and grime from his skin. As he scrubbed himself clean, he thought about the day ahead. He thinks about the money he had been saving for years from working odd jobs to smuggling candy to his school and even scrimping every penny he could have come across.
This was his emergency fund; he was planning to triple it when he went to boarding school, but that didn’t happen, did it? It was this money he used for his addictions back then.
He hurriedly puts on an oversized tracksuit, takes his school bag packs a clean set of clothes, eats a quick breakfast too bad he couldn’t savor it for too long and rushes out of the house after promising his mother he’d visit his school and come back home with his K.C.P.E certificate and result slip.
He could only relax after finishing the daily tasks imposed on him by the system. He would never allow himself to lose his leg if he had an opportunity to do something about it.
It was 7 a.m. on November 9th, 2010.
Under the blazing sun, dripping sweat, Amani was jogging at a steady pace to Malindi town bus station, which was 16km (10 miles) from where he lived. It would cost him 100 KES ($1) to reach town on a bodaboda (motorcycle) but he had to run, no excuses.
Amani jogs along the dirt roads of the western parts of Malindi, carefully navigating the terrain as he goes. Despite the rough and uneven surface, he is mindful of the ever-present potholes and takes care to avoid them. He also has to contend with mud heaps left behind by the rain that fell the previous day, which has made the ground even more treacherous.
Despite the challenging conditions, he continues to jog, demonstrating both physical resilience and mental focus. His attention to detail and determination to overcome obstacles suggest that he is a determined and resourceful individual, capable of rising to any challenge that comes his way.
He begins to feel the rush of adrenaline and the physical exertion of running. The pounding of his feet on the ground sends vibrations up through his legs, and his heart rate increases as he picks up speed.