RESPECT IS GREATER THAN BEAUTY(JUSTIN LAGAT) If there is a more beautiful place in the world than Kapsait village, then I can only imagine what that place would look like!

It was a chilly morning here in this remote mountainous village atop the Kenyan highlands. Mist was slowly clearing away making it at last possible to marvel at the landscape below in the direction of Eldoret town. Kapcherop forest gave a beautiful dark green hue to the foreground as it extended to cover an area of about twenty square kilometers after which iron roof tops at Kapcherop shopping centre and other settlements around there glittered in reflection to the rising sun. Further ahead, there were places appearing to be covered by white clouds, but in reality were probably pools of water, dams or large fish ponds. Then, as the hue turned from blue to whitish blue, it became hard to define the exact point where the earth met the sky. But, somewhere there was Eldoret town, the place where Sarah was setting out to.

Alex, her boyfriend, had invited her to visit his parents. She could hardly contain her excitement since it was deemed a great privilege for a girl from her village to get hooked up with a man from around Eldoret, the City of Champions. Everything seemed to be working out well for her, after she had left her former poor boyfriend. She smiled as she thought how stupid she had almost become by nearly accepting to be with Erick, the poor guy. As far as true love was concerned, she was very sure that Erick was the right man for her; she knew that beyond reasonable doubt. But, love alone was not enough. How were they going to enjoy life without the money? What would her friends think of her marrying a poor chap?
On the other hand, Alex was everything any lady like herself would desire to have. He came from a wealthy background and getting married to him would mean living in a lush house with uninterruptible water, electricity and everything else that money could offer. In fact, Alex had informed her that he was planning to buy her a car some time later that year. What else would she want from a man! Although she came from a poor family; much poorer than that of Erick, her former boyfriend, she had learned to seize any opportunity to her advantage, even if it meant inflicting pain on others. Her life alone was her interest.

Her home was not far from the rough road and after reaching the road she did not wait for long before catching a vehicle. As always there, the vehicle was packed with people to the full, but there would always be a space for one more passenger. Unlike the vehicles from other parts of the country, these ones had their seats arranged such that the passengers faced each other.

At Kapcherop shopping centre, the vehicle stopped and a very old man boarded it. There was no more space to sit and he had to squat between the rows of the seats, close to where Sarah sat. Everyone expected Sarah to stand and let the old man sit in her place, but she did not. An elderly lady asked her to show some respect to the elderly, but she answered the woman rudely, that she was also going to pay the same amount of fare as the old man. Everyone kept silent; a young man offered his seat.

Some passengers alighted at Kachibora, another shopping centre ahead. Other passengers boarded to replace them. Stella, one of Sarah’s friends, also boarded the vehicle here and she squeezed a space beside her. They started talking about their various escapades, oblivious of the other passengers who were beginning to listen to their talk in bewilderment on how the society was changing rapidly. Their talk touched on various men they have been cheating on before finally coming to Alex.

“I may decide to marry Alex, but I still need to enjoy life with my other boyfriends for some time. Actually, I am marrying him solely for the money. I have no feelings for him. In fact, I will still be seeing the other boys secretly after I marry him”, Sarah revealed.

The old man began to follow their talk keenly, hoping that the Alex the prostitutes were talking about was not his grandson! His grandson was well brought up and was certainly not going to be any match for the two wayward girls. But, from experience, the old man had come to learn that many married couples ended up together not because they were best suited for each other, but because one of them had a selfish interest and took advantage of the other’s kindness. He had to take some precautions just in case his grandson was the one in the predicament here.

When they arrived at Eldoret, Sarah picked her cell phone and dialed Alex’s number. He was to come and pick her up at the bus station. The old man also alighted and found a seat there in the station, he seemed to be also waiting on someone to come and pick him.

Alex did not take long to arrive in his car. As soon as he alighted, Sarah rushed to hug him, then held his hand and brought him to greet her friend Stella. The old man watched the drama without stirring from his seat, he was both impressed and fascinated by the way Sarah was acting; a real actor! Alex will certainly need a lot of convincing to believe that the girl is not meant for him.

“Come and say hi to my grandfather!” Alex motioned the two girls towards the old man.

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