I smell like dirty clothes
If you are in Uganda and are complaining about the rain, shame on you. Where I am, (I cannot say where because I have been sworn to secrecy) it has not rained in months.
As if that is not bad enough, it has been ten days now without tap water. My eyelids are heavy, not with sleep, but, with dirt that has collected over time.
The hallucinations are getting worse. Every time I close my eyes, all I see is angry men in blue overalls with hammers and strange-looking tools of all sizes, shaking their fists at me for delaying to pay the bill. Even when I am awake, I cannot seem to shake off this constant fiddling that haunts me.
Every time I hear a car outside, I race to the window to see if the men in blue overalls have finally come to reconnect the water.
The worst part though is I cannot go to the toilet because the water we have stored in jerry cans will be used up quickly if it is used for flushing the toilet.
So now, the toilet is out of bounds, locked, with the key kept in a place so temptingly known to me. I have to wait to go to visit the neighbour or maybe go to a restaurant and use the restrooms. This awakens nostalgic moments of nights on the throne at home reading Asterix and Obelix and sipping on chai mukalu with ginger.
I thought UMEME’s persistent load shedding was the worst nightmare, but that was because I had not experienced water disconnection. I know it is bad manners not to pay bills on time but the ordeal between disconnection and reconnection is punishment enough.
My eyelashes and hair have temporarily changed colour. My friends think I am wearing brown mascara. I have to be careful not to lean too heavily on surfaces like walls and chairs because my skin is beginning to stick onto things. I think I am even smelling and my skin now has a second skin.
All this started some days ago when the disconnection happened. I called the toll-free customer care number to inquire how to go about reconnection. They said all I had to do was pay and then call them back to be scheduled for reconnection. It sounded so easy and smooth.
On a good note though, I have a feeling today is D-day because last night’s dream was different. The men in blue overalls were smiling at me and handing me the key to the toilet.
