Girrr…girrr…girr…

I watched my cell phone ring for the second time before I answered my neighbor’s call.

“This is a call from Heaven!” Bero uttered with a twisted hoarse voice. I knew he was in the mood for his usual tease.

“My friend, do you even have idea how Heaven looks like?”  I retorted cynically.

“You have been chosen to be a bearer of the bounties in the Heaven,” he continued in the twisted voice.

I wasn’t in the mood for any humor so I giggled and told him to cut the crap. Perhaps I was busy on my computer when he called and itching to return to my work.

He switched to his natural voice. The actual reason for the call was to ask me whether I had enough credit in my phone so that I could transfer 1000Ksh airtime to him. He needed the credit badly but couldn’t go out to buy recharge card because it was raining heavily. I told him there was, so he came over to my room.

He came holding a SIM certificate for he didn’t know his phone number by heart. After calling the number to me, I requested for the transfer.I recited back the number before confirming the transfer so as not to make mistake. He went back to his room to wait for the airtime delivery.

He came back to my room after about 10 minutes to tell me that he hadn’t received the credit yet. I showed him the confirmation message on my phone. In fact I was surprised why the airtime hadn’t been delivered.

“Are you sure the number you gave me is your line?” I asked him

“My friend, I have only one SIM card, so this must be the certificate.” He assured me.

We agreed there had to be some technical problem from Safaricom network. He had to be patient and wait for the delivery. I sent another 50Ksh to see if it would deliver but to no avail. He went back to his room and promised to notify me immediately the airtime enters his mobile account.

I called Bero after almost an hour to ask if he had received the airtime. I had just transferred 200 airtime to someone else which delivered instantly. I was certain then that the network was fine. Bero’s hadn’t still delivered!

“The number you gave me is not that of the SIM in your cellphone.” I was positive there was something wrong.

And indeed there was.

He discovered another SIM certificate after perusing his study-desk. It didn’t take him long to remember that his friend, Rango, came to his room with a SIM certificate few days back. He told me that on phone. Both transfers were to Rango’s phone number. He resolved to contact him so that he could transfer back the airtime.

***

Rango’s phone was switched off. Bero decided to leave him until the next morning but then he saw him online on Facebook. Voila! They chatted as follows.

Bero: Hi Dude.

Rango:  O my friend how are you. I am really enjoying myself

Bero:  What kind of enjoyment? Don’t tell me you are at a hotel shacking up with some innocent dame.

Rango: O no that’s my problem with you. Your mind is always on that thing. God Has sent one thousand and fifty KSH airtime to me from Heaven this night.

Bero: O hell! That’s my airtime my friend. I asked Sada to transfer airtime to my phone but he mistakenly sent it to your number.

Rango: Don’t joke with me dude. I was browsing then my data got finished. No sooner have I decided to sleep than I received  the message. 1000ksh! What do you expect me to do? I bought data bundle right away. Another 50KSH came in again. God has seen my despair.

Bero: Are you telling me you have spent all the money?

Rango: Absolutely. I am enjoying man. I switched off my phone so that no one would call me to tell me it was a mistake. God is really great! And you want to tell me otherwise!

When Bero narrated that to me I laughed until my stomach started aching. For me it all fits in.

“It is absolutely a gift from Heaven. Do you remember where you claimed to be calling from when you first called me this night?” I asked rhetorically.

Rango was right.