The deciding vote

I was so high in spirit as hubby and I went to vote at our hometown, down at the coast and prayed for journey mercies. We arrived safely and set out early to go cast our vote. We had each registered at different polling stations though within the same county because we had two candidates to support, and common knowledge dictates that one vote CAN make a difference.

Upon arrival at 7am in the morning, the queues were already long. People had gone to the polling stations as early as 4am! just so as to be the first ones. Talk about being patriotic! The sun had risen and the rays were subtle. Guys at the queue were advising each other on the order of the queues. The voting was happening in streams according to the first letter of your first name.

There was disorder left, right and center as the queues grew longer and the sun's heat grew stronger. There was a lot of queue jumping and confusion as guys grew more impatient and anxious which is typical in controlling of large human gatherings. A lady was anxiously walking towards a different queue when she suddenly fainted! I think her body couldn't take it any more as it succumbed to the coastal heat, long hours on the endless queue and as most of the other voters, on an empty stomach!

If I thought Nairobi was hot, boy was I in for a shock! The coastal heat was just too much! It was like being in a sauna but on open space with more humans, vegetation and buildings! Luckily I had had breakfast but the thirst was drying up my throat faster than the sweat trickles. I kept sipping water to hydrate myself and the spaghetti top and skinny jeans underneath my buibui equally helped. Good thing I didn't dress heavily as I would have succumbed to the heat too.

At least the elderly, the sick and women with babies were allowed to jump the queue, to go cast their votes. All in all, it was an exciting feeling for having participated in this year's deciding vote. Now the anxiety of watching how the tallying of the cast votes begins as we each pray and hope with bated breath!