A life in a day of Lucia

When I met her, she was calm and cultivated as always. Her wrist wore countless bristles and she tells me they were gifted by friends. So she is this easy. So she is this lovable. I had said to myself.
But wait dear sweet bananas,
That isn’t what I wanted to tell you. Nothing close to that.

I want you to meet Lucia Murotto. I want you to live a life of Mutotto. I want you to feel how it feels to be Lucia. Hey, not forever, just for a day.

A 27 year old and a single mother of one_a boy_Alex _is a matatu tout in Kitengela route since 2013, in Nairobi, Kenya. She is lovable and carefree and simple and bold and name it. A minute spent with her definitely make you friends. Her parents moved to Kenya in early 1970 from Italy, they got married, bore two daughters and Lucia is one of them. She separated from her husband and her only goal in her life now is her job and Alex.

By 4am I’m off my bed. I start by tacking my hair properly to prevent water licking in as I take
shower. She says. I quickly have a bath and rash off to work. I’m always done by 30 minutes because Alex stays with my sister in weekdays and so she does all the work from dressing him to school, to dropping him to school, and to picking him from school. Something I’ve always appreciated.

I remember when I was in high school how I loved matatus. How I would board matatus from school and how I started loving absolutely everything in matatu from passengers to drivers to touts. I loved everything.
She says that was the time she realized her passion was becoming nothing but a tout.

Her parents had wished for her to be a nurse, a doctor, or even a lecturer, or maybe a journalist; they were
cross, that she became a tout.

By 5 am I’m always at work and at 8 o’clock I’ll always be taking breakfast with my colleagues. It is
always ugali, fried eggs, and tea and sometimes it is always rice, beans and eggs. It has always been that
heavy for a start. I don’t have brakes within my work; the only countable brake is like this one. I mean a
brake when my vehicle is in line and four, three or even two matatus are ahead; that’s the time I can
chip out to have lunch. I’ve always taken some fries and soda for lunch but rice has always been my favorite.

My day is always spent here with my crew and if there is something I really appreciate in my life is them.
They always make me laugh whenever I’m down. They understand me best.

This is my second family, away from my family. I’m always home away from home.

And when I get home in the evening. Not evening. It’s always at night and by that I mean around 11 to 11:30 the first thing I do is take off my shoes take a nap before taking a warm shower after which I head for the kitchen for my supper.

Lucia takes the evening meal alone because by the time she’ll be home her parents would be fast a sleep. She stays with her parents and her portion of food would be kept safely for her.

I love me, I love my family, I love my son and there is nothing that matters to me like making those I love
feel my love and I can only achieve this by loving my job.