Felix

Felix

On my first walk along the shores of Lake Kivu, I was accosted by a young man named Felix who wanted to walk and chat. Who could say no?  He needed to walk as he was recovering from a broken leg incurred while playing soccer, a passion around here. He had had a Quebec teacher in school and had learned a lot from him. His father had six wives. Felix was born of the first wife who was deserted long ago, leaving the mother to raise her own family. Felix seemed to know quite a lot about Gisenyi and was able to share with me much of the history of the place. I was a little concerned that he might be walking too far on an injured leg but he protested that it would be fine. 

He lives with his old grandmother in a very modest little house on the hills above the town.  He misses contact with his father who now lives in Uganda with a new family. I enjoyed the walk after my long bus ride and I also enjoyed the stories woven by Felix. 

As with all stories, if they go on long enough, dark clouds will gather. We had toured the entire town, visited the border post I was interested in and explored the large open air market and we were headed back to the hotel when the story moved in an unwelcome direction. Felix was about to sit an important exam tomorrow and could not enter the examination hall with a dictionary. He wondered if I could perhaps find a way to buy him a dictionary so that he could get on with his life.

Well, you can imagine I am now feeling trapped. I quickly resolved to take the high road and explain to my friend Felix that at the beginning of the story he just wanted company on his therapeutic walk and I was happy to provide that as we were going in the same direction and could entertain each other. I took some time to explain that every single encounter with strangers in Rwanda to date had been respectful and friendly and I hoped sincerely that this experience would turn out the same way, I must admit that I also gave a fairly long lecture on the importance of honesty and trust in human relationships. I could feel energy surging as I delved further and further into this delicate area of the human experience.

As I went on interminably about such topics, like a teacher missing his vocation,  I noticed that Felix was no longer keeping pace with me but falling further and further behind. I stopped to check on his wellness and he assured me he was well so I relaunched into my expansive deliberations. When we finally reached my hotel, I extended my hand in friendship, thanked him profusely for his friendship and bade him goodnight. He forced himself to extend his hand too but only managed to touch his fingertips to mine, all the while averting his gaze. There was a pronounced lack of enthusiasm from him now and he muttered as headed off very quietly in the other direction. I sincerely hope he has recovered from his encounter with the tourist from Hell.