This word “handsome” makes me feel a little uncomfortable. My family members still use that word sometimes to describe me. What else can they say? I am their blood and flesh and I still buy kerosene for their Kuraz.

Kedir, who used to own our neighborhood’s CHat suq, addressed all his best customers with unique names. He used to call me “Shebellaw”. It’s a name that makes me look at my self … twice … with a smile. No wonder he owns two big shops now. We kept on buying his nasty CHat, day after day, knowing that he was charging us double the market price. We paid partially for his clumsy CHat, and partially for those elegant names, which, in most cases, had little resemblance to the real us.

But deep inside I feel that all those names… Shebellaw, ZenQaTaw, TinQishu, Aradaw, Nefsachin, ….etc. never described me well. Mostly I am referred to as “dess tilaleh” in a sentence rather than “Qonjo”. I still live not knowing their difference. I guess my uncle was the only fair and honest person. Once I heard him saying, “Look at him… Seb’seb yale Teyim”. Man, what a compliment. I accepted and loved it right away. Yes that’s me, seb’seb yalkuN Teyim. Betik’kl. The kind of guy who’s needed by everyone. "SEtu le zer, wendu le qum neger" indaylu. Neger.

...FreduN . Dess al'ilim?

However, if we all have noticed, everyone “looks” different in different situations. Someone generally accepted as a melke T’Tffu might appear better while crying, laughing, talking or singing. Similarly, qonjo yetebalew might morph into a zm new scary in another situation. No man, for example, looks good shaving. And don’t care how beautiful you are, when you are cleaning a dirty toilet…

My buddy, Wondimu (Qiddedew) fell in love with Sinidu at first sight. He saw her at the Qebelle office, detained for her absence in the weekly Ma-Lay Tnat, all covered with her neTela and shash, crying. Her weeping melted Qidedew’s heart, which never melts, despite having attended so many awkward leQsos.

Thanks to his CHat guadoch, he managed to bail her out. It cost him two Niyalas. Ever since then, Qidedew became Sinidu’s best friend. He accompanied whereever she went, be it to Tamru Sigga Bet or CHama lemasadess .….Qebelle Hibret Suq, or ye mebrat lemekfel. He made her laugh every single second. She loved being with him, his company, …. his friendship.

For him, however, YemiyaQTl Fqr became his favorite book. And he was going down, deep down, while singing Tilahun’s “Alwale aladere be-A’nd qen-iyta/ Tazebkut menfsEn beFQrish siretaSireTa”. He loved her so much that he couldn’t tell her his true feelings, afraid he might lose her completely. Sometimes he wondered if he could be a good match for this yenaT’eT’ch diTa. And sometimes he dreamed of being married to her and becoming wana teQoTaTari of that wefCHo bEt her father owned.

Finally, we, non-believers of love at first sight”, and in favor of Tilahun’s other song, ÄyichE b’Ttegash fQr yazegn/ Lemijesh iyewale siyadr arefkut wedjesh, had to tell him to stop this brother-sister bullshit. We also reminded him that he already had four sisters.

Three days later, Qiddedew came to us with the big news. It was all over. He hadn’t told her about his feelings, and neither was he going to! Why, we asked. And he told us exactly why.

The day before he was in Gutto Medda, thinking about telling Sinidu the truth. The whole truth, nothing but the truth. All of a sudden his stomach started aching and, when a brother has to go, a brother has to go !!! So he headed to Mule CHakka, a little bush, which we all assumed as a neat meSeddaja bEt. Kedir’s rotten CHat had made Qiddedew’s stomach dry, … and he had to push hard… one-eye-closed, teeth-biting-into-lower-lips hard.

Relief came eventually. Ay anbesaw, he smiled to himself savoring the moment before opening his eyes.

Wey'nee Qiddedew! He couldn’t believe his eyes. She, Sinidu, was in front of him with her dog, EiNde-GiZew, standing there, looking down at him with a pained look on both their faces. EiNde-GiZew started barking at Qiddedew. Sinidu started to run away, and Qiddedew tried to run after her, pulling his pants up. He needed to explain, as if there was anything to explain.

We all agreed. He shouldn’t see her again.