Some time ago i visited a town not very far from my home town. As i was Being take round, i noticed quite number of unfinished houses all over the town. I wasn't that the workmen had paused for a while in their task to resume work at a later time-perhaps after rains.
Rather, the houses had a deserted look about them as if they had been abandoned for years.
A few storey building stood gaunt against the sky, one side having quietly slid down during a heavy downpour of rain.
I later discovered, a lot of houses remained unfinished because the owners were dead.
I took interest in this house because my own faces stream and stretch of bush, and until this landlord came to build his in front of my house, there had been no house for at least a kilometer.
Then one day, a lorry came bringing stones and all sorts of building materials. First the landlord built a wooden bridge over the stream. Next he tried his small car on it. There was an ominous creaking and the bridge rocked dangerously . Quickly the man reversed and got back on to the grass.
The bridge had proved too weak for small car. The man had to abandon all thought of heavily laden lorry crossing such a flimsy erection. He therefore contented himself with hiring workers, whi painstakingly cross the stream with loads of stones and cement and sand. It was tedious indeed and house progressed painfully. It was soon after the window and door frames had been put in that i noticed work had stopped on the house.
First the path was covered with weeds then the bush lavishly watered by the stream, crept up to the house, ran up it and gradually swallowed it up . And now it is out of sight completely.
I asked my neighbouring housewife what happened. Her answer was - 'He is dead, they say, and there is nobody to finish the house. '
I thought to myself, ' so much wasted Labour. A good life insurance policy would have made all the difference. ' Sad isn't it?
