EPISODE 10
To
Linda, this journey had literally taken forever. There were so many stops on
the way, from policemen to touts, as well as stops at eateries and public
toilets. 7 hours after setting out, Linda was happy that she had finally almost
gotten to her destination; only for the driver to screech to a sudden halt.
What on earth was the problem this time?
The
driver came down and after about 5 minutes, the men in the bus came down to
help examine the tires.
‘Oya make una come down o!’
‘God…!’
Linda muttered.
It
was 7pm, and Port Harcourt was still hours away. She almost started crying
again.
Felix’s
3rd call of the day came in.
‘Hello’
‘Hi…’
she said, sniffing
‘Linda how are you? Where have you
gotten to?’
‘We’re somewhere along the road,
I’m not too sure where. I am very tired.’
‘Linda, listen to me- you will be
fine, ok? You have to be strong for your mum and brother. All things will work
together for your good.’
‘Ok.’
‘Have you eaten anything yet?’
‘No, I didn’t eat anything because
of my motion sickness.’
‘Try to eat something at least.’
‘I will try.’
Thankfully,
the problem had been resolved and they entered the bus. The last 3 hours of the
journey were smooth and they arrived at Port Harcourt by 10pm.
As
Linda trudged towards her house, she felt a certain chill around her. She got
to the door only to find it locked. Then she knocked on their neighbor, Mama
Kenneth’s door.
‘Linda! How are you?’
‘Mama Kenneth, I dey o!’
‘Abeg, which hospital my Papa dey?’
She sighed as she looked at Linda with pity. ‘Na that hospital for Kimo street o. me sef
just comot like 7pm’
‘Ok. Thank you ma’,
she said as she dropped her bag at the door to their flat.
‘She began to walk out, took a bike
and got to the hospital.’
After
inquiring from the nurses, she finally located her family.
Mama
was dozing off in the chair located opposite her father while her brother was
still pacing the floor. He caught a glimpse of her and ran towards the door to
hug her.
‘Sister!’
‘Chuks, how is Papa doing?’
‘Sister, he hasn’t woken up yet o.’
‘The doctor told us to do one test
like that for his brain.’
‘That must be a CT scan.’
‘Yes, that is what he called it.’
‘Linda! Kedu? Linda turned to face
her tired mother.’
‘Mama…’
They locked gazes and Linda knew that this was serious
‘Mama, wetin happen?’
‘As me and your Papa dey come back
from farm, na so he just begin dey complain of headache. As we reach house, I come
go get water and paracetamol for am. Before I come back, your Papa don fall
down, dey ground and him no gree wake up.’
She
began to cry.
‘Mama, please don’t cry.’
She said as she moved nearer to comfort her.
Sudden
movement on the bed brought a halt to the emotional scenery. Jerky movements
from her father had emanated. He was having a seizure.
‘Ewoooo…’
her mother began to wail.
Chukwuma
rushed out and began to shout ‘Nurse…nurse!’
Tears
began to run down Linda’s face
God
had seemingly become quiet.
*********************************************************************
Kenny
looked at Bunmi with eyes full of contempt.
‘I don’t know what else you want me
to do. I love you, I really do. But do you even care a little about me?’
Bunmi
shook her head. This dude just didn’t get it.
‘Kenny, I need to get to
Ophthalmology clinic. Please, stop causing a scene.’
And
with that, she walked on, leaving Kenny’s mouth agape.
This
was the girl who he was supposed to get married to in a month’s time. The
mother of his child! And he just knew she didn’t love him.
The
price he had to pay for betraying his friend was proving to be much more than
he had bargained for.
He
really should have been smarter.
‘This girl…this girl.’
He kept mumbling.
He
had to finally become responsible and she was making it even harder than it
already was.
It
will all work out in time, he thought.
Bad
enough, that he couldn’t get close to any of his former babes; Miss Bunmi
‘goody two shoes’ was adamantly refusing him sex. The last time they had
spoken, she had spelt out plainly that what happened before was a mistake.
‘But we are getting married in 4
weeks! Stop acting like a kid, you’re already pregnant. I hope you don’t plan
to try all this nonsense when we get married?’
She
had sized him up, after which she had shown him the door. How had his friend
coped with all this drama? He just didn’t have this time.
He
got to the ER to find a commotive scene. People were rushing in victims of a
Road Traffic Accident.
‘All these reckless drivers!’
As
he moved on, he heard a familiar voice behind him. ‘Ah, all these trailers!’ No, he couldn’t have heard right.
As
he turned back, he shook his head in disbelief. He was right.
The
sight that greeted him was that of Fola’s mother.
She
recognized him as well. She had frequently come to visit Fola when they were in
school.
‘Omo mi!’
‘Mama, e pele o. Good afternoon!’
He
immediately took over her care and motioned for the nurses to give him what he
required.
This
was too sad to be true.
Of
all people, it just had to be Fola’s mum; yet again.
This
issue was becoming too serious.
‘Omo a toju e, omo mi!’
‘Amin ma…’
He
stabilized her, and went to attend to another patient.
Fola
of course, had been notified and was now here.
‘Maami! Ki lo sele?’
She
explained that a trailer had collided with her car while she was driving, and
that Kenny had stabilized her.
Fola
eyed Kenny, who was still within earshot.
‘Guy, thanks’
‘No wahala’
His
mother noticed the friction, but kept her findings to herself.
As
if to make matters worse, Bunmi had to walk in, to see a doctor.
‘Iyawo mi!’ ‘I’ve been asking Fola
about you. Why have you forsaken me?’
Fola
recoiled.
This
couldn’t end well.
‘Maami, no, it’s not like that’
Bunmi said as she looked furtively between Fola and Kenny. ‘What happened ma, why are you here?’ The narrative was played out
once again.
‘Please ma, I will be back. I need
to quickly see my oga.’
‘Ok my daughter. You will still
come to see me abi?’
‘Yes mama.’
For
the 2nd time in 24 hours, Bunmi walked out of a compromising
situation, but she knew; as well as Fola and Kenny that they were just
postponing the inevitable.
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