Chapter 2
Yusuf POV
Since Sophia had left me, I'd locked myself inside my room except when it was necessary like time for solah. I didn't want anyone, I didn't want anyone to contact. I just wanted to be alone. I just wanted to fade away and be forgotten. I was a walking dead, soulless body.
I didn't know what to do, I was tired of living. Sometimes you would wish for death but it never arrived but when you didn't wish for it that was when it would arrive. I'd stopped using my medicine, only God knows whether it was poisoned also. I couldn't trust anyone even myself. I couldn't trust myself.
I reminisced all our Sophia moments together. The first time I saw, how happy she was when she was playing in the rain. The day I met her at my house after our wedding. The first day she made me buy her sanitary pad. A lone tear escaped my eyes. It hurt. I choked on tears, using my hands to muffled my cries. It hurt deep down my heart. I was late, I lost her. I was never enough, I was useless.
Why couldn't I avoid the accident?.
Why?
I released an anguished screech, I held my chest. It hurt, it was cribbing.
My mom knocked on my door, as usual, telling me to open the door. It wasn't good for my health and sanity to be cooped in one place but I didn't care.
I heard her sobbing on the other side of the door but I didn't care. I didn't feel anything. I just wanted everything to end. I just wished for death. Her phone rang and she left not without telling me to help myself.
She came back abruptly, knocking on the door furiously but when she knew I would not open the door, she sighed, "Sophia called" my ear pricked at what she was saying.
Did she want me back?
I didn't care if she had another man's child.
"She said she wants to see you," she said softly. I opened the door, wanting to hear the message clearly.
"Sophia wants to see me" I was happy. She wanted to see me?. I was mentally having a joyous dance.
"Yeah" she smiled, when I looked at her, her eyes when puffy from crying too much and her nose were red. I felt a pang of guilt. I was the one who caused it.
"I'm sorry mom," I said remorsefully while she hugged me and told me it was okay.
I went to the bathroom, shower and brushed my teeth. I put on my dark blue jalabiya and went to the kitchen to eat something. I savoured the food like a hungry lion when last have I eaten?. I used my drugs also because no one wanted to be with a defecting person.
I smiled to the fullest, helping and laughing around the house. I was happy, she called. She wanted to talk to me. She missed me. I missed her also.
I will never let her leave my grasp again, I thought.
My Sophia.
My light.
I called Royhan and informed him about Sophia wanting to meet me, he was also happy for me and told me he would be tagging along.
Saturday's morning arrived, I'd not slept a wink the day before because I was nervous about it. I dressed in my blue tailored shirt because I knew she loved the colour blue. I entered the sitting and saw my parents fighting for the remote before I went to peck their cheeks, telling them bye.
Royhan met me on the way, he put on Ankara cloth which was designed by Hausa'.
I killed the engine of the car when I arrived at her house, I looked at myself in the rear mirror and dusted my face.
I knocked on the door feeling giddy that I would soon see her, soon hear her voice. But my happiness vanished when her so-called husband opened the door.
He had welcomed us politely and told us that Sophia was bathing Abdullahi. He made a lame joke, Royhan laughed out loud, why would he not when he wanted to impress him to marry his sister. I mentally scoffed and I smiled but it was forced.
Sophia blessed us with her presence by saying teslim. She put on a black Abaya with a blue cape. We put on the same colour. I smiled at the thought. Even though we weren't together our thoughts were the same. She walked to the kitchen and brought juice along with her, she served us. She put it on the middle table.
She sat beside Abdulrahman which was opposite to where I and Royhan were sitting. She took a look at me and I knew she would notice my dull eyes as if there was no soul in it. There were bags under my eyes because of the sleepless night. My face looked pale. Wrinkles were on my face and I looked thin also. Well, I wasn't at my finest moment. She noticed my gaze on my bump while she hugged it protectively whether intentional or not.
"Thank you for honouring my call" She smiled softly.
"It's a pleasure" I replied, my voice was void of emotion.
I was breaking inside.
I was crumbling.
My emotions were over the place.
"Abdullah" she called my once favourite pupil that became my son softly.
"Baby, come here" she ordered gently with her melody voice that could lure a baby to sleep. When he reached her place, she stroked his head soothingly. How I wished I was the one.
"Me and my husband" as she said , clenching my fist in anger. Husband my ass. I knew she would notice it but chose to ignore and continued "think we shouldn't deny you of your father's right. We have agreed to let Abdullahi stay with you doing weekends" she said.
"He will stay with you from Friday evening to Monday morning so that you could bond together. I've told him about us" she pushed Abdullahi softly towards me while Abdullahi didn't hesitate to come forward.
"Daddy" as Abdullahi called me, I felt a different wave of emotions watching over me. I choked on tears, I sniffled and hugged him tightly, kissing almost his face without leaving any.
Sophia, Abdulrahman and Royhan left us to bond our missed moments together.
I was happy to be with my son but it hurt not to have her.
I cried every emotion I was feeling on my son's shoulder.
.
.
Chapter 3
Saba Muhammad POV
Life was a game of chance, you either lose or win. Life was a bittersweet place; where sometimes it went as you wish while sometimes it didn't.
I sighed, messaging my nose tiredly and removed my Harry Potter's glasses, putting on my desk. I cracked my fingers to relieve me from feeling tired. I was cranky this morning without my morning coffee.
I couldn't function well without my coffee. It helped me to relieve stress and pain.
"Sabby!" one of the interns - Amber called me urgently, rushing inside my office while panting heavily.
I moved out of my chair and went to her concerned, "What's the wrong Amber?" I asked her. Amber- my personal assistant was a calm cool lady but sometimes she was three hundred degrees opposite of it. We met at a conference meeting; held for the doctors in Abuja. I was fighting my depression at that time while she was escaping her past. We talked and clicked on that very day. She was like a sister I never had.
"You are needed in the ER (emergency room) right now," she said.
I put on my white coat and went out with her. "What do you think happened to need me?" I asked her while a button up my coat.
"I don't know what actually happened but I heard some people talking in the hallway." I scrutinized my eyes . She widened her eyes, "sincerely, I didn't eavesdrop" she smiled sheepishly, scratching her neck. "What they were discussing just passed through my ears" she clapped her hands together happily. "I heard that a man was hit by his wife with the pestle," she said in a hushed tone.
"What?" I exclaimed.
What kind of wife hit her husband with a pestle. Did she want to kill him? I wondered.
She tugged my sleeve abruptly while she glared at me, "why screaming?" she whispered harshly.
"Sorry" I smiled embarrassedly.
"It was said that the husband always beat his wife and the woman used self defence" she shrugged her shoulder, "well" she dragged, "he deserved it" she concluded.
"Amber!" I called, "I know but I think..." She cut me off.
"Put you thinking in that brain of yours. He deserves it" she pronounced and marched away while I tsked.
I entered the room, smiling at some familiar faces in the room.
"Dr Saba, this man was hit with a pestle, we've run some lab tests on him and the CT scan shows that this man will need neurosurgeon attention," Mr Brown said, handing me the result of the CT scan while I nodded in understanding and took a look at the scan.
"Amber" I called, "prepare the theatre room for the surgery. Tell the anaesthetist to check his pulse and body system. Tell him to induce him with anaesthesia to numb the pain." I said, walking out to go call the senior surgeon before I remembered he wasn't around.
"Mr Brown, Dr Mark is on vacation and there's no other surgeon around except me" I trailed off.
"Then what are you waiting for?" he asked while I stared at him dumbfounded, "Go perform it" my mouth was agape when he finished, was I hearing him right?.
I've never conducted surgery on anyone by myself except with the senior surgeons. I was bubbling with happiness, but also nervous.
I took the scan to my office to get read, I put on my glasses. "he had Epidural Haematoma" I muttered.
Amber came inside, "I've spoken with the anesthetist," she said, "What is his condition?" she asked softly.
I pinched my nose bridge tiredly, I needed my coffee. "he is having epidural haematoma" I answered her.
"Oh!, that's when bleeding occurs between the tough outer membrane covering the brain (dura mater) and the skull. This happens when receiving blows at the side of the head; the pterion region. And if the surgery is delayed it could lead to permanent brain damage or death. " She explained.
"Please get me a coffee while I pray (nafilah)" I pleaded with my best puppy eyes while she reluctantly agreed.
I performed ablution then took the musolah (praying mat) at the locker. I prayed to Allah to make it easy and the surgery to be successful. As I was folding the musolah, Amber came in with a cup of coffee. I grabbed it from her and drank it greedily like a thirsty camel in the desert. I drank everything in the cup, almost licking the cup for any drop. I sighed in content, I felt relieved.
I and Amber went to the changing room and put on our; scrubs tops, trousers, shoes, face mask and gloves. I towed my green hijab inside my top. As I entered the room, I saw three other nurses and cleaners, all dressed and ready.
The circulatory nurse came to me and put on a sterile gown, gloves on me while I nodded in appreciation. The nurses had gotten the equipment set for the surgery.
The anaesthetist's voice boomed out, "surgery starts 10:59 am" I quietly whispered a prayer.
I noticed the patient was put to sleep and the side of his head was shaved. My hands were trembling. I was nervous.
I touched his head nervously and asked the nurse beside me to hand me the scalpel.
I used the scalpel to make a small incision on the scalpel, then retracted it.
"Cranial drill, please," I asked and I was handed the cranial drill which I used to drill a hole, the blood clot was between the brain and the bone flap.
"The titanium plates and screw," I asked after I was through with drilling a hole, I replaced it with the titanium plates and screwed to sew back the scalp.
"Cotton wools" I have handed the wools which I used to clean the area.
"Surgery ends 1:59," the anaesthetist said.
I removed the used glove, threw it in the trash bin and sighed.
Before walking out of the room, "make sure to give medication after surgery which should include anti-seizure medication and hyperosmotic agents to reduce the brain swelling and intracranial pressure" I instructed and went to change my dress.
I went to my office and prayed again for the succession without any complications. I folded the mosalah back and returned.
Amber came in tiredly, "can you please get me another coffee?" I asked.
"Not again" she groaned and fell down.
"Oops".
~**~
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