3PM
Richard came out of the car soaked with sweat. He stretched and yawned continuously and fickled his hand to check what time was, on his leather wristwatch. “Ah!” He exclaimed and entered into the car quickly. He removed his phone and car key from the pocket as he shut the door with his left hand and yawned again.
He had sixty-one missed calls already, from his friends and from Stephanie. As he sighted Steph’s name, he sped off to the hospital to check on his sister.
As he flung the door open, he saw Stephanie seated on a brown seat at the waiting room.
“How far?” He approached her fleetly.
“I don’t know, I called you earlier but you didn’t pick it.” She said as she rose to her feet.
“Yeah, I.. I was doing something. So where are the Doctors?”
“See, her condition is somehow critical bro, Doctor Kate has been with her since.” Steph explained.
“Critical again?”
“Yes, I don’t even know what to do.” She sighed as she sat again. Richard turned his back at her and looked sad again, he really looked annoyed and fed up of the whole situation, what would he do? Pray to a God that wouldn’t answer him or what?
“Whether you like it or not, my sister must live! Why do you like being partial? You give some people sound health and some, a very bad one! Some people are as rich as Dangote, Mart, Bill Gates and many more, why is mine this way? Why is my sister’s health upside down? And you call yourself a God!” He shouted.
“Easy, Richie.” Stephanie tapped him.
He had started crying again.
******
“We couldn’t find the documents and attaché case but we found an evidence.” One of Lawrence’s guys stated.
“Really? What?” Lawrence asked.
The guys brought out Pemisire’s diary and gave it to Lawrence.
“This diary.”
Lawrence smiled as he collected it.
“That’s why I trust you guys!” He looked through it and found Pemisire’s picture, and her top secret on the issue of attaché case that her father gave her.
“It means this girl knows the secret, she has the documents, we must get her!” He stood up as he looked indignant. “She must be gotten!” He roared.
“Yes boss, but how do we start?” One of them asked.
“Just leave for now, I have to read this diary well, I think it should contain places where she might have gone to.”
“Alright boss, that’s true.” The guys stood up and left.
Lawrence sat quickly and started reading the events in the diary well, he had to get Pemisire, she was his last hope then.
*********
“He kept on repeating my identity before he finally died.” Pemisire told Helen sadly, with her back against the wall as she was seated on the floor.
“Really? So how do we start? We really have to hide your identity and this attaché case. If you’re gotten, it might lead to something even more disastrous.”
“Yeah, the first problem is you. How are you going to keep it unknown to people that I’m not Pemisire, I’m not the one with these documents?”
“It’s a simple thing, we’re sisters and I can’t betray this trust that you have in me. Pemisire, the problem is you. You should be the one to know how you will keep your name unknown to people. You know you won’t be able to return to Lagos, even for years because of this identity.”
Pemisire stood up and smiled faintly. “Alright, that’s not a problem. Once I don’t have a problem with you, there’s no problem. The next thing is just about the work I’ll start doing.”
“Can you work in a bar for now? I saw a vacancy post at Hexagon Club and Bar, the place is not really far from here.”
“I will, but for now I wish to be at home. I’m not in the mood to do any work, or else.” She said and laid on the bed.
“I understand you.” Helen smiled too.
*****
Richard and Stephanie walked into the ward and met Christina in pain as she was treated by Doctor Kate and Doctor Esther. Both walked fastly towards them with widened eyes, wondering what had made her be in severe pain.
“Doctors, what’s wrong with her?” They chorused.
“I think you should see me in my office.” Doctor Kate told him.
He quickly grabbed her hand and checked her pulse and face the Doctors again. “Her rate of breathing is severely bad, talk to me what’s happening?” He started weeping as he saw tears in Christie’s eyes. The Doctors also looked sad and unhappy with the situation on ground, “just let us meet.” Doctor Kate said again and walked out with Doctor Esther, both were sad and downcast. “How are you bestie?” He held her hand again.
She shook her head continuously, trying to tell him she wasn’t alright. She was in pain as she writhe to the right and left sides of the bed, weeping along. Her heartbeat had increased rapidly and she had shortness of breath.
“I’ll be back, let me check on the Doctor. But, crying won’t solve the matter, please don’t cry.” He wiped her tears with his right thumb and broke down in tears again. “I’m sure you will live, I’m sure this is just a test, I’m sure it’s just a trial to know if we can withstand this. You will rise again to be greater than who you… who you.. are.” He kept crying as he stared into her eyes.
Christina wished to speak too but she couldn’t. Her two lips were shaking but her words weren’t heard again, Stephanie was crying also, pitying the condition she was in. She wished it could be taken away from her. If she really scrape through death, God really loved her and must have preserved her life for his glory. The room was filled with sadness and tears from them all. “Please stop!” Richard wiped her tears again, tears hadn’t stopped rolling down his cheeks then but he couldn’t watch Christie cry, even in her condition.
*******
“What’s the problem now, Doctor Kate.” Richard flung the door open as he entered into the Doctor’s office with her. “Don’t be broken apart Mr Richard, please sit down.” The young lady said as she took off the stethoscope from her neck.
Richard sat quickly. “What’s happening?” He asked again, impatiently.
“The problem for now is the shortness of breath, the rate of her heartbeat and painful joints caused by arthritis. What we should start doing is to be prayerful concerning her health so heart failure wouldn’t start soon because of too much iron from blood transfusions.” She stopped for a while and continued. “We also have to carry out these tests as soon as possible.The Complete blood count ( CBC ), Hemoglobin electrophoresis and Serum creatinine.”
Richard placed his head on the table and continued crying. His face was oily already, the home sadness and tears. “Just do anything to save Christina, anything!” He repeated and stood up.
He pulled up his dress to wipe his face before he left the Doctor’s office to check on Christiana again, and drove back to his abode- Hexagon Club and Bar to drink.
******
“I’m getting impatient, Jay. He didn’t pick up his calls since morning, neither did he call. I think we should go and check on hkm in the hospital.” Uche said.
“Do you think Richard is in the hospital? I don’t think so.” He hissed and squinted his face.
“But at least, let’s go and check on him.” Uche said and rose up.
Jay hissed. “I just pray this guy won’t disturb my night, I have to be in the club tonight.”
“Let’s try, let’s look for him and I’m sure he must be there.”
******
HEXAGON CLUB AND BAR
“What is your problem? I’m I not… not going to.. pay you?” Richard accused the bartender.
“I just feel you’ve taken enough sir, please you should now take your leave.”
“What.. an insult! What’s your.. own..” He spoke and hit his hand on the table before him. “I want Baron!”
Uche and Jay walked into the bar and sighted him at their usual place. They had gone to the hospital and couldn’t find him, it was Jay that suggested their search to the bar. “I told you!” He said as he walked in with Uche.
“I never knew he could come here.” Uche approached him. “Richard!” He called him as he stood at his front.
“Tope, how are you?” Richard asked as he tried to raise his head up.
“Who’s Tope? This guy’s completely out of it.” Jay hissed and tapped him.
“What’s happening? Since when has he been drinking?” Uche asked the bartender.
“For some hours. I was telling him to stop when you came in.” The guy replied.
Jay shook his head continuously, pitying him. They paid for his drinks and drew him out of the bar.
*****
TBC
