Episode 8

"Hello, mum"

"William, please, you should come to the hospital now. it's urgent," Mum spoke in a sober tone.

"Is anything wrong with Dad?" l asked frightfully.

"I said leave whatever you are doing and come, please; please oh"

"I'm sorry, l have something important to do this night, unless whatever you are going to tell me there is not going to take my time," l stated plainly.

"Ike, your father is at the point of death and he wants to speak with you," Mum said, crying over the phone.

My legs froze and my throat seemed to burn as l swallowed. "l will be there shortly," l said, finally ending the call. l threw the gun in no direction in particular and ran out of the room. My pulse throbbed and my hands kept trembling as l ran. Dad was at the point of death; l didn't really understand what Mum meant by that. l didn't want to lose Dad, despite the grudge l had against him. l just felt that he still had a role to play in my life. l kept running until l got to the main road and l chattered a 'taxi' to the New Revolution Hospital and Maternity.

"Where is my Dad?" l asked one of the nurses there as soon as l came in.

She beckoned me to follow her and l did. l walked into the room which the nurse pointed at.

Mum was sitting beside Dad, holding his hands firmly. Her swollen eyes gazed at me with despair as she shook her head lightly.

"Your father is soon going to join his ancestors," she said, sobbing.

"Mum, nothing will happen to Dad; he is going to be fine," l said. l didn't understand why Mum had just concluded that Dad was going to die, as though she had something to do with his death. Most women would have been optimistic about the situation, no matter how critical it had seemed. l come closer to Mum; her eyes were huge and the colour of crushed dark velvet, dewed with moisture. l shifted my gaze at Dad and he gave me a weak smile. l knew he put up a veneer of smiling to shield how critical his health condition was. l smiled, too, looking at the drip dropping slowly through the narrow pipe into Dad's body. It had reminded me of the first time l had seen Dad in a similar state when he was involved in an accident with Mum. "He had survived that; he would surely survive this one, too," l said confidently.

"My son," Dad spoke gruffly. The way he spoke like the dying old men l had seen in the movies made my body convulse with fear, the fear of being fatherless.

"Yes, Dad," l answered calmly.

"l have not been a good father and l sincerely ask for your forgiveness," he said and coughed.

"Brakor, don't talk, eh; please, stop talking.

You are not strong enough," Mum said as her face tightened into a grimace.

Dad kept coughing uncontrollably as he vibrated.

"Nurse! Doctor!" Mum shouted as she stood up to call for help.

I felt a rush of fear in my belly; it made my lips tremble and l thought my heart had skipped a beat. "Dad! you can't die, not so soon," l said holding his hands tightly, hoping that l could protect him.

"My son," Dad called and coughed again, still shaking "l should tell you this," he added slowly.

"What, Dad? What is it that cannot wait?" l asked unhappily. He was struggling to talk; l wanted him to have some rest.

"I don't have enough time; l don't think l would make it, son," he drawled, as his voice kept dropping notches lower than before.

My palms got sweaty and my lips became sticky and had sealed to each other. l found it difficult to speak.

Mum rushed in with three nurses and Dad's assistant doctor immediately tried to stabilise his condition. The medical laboratory scientist entered the room shortly as the doctor and the nurses were still with Dad. He called Mum outside and mumbled something to her. l stared at Dad and then directed my gaze at Mum's position.

Seconds later, Mum shouted and fell to the floor, rolling carelessly on the floor. Fresh tears began to flow down her cheeks as she wept and shouted.

"Brakor has killed me oh, Daddy William, you have finished me, ewu!" Mum kept yelling. l rushed towards the medical laboratory scientist, who was trying to calm Mum down.

"What did you tell her? What did you say that made her shout that way?" l furiously held him at his tie region.

"Calm down, William; it was just the test results from your dad's blood sample we collected," he replied, stuttering.

"And what about it, because l have a feeling that you are about telling me a big lie," leaving him to speak.

"Your father is.....em," the young man stammered. It was as though the words had hung in his throat.

"Is what?" l asked more quietly.

"Your father is HIV-positive," he quickly said.

My eyes expanded and l felt a shiver run down my spine. I was shocked and l tried reflecting on what the laboratory scientist had just told me.

"HIV? Where did that come from?" l queried anxiously.

"I wouldn't know, but it should have been for a long time now, because the virus had eaten deep into his system, making him vulnerable to other diseases, like tuberculosis, as we discovered. l decided to put him under the necessary medications for an HIV patient, so l don't think anything is going to happen to him," he confidently said.

My heart dropped into my stomach, my whole body went limp and l stared into the room where Dad was lying lifeless on his bed. l heard the nurses saying frightfully, "We have lost him, l think we have lost him; he is gone." My mouth flopped open as l stared shockingly at the medical laboratory scientist.

"He is dead," l heard the scientist say gently.

A violent fit of trembling spread to my toes, my head became swollen and my stomach tightened. My eyes searched for Mum and l saw her lying down helplessly on the floor. She had fainted; the nurses were trying to revive her by all possible means, but she lay still like a log of wood. Just then, l heard my phone ring. It was James, l was sure, but l seemed not to recall that the phone was still in my pocket. I sat down cautiously on the floor, still looking at Dad's corpse that was being covered by a nurse. Tears sealed my eyes and l shrank in dismay.

I seemed to hear my name from the narrow corridor where I sat. l stood up slowly and walked down the corridor to see who was calling me. l heard Dad's voice, l was sure, and l wondered if Dad had come back as a spirit to finish saying his last words to me.

"Save yourself," l heard faintly as the words echoed in my ear. l looked around, but l saw no one. "Was l daydreaming?" l asked myself as l kept walking down the corridor.

"William m," a soft voice caught my attention behind me. I turned round to see Mum. She stood hopelessly like a man who has lost his whole life savings in a gamble. We hugged each other so tightly and all l heard from Mum were her soft touching words, "You are all that l have now."

To Be Continued....