Author's Name: Kachi Dominic

Author's Email: ryonkachi@gmail.com

Author's Phone No: 08097394036

Blog: www.aretewrites..com

Permission to post this work on any website, blog is granted, provided you acknowledge the author and list his blog as the source.

I lay on the bed, exhausted and dehydrated. It was one of those days when I was not feeling too well, so I lay on my bed trying to summon the sweet reprieve of sleep, perhaps, just perhaps, when I woke up, I would feel better. My mind raced through many activities, shuffled and staggered between thoughts, some normal, others awkward, most impossible fantasies only my mind could conjure. Slowly, I lost grip of my mind and I descended into a dark abyss of unconsciousness, unaware of the fan above me that completed each rotation with a painful creak, unaware of the mosquitoes that hummed relentlessly into my ears, unaware of the world..

“Tunmise! Tunmise!, Lazy boy! Stupid boy! Its 12 pm and you’re still sleeping. Common would you stand up from there and go and fetch water!”

The voice brought me back into the consciousness of reality in a crude way, far from what I needed. I tried to stand up but it was as if a thousand labourers were on my head, chiselling and pounding furiously, making inroads to my senses, to my sanity. My head got bigger and lighter, and I sunk back into the cosy comfort of my bed. I lay still, sweating profusely. My hands were trembling, my body was in a mad chaos. I felt cold, I felt heat, I couldn’t just decide on which one I felt more. The door slowly opened. Without opening my shut eyes I knew it was my mother. When she saw me lying on the bed, her voice softened.

“Are you alright? You don’t look alright.”

She asked and answered, trying to feel my forehead with the back of her hands.

“You are sweating, and your temperature is high, you must have malaria!”

She declared, her voice sounding more concerned. By that declaration, I knew I was in for my worst nightmare. You might think I didn’t like the hospital because of the gory sights of sick people crawling around and the sight of blood. Well, you’re wrong. The main reason I hated going to the hospital was because of those fat, rude nurses that go around the hospital looking for sick people to stab with their syringes. Apart from Vitamin C, I also hated the bitter taste of drugs of drugs too, and I couldn’t stand the sight of any syringe near me.

Despite my remonstrations, my mother bundled me into her Peugeot 504 sedan, securing me there with the seat belt as if to prevent me from flying off the window. She was a tough woman, she rarely showed weakness. Even in my sickness, she still cast a warning glance at me when I murmured. I shut up, I knew a word more from me would make her drive me to a mortuary instead of a hospital. We arrived the hospital only to meet a long line of sick people waiting to be attended to. Here, emergencies mean patients with ripped out hearts, severed limbs or in lighter cases, gunshot wounds. My headache and fever was but a trivial issue, so I had to join a long queue of people waiting to see the only doctor on duty.

It was soon my turn be attended to, I knew because the nurse shouted the number I was assigned across the hall. I stood up and started walking lethargically to the counter. The nurse snapped her fingers, urging me to hurry. I tried to quicken my pace, it was obvious she was less concerned with my sickness. When I got there, she looked at me, I wasn’t disappointed. It was the typical nurse I had conjured in my head, fat, rude and nonchalant.

“What is your name?”

“Tunmise Otegbayo.”

“How old are you?”

“Nineteen”

“Eighteen!”

My mother added from behind, casting a warning glance at me.

“He will be nineteen in January”

She added. I sighed. It was December. The nurse looked up and noticed my mother, she hadn’t been looking at me, she had been scribbling furiously on a sheet of paper. She gave me a file with my name boldly misspelt on it. TOMISE OTEBAYO.

“The first turn by your left.”
When we got to the office, it had a bold inscription on the door. DR BLESSING UMUNNAKWE.
That was a first for me, I was used to seeing bald and old doctors, now I was faced with the prospect of seeing a female doctor. Maybe the hospital was worth it after all. I knocked feebly on the door, but no one responded. Then my mother banged the door, the result was impressive, in less than a second, someone beckoned on us to come in. I opened the door slowly, I was welcomed by the cold humid air that poured out from the air conditioner. Sitting on a table with a stethoscope around her neck was a young woman, beautiful woman I must say, probably in her late twenties. She looked at me and smiled, I felt half the sickness leave my body immediately. She was wearing an immaculately white lab coat over her green scrubs, surprisingly, she had no glasses on. She had completely thrashed my checklist for doctors, doctors were supposed to be cold, ugly, baldy and have their glasses always on. She was the complete opposite.

“Please have a seat.”

She said, still smiling politely. My mother and I sat on the two available seats, then I handed her the file I was holding. She opened it, glanced through it and smiled again. Still smiling, she looked up to me and asked.

“So Tomise, tell me, what is wrong with you? I thought big boys don’t fall sick”

I smiled. Just as I was about to open my mouth to answer, my mother cut in.
“He has a fever, headache, he is sweating profusely and he has malaria.”

An awkward silence immediately encapsulated the room. I felt embarrassed.

“Tomise”

She mispronounced my name again, I couldn’t really blame her, I’ll blame the fat nurse that misspelt my name.

“You haven’t answered my question. What is wrong with you?”
She asked again, completely ignoring my mother. I smiled, within, I was laughing at my mother. I immediately stifled the smile when I realised my mother was looking at me, I didn’t want to lose the mouth.

“I have headache, my body feels hot, I have catarrh and little of cough.”

“When did you start noticing these symptoms?”

“About three days ago”

I lied, trying to make the situation sound worse.

“Have you taken any medication?”

“No”

“Do you see anything like pus in your faeces?”

“I don’t bother looking”

“How strong is your appetite?”

“I still feel hungry.”

“Come over here dear, let me examine you.“

I stood up and went over. She opened my eyes, listened to my to heartbeat. Then I went back to my seat. The room was quiet as she was writing.

“It appears you have malaria.”

She declared

I looked at my mother’s face. She smiled victoriously. She had that “I told you!” look.

“But there are a lot of diseases with same symptoms. So I am going to recommend a test to confirm if it is malaria. After which I will prescribe some drugs for you. Don’t worry, you will make a quick recovery”

My mother dragged me out of the consulting room. I could feel it, the doctor had bruised her ego, punctured her pride. Soon the test was over and the doctor prescribed some drugs, and to my dismay, some injections too. The nurse at the counter directed me to the room where I was supposed to get the injections. I walked lethargically, I was definitely not in a hurry.

“Tunmise you better hurry up! You think I have all day eh?”

My mother said from behind. It was more of a statement than a question.

“You’ll have to go through this one alone. I have to go get something at the mall.”

I was definitely grateful she chose not see me take the injection. I opened the door and I was immediately stunned. Sitting in the room where I was supposed to take the injection was a very young girl, probably nineteen or twenty. Oh God! She was dressed in white. This must be the nurse, it wasn’t exactly what I was expecting. Where is the fat, nonchalant woman? I asked myself.

I walked in slowly and sat on the chair opposite her. We looked at each other for a while, she was beautiful, I was stunned, I was scared, and to make the case worse, I was about to be to be injected by this damsel. I looked at her, and she looked back fiercely, we were both quiet. Then finally, I mustered the courage to talk.

“My name is Tunmise, and … I am … ehm”

I found myself stammering. Well, I wasn’t really a classy Casanova, but I expected to be able to pull this one through.

“Your name is Tunmise so?”

She asked. She wasn’t making it any easier for me.

“He is here to take an injection, are you the nurse?”

A voice from behind me said. I didn’t need to turn, it was obviously my mother. I didn’t hear the door open, I must have left it open when I came in. I cancelled all plans to make out with her, my mother just spoilt the whole deal.

“No ma, I am not the nurse. I came to see my mother who is the nurse. She went out, she’ll be coming back s…”

“Oh I see we have two patients. I must have been out for a while longer”

Someone cut in from behind. I turned around, I wasn’t disappointed, I had my fat nonchalant nurse.

“You first madam”

She said, gesturing at my mother and wearing her synthetic gloves.

“Go over there for you injection”

She said, pointing at a secluded part in the room. The young girl and I burst out laughing simultaneously. The look on my mother’s face was priceless.

“He’s the one here for an injection, he is my son.”

My mother said as politely as she could. I was still laughing when I heard my mother talk, I stopped abruptly. I was about to enter a realistic version of a nightmare. I was going to be injected in front of a pretty girl I had eyes for. I formed a hard face and took the injection without much drama. The painful thing was not the liquid this woman had forced into my body. The painful thing was that I was about leave the place without speaking to that beautiful girl, I couldn’t even find out what her name was. My mother dragged me out and I walked slowly, ensconced in my sorrows, she had such a beautiful face…

Just as we were about to enter my mother’s Peugeot, a little boy ran to me.

“The nurse said you forgot this”

He said, handing me a sheet of paper. I opened it and a smile immediately crossed my face. It read

“GRACE 08133859690”

I entered the car completely healed of my infirmities. I was smiling when I noticed that the car hadn’t started. I turned to the left to see my mother looking at me.

“Let me see that paper.”

cc: lalasticlala ishilove obinnau

Please read, like and most importantly, comment

MaziKachi:
cc: lalasticlala ishilove obinnau

Please read, like and most importantly, comment

Hi. The story seems to have promise, but space your work first. When I mean 'space, I mean format, especially the paragraphing. Let's start from there.

Beautiful story,I also hate drugs.

Ishilove:

Hi. The story seems to have promise, but space your work first. When I mean 'space, I mean format, especially the paragraphing. Let's start from there.

Fixed! What's next?

Think of continuing it,shouldnt end here yet

I'm still laughing from that last place. Try and continue the story, it has potential.

OK

SofiaAmrozia:
I'm still laughing from that last place. Try and continue the story, it has potential.

will do just that. Thanks for stopping by

Nice story, got me laughing. Pls more updates

Iamsynord:
OK

ok what?

missexcel01:
Nice story, got me laughing. Pls more updates

Dear I actually intended the story to end there but since you, my readers, have asked for a continuation, I'm left with no choice. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Please visit www.aretewrites..com for more of my works