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Ada
Chapter Seven
Mrs Omoruyi drove the car to the car park and found a space. She had had to leave the warehouse when Ovie called to inform her he had driven straight to the hospital. She was lucky traffic was light at that time of day, so getting to University of Bini Teaching Hospital was not as tedious as she had feared. She paused for a moment as soon as she came out of the car. The sights and sounds of hospitals always reminded her of Esele her baby. She was only here because Ovie had a knack for not minding his business; a tendency she knew he had inherited from her. She knew she had a very soft spot for people in whatever kind of need. Mrs Omoruyi tried to shut out the smells of the one environment she had prayed never to step foot in ever again. Steeling her resolve, she checked her handbag to ascertain there was enough money inside it. Then she walked determinedly towards the Accident and Emergency Ward.
***
Ada watched helplessly as her mum was strapped onto a stretcher and rushed into the ward. Emeka had remained at home to look after Amarachi and Ijeoma. She could barely think straight as she followed Ovie and the nurses into the 'A&E'. Throughout the night and all through their journey to Benin her mum had barely said a word, and hardly ate any food. Though she was conscious, she seemed too weak to do much of anything. Young student doctors gathered round the stretcher as soon as they got in. They took blood samples amidst so much chatter, that Ada wondered if they knew what they were doing.
"Don't worry," Ovie said, reading her thoughts. "It's a teaching hospital, so it's normal to see such a scurry of activity. Some times these students are even better than the so-called consultants o." Ovie lowered his voice to a whisper. "But they also make terrible mistakes sha o."
"Oh my goodness!" Ada screamed.
"Only sometimes na. Haba! Thank God there's so much noise. Do you want them to hear what I just told you?"
"What happened?" One young doctor asked Ada. He had left the others and was standing very close to her and Ovie. "Are you her children."
"Yes doctor!" Ada responded. She looked at Ovie, surprised he had said the exact same thing.
"Okay." The doctor said.
Ada thought he looked too young to be a doctor.
The doctor smiled. "I'm not as young as I look, trust me."
Ada was embarrassed. Was she so transparent? Why was everyone reading her mind?
"What happened to her?" The doctor asked again.
"She suddenly slumped." Ovie answered.
"Yes?" The doctor was taking notes.
"Just as we were going to the river yesterday morning, she fainted." Ada added.
"Is she diabetic?"
Ada looked at Ovie. "Yes, I think so."
"Okay, you're not sure?"
"Not really doctor." Ada replied. She was getting embarrassed again. She knew her mum didn't even know what diabetes was. But there was a time one village chemist close to their house had suggested she might be diabetic since she was always complaining of being dizzy and tired.
"Does she eat well?"
"Not really doctor." Ada said. "My mum is always busy, she hardly has time to eat well." She didn't want the doctor to know there were times it was difficult for them to afford good food.
"So she's always busy then?"
"Yes doctor. Always; even when she should be resting."
"Okay, don't worry. Just go pay the bills as we await the test results. Please excuse me." The doctor went back to his colleagues.
***
Why wasn't Ovie taking his calls? Mrs Omoruyi dialled her son's number yet again. This time he picked.
"Hello...mummy?"
"Don't mummy me jor. Did you not say you're in A&E?"
"Mummy relax. I can see you already. Look straight..."
The woman directed her gaze properly and yes, her boy was waving at her at the other end of the Ward. She drooped the call and walked towards them. As she got closer, she froze..."
***
Ovie had been waiting for this moment. He saw his mum look from him to Ada and back to him "Omon..." Her voice was filled with emotion. Tears came to her eyes.
"Mummy, meet Ada." Ovie was enjoying the moment, not minding that people in various stages of serious ailments were groaning all around them. "Ada, my mum."
"Good afternoon ma'am." Ada greeted the woman. The introductions had been unnecessary. The woman looked exactly like Ovie. She was tall, dark and astonishingly beautiful for her age. Ada guessed she wouldn't be more than forty.
***
Mrs Omoruyi hadn't heard the greeting. She was looking at her daughter Esele, caught up in a state of emotional confusion. "Oh my God! Esele!" The woman didn't realise her hands had gone up to her head. She had a shocked expression on her face, like she was seeing a ghost.
"No mum. This is Ada. Her mum is sick. That's why we are here. Remember?"
"You're Ada?"
"Yes ma'am," Ada replied.
"Did he tell you..." Her voice trailed off.
"Yes ma'am. He did." Seeing the tears in the woman's eyes, Ada didn't know when her own eyes filled up.
"Ah! Osanobua!" The woman exclaimed. "How is this even possible?"
Ada didn't have an answer to that.
"Mummy, I have spent all my money o. Let's go and pay for the other things."
"Gbunuen! Can't you see I'm trying to process this whole thing you're putting me through?"
"Hah, mummy? Am I the one that made her like Esele?"
"Now I see why my son is crazy about you. Iye!"
Again, Ada had no response. She was now crying freely.
"Awwwww. Don't cry my baby. Come here."
Ada went to the woman and buried her head in her bosom. All the pain she'd been nurturing washed over her. Here in the arms of a woman she barely knew, she cried out her heart.
Mrs Omoruyi couldn't stop her own flow of tears. She wept for her Esele and for this broken Ada who reminded her so much of her dead baby...
To be continued...

Ada
Chapter Six
Ada had her right hand round Amarachi's shoulder as they silently walked along the relatively wide path leading to the river, just before dawn. The sound of cocks crowing from neighbours backyards at different intervals carried to her ears. She smiled. Here in Umuchi village, where she was from, it was a common sight to see people going to and from the river to get water just before dawn. It was still dark by anyone's standard though they could see where they placed their feet. That was not a problem at all since she had been to the river on much darker days. The moon had not risen till just before midnight the previous day which was why it still hung in the skies like a lazy woman, it's rays barely touching the dry reddish earth.
Ada looked at her mum as she strode purposefully ahead, hands swaying gracefully at her side without caring to hold the large basin balanced firmly on her head. Her mum was a strong woman; the more reason Ada was determined to keep using her broken hand. She instinctively rubbed what was left of the cast on her left forearm. Most of it was now gone, thanks to her chores. Apart from the fact that Ijeoma her seven year old younger sister had turned the cast to some sort of writing material, too much water contact had left it in very bad shape. It now looked like it would fall off at the slightest chance. Ada didn't care much. She knew she wasn't supposed to use her right arm; the doctor had been quite clear about that. But as soon as she got home for the Christmas holidays, it was obvious she had no choice but to ignore the doctor's warning. There had been too much to do.
Amarachi, who was only twelve, had gotten used to being the 'woman' of the house during her absence. The way she held both their empty gallons as they continued down the path, convinced Ada that her younger sister had long left childhood behind. Hardship quickly turned children to adults. Ada heard the sound of the water before she saw it. Amazi river was the only water source of her community. It was a large body of water that stayed full throughout the year. Her mum sold fish from this river to neighbouring villages when the tide was high, and sold other things during the drier seasons. As they rounded the bend, Amazi river rose into her line of sight, silvery ripples extending down the horizon, as far as the eye could see. Amarachi broke loose and ran forward, gallons raised high above her head. Ada smiled again. Some things never changed.
***
"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me, I once was lost, but now I am found, was blind, but now I see. Amazing Grace..." Ovie struggled out of sleep. He tried to reach for his phone with eyes tightly shut. He wanted to be able to go right back to sleep as soon as the call ended.
"Hello..." Ovie hadn't bothered to look at the caller ID.
"Hello, Ovie, Oh my God..."
"Ada?"
"Yes... It's my mum... God! It's my mum oh... Please help me... Help me..."
Ovie jumped out of bed instantly, phone held tightly to his ear. "What happened. Calm down na... Are you crying? What happened to your mum? Talk to me. Talk to me Ada... Ada! Ada!" The line went dead.
Ovie looked at his phone screen. He needed to be sure it was Ada that had called him. But he had spoken with her just the day before, and she had said they were all fine. What was happening? He dialled her number.
"Hello...Ada..."
"I'm sorry. I ran out of airtime."
"Never mind. What's wrong with your mum?"
"She... She slumped just after we got back from the river this morning... We don't know what is wrong with her. Now she isn't talking. Ovie, my mum isn't talking to me o. She's just here..."
"Where? Are you in a hospital?"
"No. Not yet... We're still at home o..."
Ovie could hear voices at the background. "Are there persons there with you?"
"Yes... Some of our neighbours... They want to help us take her to the hospital here in Umuchi. Please help me..."
"Don't worry Ada. I will come. I promise. I will come down to Umuchi. Be strong, okay?"
"Okay.... Thanks a lot..."
The line went dead again. Ovie continued staring at his phone as though it could somehow ease the pain and confusion he felt.
"Mum! Mum!" He kept calling as he ran out of his room.
***
Ovie had had to drive nearly four hours to get to Umuchi village from Benin City. He had taken his mum's car. He had nearly started World War Three when his mum initially refused to let him travel. When she saw that she couldn't talk him out of it she had then warned him to drive carefully, since it was just two days before Christmas and the roads would be busy. After series of wrong turns, Ovie had finally arrived at the hospital late in the afternoon. He had looked at Ada's mum and concluded the woman needed to be taken to a better hospital. What Umuchi called a hospital was an old dilapidated structure that looked like it had survived the Biafran War. Worse still, the nurses there barely understood English language. There was no medical Doctor in sight, and no one seemed to know when one would come. Ovie sat inside the hospital ward with Ada and her siblings. Different odours carried to his nostrils, from Izal to rotten flesh. He was getting sick. His mind reeled as he wondered what to do.
***
Somewhere inside a brightly lit warehouse, a phone shrilled continuously. One of the sales girls picked the phone and ran to her madam who was busy trying to sell fifty bags of rice to a customer.
"Thank you Osasumwen... Hello?"
"Hello, mummy!"
"Ah, Osaruese o! Omon, hope you're fine o?"
Ovie rolled his eyes. He was twenty two for goodness sake. He was no longer a baby. "Yes ma'am. Erm... Mummy o?"
"How was your journey? Hope the road wasn't too bad?"
"The road was fine mummy. Ehn mummy o?"
"Have you eaten? It's almost evening o. Aren't you coming back today?"
"Mummy... I have eaten. Erm... The woman is in very bad shape o. This place is not a good hospital, they don't even know what is wrong with her sef."
"So? What are you saying?"
"I was wondering if I should bring her to Benin?"
"Osanudazi!" The woman exclaimed. "You want to drive a sick woman all the way to Benin? What if something happens to her on the way?"
"Mum, if I leave this woman here, she's as good as dead... I have spoken with her family people, they say it's fine..."
Mrs Omoruyi paused. She made a sign to her customer, and went inside the warehouse.
"Mum?"
"Are you a doctor? How can you take care of a sick woman?"
" I was thinking we'll take her to UBTH na."
"We? You and who?"
"Me and you na. Haba!"
"What about her bills? Who will pay?"
"You na, see o. Am I working?"
The woman rolled her eyes and made an exaggerated sign of frustration for the benefit of her sales girls. "Okay, bring her down. But not today o. It's already late."
"Thanks mum. You're my Bae of life." Ovie dropped the call.
Mrs Omoruyi smiled and gave the phone back to her salesgirl. girlhaley

Ada
Chapter Five
The woman sitting astride a tree stump under her thatched roofed kitchen was not a young woman by any standard. She was busy breaking seeds of Ogbono; a task she had to complete before her children woke up. Beads of sweat gathered on her forehead. She would have been a beautiful woman. But the perpetual frown etched on those middle-aged features had driven the last traces of beauty off her face. She wiped her brow with one loose edge of the wrapper she tied loosely around her waist, and continued the arduous task. This was how she made her living. She hoped the prices would go up today being market day.
Since her husband died, it had been hell trying to bring up the children all by herself. Adaugo had gotten her way into University. She had been lucky with that one. But she constantly worried about Emeka, Amarachi and Ijeoma? Who would pay their fees now that Ada had gone all the way to Edo State? She had many reasons to stay worried. Her most recent worry now was Ada. She had not called her in four days. The old phone Ada bought her years ago lay silent. No other person called her as much as she did. What had happened to her?
"Vunnnnnn!" The woman jumped off the tree stump. "Chineke!" What was that?
"Vunnnnnn!" The phone danced around, and fell off the stool, beside the smoke darkened lantern.
"Vunnnnnn!" The woman quickly picked it up. She was sure Emeka had been playing with her phone again. How come it was no longer singing as it used to do?
"Hallo!" The woman spoke cautiously. It was still very early in the morning and she didn't want to disturb anyone.
"Hello, Good day ma!" The voice on the other side was that of a boy. The woman removed the phone from her ear and eyed it suspiciously. Since the other person continued talking, she put it back against her left sweaty cheek with her freer arm. "Hallo my son! Ogini?"
"It's your daughter ma. Erm... she has been a little sick. She is only just getting stronger..." The woman could not understand all the grammar. But she knew something was wrong. It was time for a more learned person to handle the phone. Panic rose within her. She ran out of the kitchen shouting, "Emeka! Emeka ooo! Bia, biko. Biko... Emeka ooooo!"
***
Emeka rubbed his eyes. "Nne what na? I'm still sleeping o!" He however sat up on the bed and took the phone from his mother. One reddish cockroach chose that moment to fly noisily towards the lantern the woman had picked from the corner of the room as soon as she entered. She swapped at it with the loose edge of her wrapper. The cockroach landed on the floor. Before it could run, the woman's barefoot squashed the life out of it in seconds.
"Nne, reduce your noise na. Bikonu. I'm trying to talk here." Emeka could hear the voice at the other end clearly. After a while, he brought down the phone and looked straight at his mother. The sleep had gone out of his eyes...
***
Ada still felt very sore though the pain inside her head had subsided. She had finally woken up at midnight on Wednesday morning. The hospital ward had seemed so strange but for Ovie, who sat by her side and kept reassuring her. She had been surprised to see her arm in a solid cast, but Ovie had explained it all, pressuring her to relax and not worry about anything. She had had no idea she had been sleeping for three days, which explains why she had instantly gotten worried about her mum. But Ovie had insisted they waited till morning before calling her family.
When it was dawn, she had handed the phone to Ovie insisting that he made the call. It had seemed like a great idea since she didn't want her mum to notice the weakness of her voice.
"Were you able to reach her?" Ada asked as soon as Ovie dropped the call, her voice barely a whisper.
"Yes. I think I got through to your mum. But she probably didn't quite understand me. So I ended up speaking with a little boy." Ovie still held Ada's phone.
"Emeka!"Ada gathered her breath. "He's my little brother." She looked round again. She wasn't used to being inside a hospital ward. "Hope he didn't react too strongly?"
"Well..." Ovie didn't want to lie. He didn't know why Ada hadn't spoken to her mum herself. The woman would have felt better at least "...The boy didn't react at all..." Ovie put the phone inside his right trouser pocket. "He probably wasn't ready for this kind of news this early in the morning.
"Don't worry," Ada whispered. "He's a smart boy, he'll explain everything to my mum."
"I hope so." Ovie said with a tone etched with disbelief.
"Vuuuuun! Ovie felt the vibration. He brought the phone out and looked at it. It was the same number he had just dialled. He looked at Ada and made a face. The girl rolled her eyes.
"Should I pick again?"
"Yes na."
"Hello...!" Ovie waited to hear the voice at the other end before saying anything else.
"Hallo...?"
Ovie covered the mouth piece with his hand. "It's your mum's voice o!"
"Hallo? Ogini? You this boy, give my daughter phone, biko..."
"She said I should give you the phone," Ovie said, stretching the phone towards Ada."
Ada took the phone from Ovie with shaky hands. She knew her mum would begin her long sermon again. Her numb brain couldn't even begin to process what she would tell her mum.
"Hello? Nne! It's me Ada..."
'Hallo! Ada. Obun nwam o! Heo! What happened? You are well?"
"Yes ma'am." Ada looked wryly at Ovie.
"They said you're in hospital?"
"Yes ma'am. But the doctor said there is nothing to worry about?"
"Ogini? Eh? What happened? Heo! Tell me, tell me, biko."
"Oooo Nne, it's a long story. I am not strong."
"You will be fine o? My enemies will not kill me. The devil is a liar. Ekwensu is a liar ooo? Biko, tell me what happened. I have time o? Manage, manage to tell me ngwanu, o?"
Ada rolled her eyes and bagan the long tale; at least, the much of it she remembered...

Ada
Chapter Four
The doctor, a light skinned middle-aged woman, checked Ada again. Her vital signs were normal. Her pulse was a little weak, but it was nothing to worry about. The concussion had not done any substantial damage either. There was no internal bleeding or any such serious issues. But she had a fracture on her left forearm. The young lady may have tried to break her fall with that arm. An examination of her X-ray results earlier revealed the extent of the damage. The Plaster of Paris cast she now had on would fix that. The doctor took some notes, and gave Ada's file to one of the two nurses that stood dutifully at her side. Then she removed the stethoscopes from her ears and let them drop around her neck. This patient was a lucky one. "Make sure you continue to monitor her," She said to the male nurse. "Let me know if anything changes."
"Yes Doctor."
Ovie had been watching the whole scene with interest. "How is she doctor?" He finally asked.
"Oh, your friend is fine my dear. Don't worry about it. She only went into shock. She's fallen into very normal sleep now. Her body needs the rest you know?"
Ovie nodded. "What about the arm?" He pressed further.
"I believe it'll get better," she said. "You see, she may have tried to break her fall with her left arm outstretched. You know the forearm contains two bones, right?"
Ovie nodded even though he had no idea what the doctor was talking about.
"Only the radius was affected. Her ulna is intact. And thank goodness it's not an open fracture. So we don't have to worry about infection and all that."
Ovie looked lost.
The doctor smiled and continued. "The radius is on the same side of the arm as the thumb, but the ulna is on the side of the little finger. You see, when the forearm is fractured, either the radius or ulna may be fractured alone, or both bones may be broken. In her case, only the radius was affected. The hand will be good as new in about four weeks?"
"Four weeks?" Ovie exclaimed. "That's a month o."
The doctor smiled. "Yes I know young man. But that doesn't mean she'll be here the whole time."
"Thank God, Bridget said. "At least she can come and continue with school o."
"Yes she can. I'll prescribe some calcium and vitamin D supplements. She'll be fine. Don't worry."
Ovie nodded at Bridget as they both exchanged reassuring glances. The doctor excused them and went out of the room, accompanied by the nurses.
Ovie looked at Bridget again. Apart from knowing her name, he'd never really met her before now. She was not pretty as such. Bridget looked like those wild campus girls - from the way she dressed to the manner she carried herself. But he could see she cared so much about Ada. Ovie didn't know one could still find such committed roommates. As he continued pondering, the girl looked up and their eyes met. Ovie looked away quickly. Unknown to Ovie, Bridget was at that very moment nursing thoughts about him.
***
Ada was a very lucky girl. She knew her roommate didn't talk much. But she certainly should have told her about this handsome and very caring young man. From the moment the boy rushed into their room that fateful Sunday morning till the present, it had been one surprise after another. He looked after Ada with so much affection. Maybe they were siblings. There was a striking resemblance between them both. He was tall, dark complexioned and handsome; not like the other boy that had been coming to see Ada also. Bridget smiled to herself. Maybe the ugly boy was Ada's boyfriend and this handsome one was her brother. Bridget blushed. This was hardly the time to notice such things. In her heart, she prayed this boy would turn out to be Ada's elder brother. He didn't look older than twenty. He had to be her brother. He had to be.
"So are you her brother?" Bridget asked eventually.
"What?" Ovie had been carried away by his own thoughts.
"My roommate. Are you her brother?"
"Oh, no. I'm not." Ovie smiled.
"You look alike. I could have sworn you're siblings."
Ovie continued smiling. He didn't say a word.
"You don't talk much yourself, do you?"
'I talk a lot my dear. But not with people like you sha.' Ovie suppressed the mischievous voice inside his head. "No dear. I'm not much of a talker." He continued smiling. 'Kai, liar!' His inner voice screamed at him again.
"So you're her friend then?" Bridget asked again, careful not to add 'boy' to the friend.
Ovie got really amused. "Yes I'm her friend."
"Ada didn't mention she had such a handsome friend o. So my roomie caught a boo and kept it a secret."
"Well, that's because we just met a few days ago. We barely know each other sef."
"Good!" Bridget exclaimed in genuine relief.
Ovie gave her a surprised glance.
"Erm, I mean it's good you just met. You can get to know each other better. I'm Bridget by the way."
'I know your name jor,' Ovie's inner voice intruded again. "Ovie is my name." Ovie said in the most patient tone he could mange.
"Hmmm! Ovhiedo kpataki."
Ovie smiled again. Bridget was making him very uncomfortable as the seconds rolled by...

Ada
Chapter Three
Ubuane took the short cut to the hall which was used as a church by his denomination. He didn't want his pastor to get there before him. Today was his day. It was his turn to lead Sunday service; which was why it had been necessary to carry out the morning cry exercise. The last time he had been chosen to lead Sunday service didn't quite go well. He had gone to bed late the Saturday before, only to wake up an hour into the service. His roommate, Ovie, who should have woken him up in such eventualities was a notorious late riser... A rat rushed across the path and scurried into the undergrowth. Ubuane leapt high into the air. Then he quickly looked around to ensure that none had seen him leap that high into space because of a common rat. He tried to control his racing heart.
'Na wao!' He said to himself.'Imagine!'
He rounded the corner behind the female hostel and finally cleared the bushes. He could see the silhouette of the hall in the distance.
"Kpum!"
Something had fallen down from one of the windows of the second floor of the female hostel. It landed some few paces behind him. Before Ubuane could make out what it was, sharp feminine screams pierced the quiet of the early morning...
***
... Ovie was having the nightmare all over again. There was blood everywhere. He was holding that fragile frame all over again, trying to will life into the mangled body. Then he started shouting "Esele! Esele! Please wake up. Esele please. Don't do this to me please..." The tears streamed down his face...
... "Ovie! Ovie!" The hand shook him more firmly. Ovie sat up in shock. He had been having a nightmare. He quickly rubbed away the tears as soon as consciousness came flooding in.
"O boy! Na wao!" Ubuane was staring at his roommate in disbelief. It had been three days. Three whole days and his friend was still by this lady's side? "Come! You no go leave this girl come back school? Haba! You never still fit reach any of her relations?"
Ovie shook his head in dismay. He didn't know where to begin from. When his roommate had come back into the room an hour later that Sunday morning, he had been shocked. He knew how much Ubuane loved Sunday services. Halfway into the story, and Ovie knew his roommate had to be talking about Ada. He hadn't waited to hear the full account. The fear that gripped his heart had thrown him into a sprint toward Ada's hostel. But she wasn't there. Her stunned roommate Bridget, hadn't been able to find words to explain the situation to him either. He had later found out that she had been taken to the specialist hospital close to the university... That had been three days ago, and Ada was still in a coma. She had hit her head so hard against the ground, it was a miracle she survived...
"Awwwwwww!" The soft moan broke into Ovie's thoughts. Ovie, Ubuane and Bridget came closer to the lady on the bed.
"Awwww!" The moan was even softer this time.
Bridget was overjoyed that her roommate was finally coming around. She rushed out of the hospital ward shouting "Doctor! Doctor! She's awake.."
***
... Ada was inside the burning house. It was hot and damp - as though someone were boiling water in a large open pot. She tried to control the beads of sweat from dripping into her eyes. She could hear her heart beating within her fragile frame. She looked round the house yet again. There was disorder everywhere. She could see scattered bits of furniture on fire, there was not enough space to walk about freely. She tried to move away from the glare of the bright red flames. As she ducked, a curtain pole crashed down rapidly, unto her skull...
Ada opened her eyes slowly. The throbbing pain inside her head was still there. But this was not the burning house. That was weird. She was just there moments ago. How had she gotten into this brightly lit room? She tried to focus, but everything was hazy. She could make out tall figures; they were like angels, in large white garments. Maybe she was dead. But when did she die? Ada could not remember dieing. Why had she died? She could not remember that either. She tried to see past the searing pain in her eyes, but to no avail. She closed her tired eyelids and gave in to the darkness...