Sacred Oaths

EPISODE 22: BLACK OUT.

SACRED_OATHS

Author: Samuel Frederick

Episode 22: BLACK OUT.

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First thing the following morning, I took off from Ilorin to Lagos, making sure my whereabouts were concealed. I hadn't told or informed anyone about my journey, not even Mimi. I had left at the break of dawn when she was still sleeping, risking my papers for that morning and putting my examinations for the entire semester at stake.

I felt weak and sluggish, coupled with the body pains, dizziness and the pang of headache inflicting me terribly, due to my lack of sleep during the night. Akosuaʼs words kept on ringing in my head like a bell.

“Sister wake up!” I heard a womanʼs voice beside me, as she tapped my shoulder. I opened my eyes to see the passengers alighting from the bus one after the other; then I realized I had fallen asleep in the process of thinking.

I thanked the lady who woke me as we both alighted from the bus together, realizing we had just arrived at Lagos at long last; and then I took a cab to the area that Akosua had described for me, and when we arrived there, I took another cab to the hospital my father was admitted.

I alighted directly in front of the hospital and stopped by a nearby store to get some items before rushing into the hospital.

“Sister!” Akosua screamed with joy when she laid eyes on me. I saw my aunt and two other relatives seated as well. Akosua rushed to me and embraced me tightly, burying her head in my chest as she sobbed. I also hugged her with my eyes closed, stroking her back gently.

Moments like this are meant to be treasured. Moments like this seemed like forever and ever more. Forever, indeed, was how I truly felt at that moment; to hug and hold her forever, but I had to let go. We had to let go.

I drew back and placed my palms on her cheeks, wiping off the tears that slid down her face.

“Everything would be okay. Itʼs fine.” I assured her with a smile, trying to get a hold of myself as well.

When the tension had calmed a bit, I moved closer to my aunt and wrapped her in a warm embrace. She hugged back tightly without saying anything. Then I edged closer to my uncles and hugged them both.

Turning around, my gaze fell on my father's unconscious body lying on the sick bed. He was a pale shadow of his former self, like he'd lost so much weight so far.

"How is he?" I asked, referring to no one in particular.

"Calm down. He is only unconscious for now." Uncle Ken answered.

"For how long?"

"Since he got struck by the cardiac arrest yesterday." He replied, sounding sober.

I took another look at the shadow-like body of my father before me and bowed my head, troubled to see him in such pitiful condition.

“So what is the next step?” I summoned courage to ask, raising my head back up.

“How?” My aunt intervened.

“What did the doctor say?” I clarified.

“Oh, my dear,” she muttered soberly, “Iʼm afraid it is not as easy as you think.”

"Just tell me!" I persisted curiously.

“Well, your father needs to be operated on. He needs to undergo surgery and…” She paused with hesitation.

“And…?” I urged her to go on. “And what, ma?”

“And,” she continued, “weʼve been asked to deposit a sum of five hundred thousand Naira for the full treatment. But so far, weʼve been able to raise only three hundred thousand Naira.” She stopped, took a deep breath, and continued: “Me and your uncles have decided to take a loan to balance it up.”