UNCOUTHLY ATTACHED

UNCOUTHLY ATTACHED: 34.

Kano State, Nigeria.
2017.

"I need an antiseptic swabs (gauze used to clean wounds), suture (used to stitch) and local anesthetic (reduces pain)." She gushed out to the nurse standing next to her who immediately sprouted out to work so they could stop the boy's bleeding forehead.

The boy's mother walked into the room and met Falak halfway leaving the Ward but she rushed back to help the mother in need and the son who looks like he is slipping in and out of consciousness. By now, four months into her work, Falak is already like any other doctor in the hospital, she takes patients without waiting for instructions.

At the moment, she is the only Paediatrician available, her mother is in the operation theater with others and the other four are also with their patients which left only her to attend to the poor kid who looks awfully familiar. She didn't spend time trying to look at him because the cotton wool is already soaked with blood and he is almost unconscious.

"Here!" The nurse held the silver tray in front of Falak with all the things she asked her to bring and waited anxiously for Falak to do her magic and then wait for the boy to wake up.

She injected him before removing the soaked cotton wool that left it's dashes around the forehead. The wound is deep and she doesn't even know where he gets something like this, the boy looks just five. She cleaned the blood around the around before stitching it gently as though he would wake up, he won't. She is just trying to make it as less painful as she could.

"He will wake up in some hours. Do you want to wait here or are you leaving?" She asked the distraught woman who looks less worried now that he is stitched and plastered.

"I will wait here, in case if something happens." The mother sighed, arranging her hijab around her body so she could sit down comfortably on the chair next to the boy's bed.

"How did that happened?" Falak couldn't help but asked, gesturing to the child's forehead when the woman questioned her with her eyes. That is a dumb move, what would she ask if not that?

"It was on the stairs, the edge of the tile." A single tear rolled down her eyes when she remembered about what happened.

The woman was busy trying to get her daughter ready for school and didn't know the other one woke up. He is sickle cell patient and is on break because he is ill so when he started walking down the stairs to where they are, she heard his cry and ran to him only to find him on the stairs crying as blood dripping down, and that is how it kept dripping till she walked down the rest of the stairs.

"Oh, I'm sorry and he looks like a sickle cell patient. Wishing him a very quick recovery, be careful." She said to the woman, ready to leave but she stopped her, which earned a raised brow from Falak.

"Can I get your number please, I'm afraid something might happen to him." The woman's eyes were down casted when she said that, Falak's eyes makes her uncomfortable and her professional beautiful self is just stirring something in her.

"Why not?! I'm Doctor Falak." She gave her a personal card before rushing out to see Shaddad before he leaves for the mosque since it's a Friday but she found him standing outside the room she finished working in.

"Nice job." He praised to which she almost staggered back and fell on her heels. Instead, she beamed and put on an I know right look, he almost smiled at that but didn't and continue walking around the Ward, she followed in tow.

He knew she liked it when he praises her and he saw the reaction on her face all the time so when she flipped this one, he let it slide. Her eyes and action spoke volume or has she forgotten that she still speaks her mind?