ORD 13

PART 13
“HIM, HER & I”
(A Love Triangle)
©️Opeyemi Ojerinde Akintunde
“Timi, your bed is stained!” I heard Mmesoma literally screaming.
“You dooonnnn’t have to shout, it’s nothing serious,” I managed to say as my pain was
getting worse. I was beginning to cry.
The source of the tears were of two origins: one, I was crying because of the pain I was
feeling in my body and secondly I was crying because I realized I was a loser...
“I am just having a heavy flow,” I said with the last strength in me.
“You call this heavy flow, this is way beyond menstruation... I think you’re bleeding, we
need to get you to the health center,” Mmesoma said.
The idea of the health center didn’t go down well with me as I knew my secret will be
out in the open, but I felt I was going to die anytime soon, if I didn’t get medical help, so
with the last strength I could gather, I said,
“I don’t like the health center, take me to the nearest hospital outside campus...” I said in
a rush as I suddenly started feeling very thirsty.
We had a cab service company in the campus that was just a phone call away, so I
knew that was who Mmesoma was calling when I saw her putting the phone to her ear. I
was blanking out, I could still see but my ears could no longer hear what was being said
to me afar off.
5 minutes later, we heard a knock on our door. I was expecting the cab man as
Mmesoma opened the door, but to my utmost shock, it was Bro Kennedy.
“My God!” I said in my heart as my mouth could no longer move.
I was too weak to carry myself, so Mmesoma and Kennedy helped me to the cab.
On getting to the hospital, I heard faintly, the doctor telling Mmesoma and Bro Kennedy
that I had an incomplete abortion.
Words can not describe the look on Mmesoma and Bro Kennedy’s face. After the initial
shock, he kept on looking at me sitting face to face with me on a chair in the hospital
ward. You could see he was trying to hold back his tears. Mmesoma had gone to fill
some forms Bro Kennedy and I just kept staring at each other, a lot of words unsaid. That was the
first time I ever looked at Bro Kennedy in the face. I saw a genuine soul, my tears fell on
it’s own and simultaneously his tears dropped and all he said was...
“I would never have done this to you, who is he?”
At that point Mmesoma entered, she spoke to Bro Kennedy about the hospital bill. Bro
Kennedy gave her his ATM card and PIN number. As soon as Mmesoma stepped out,
he held my hands and kept sobbing, while I faintly heard him say...
“God, please let your mercy speak for Timi, you told me she is a great tool in the
Kingdom, please don’t let the devil cut short her time on earth in Jesus’ name.”
Mmesoma walked in and joined in the prayer.
Some minutes later, the doctor and nurses came in. I was wheeled to the theatre again
as the doctor wanted to take out whatever was still left of the aborted baby.
This time around, I didn’t feel the pain, because the greater pain of losing Papa and
Kennedy was worse.
***********
I woke up around 3am in the morning on the hospital bed. I called Papa back to back,
but his number was switched off.
I wondered where he was, I called one of his neighbors who I was friendly with as early
as 6am. He told me Papa didn’t come back home the night before.
I heard a soft knock on my door, instincts told me it was Mmesoma, and I was instantly
happy, because I was sure she was bringing me food; I had not eaten in the last 24
hours.
However, the door opened to reveal Bro Kennedy with a nylon bag. He was smiling and
showing his scattered dentition, which didn’t mean much to me anymore as I was
seeing more of who he was than what he looked like...
“Bro Kennedy!” I managed to say in a high tone to depict I was in good shape.
“Sis Timi, thank God you are awake so early. I spoke to my mum when I got home last
time, you know she is a retired nurse. I told her about you and asked what I could do to
help you, so she said I should try to make you hot and light pap. So here is it,
fortunately, I had some pap.” I looked at him thankfully and smiled.
“If Mmesoma wasn’t in the picture, I would have reconsidered Bro Kennedy... but would
he want to marry me after aborting a baby?” I reasoned silently as I saw how
meticulously he was pouring the pap into the mug “It’s ok Sister Timi... I know this must have been a mistake, I know you were probably
raped and thought of a way of escape...?” He said as he searched my eyes for
answers.
Rape? That was a good idea, Papa and I could keep this dirty little secret of ours while I
could conveniently lie to everyone that I had been raped and out of fear I went for an
abortion.
And MAYBE, just maybe I could get back Bro Kennedy. It was obvious he still had a soft
spot for me...
To be continued