Yemisi trembled with tears and tried to convince herself that the little child in her arms was still alive. She kept tapping and waving him around, singing is lineage praise song for him.
Each time she does that, she'd stop midway at least every two minutes to check his breathing space. Then when she's about to loose hope again, she'd continue her routine.
Every minute that seemed like hours the hospital's staff were using to process the commencement of his treatment bit Yemisi right in the brain. She prayed it's never gets too late.
"Your bill is cleared?" A white nurse in her late thirties with wrinkle dominated face beside stopped her session. Her frown told Yemisi she was one of the strict and "professional" nurses that won't commence treatment unless you've fully paid or you're a black.
She had wanted to slam her for not knowing herself, but she knew this was the wrong time to do that.
"Yes" she replied with a teared voice.
The nurse stopped writing and widened her arm at Yemisi for the little boy. She got the message and obeyed her gesture reluctantly.
"Are you he's going to be fine now that I've played his bill?" Yemisi stopped the nurse but she only nodded in reply.
She watched as the nurse walked to the children's ward with her son who was fighting for survival.
"You won't die Ayo, you're not going to dieee!" She sobbed silently and adjusted her skirt to her tummy level.
Chloe, Yemisi's Ghanaian and closest friend rushed in with her slippers making so much noise that the white nurses scrunched their nose in disgust at. She got closer to her friend and stopped.
"Where's Ayo?" She placed an arm on Yemisi's trembling shoulder.
"They've accepted him to a ward" she replied in between sobs, pointing to a door at the end of the narrow passage.
"You've paid?" Chloe frowned in surprise.
"Yes. I borrowed again from Mrs Red"
Again.
"Chloe, look at me! It could have been more easier or Femi stayed alive to take of these kids with me.. Just look at me!" She cried in anguish to her friend. Placing her helpless arms to her.
The tears she had been braving herself to fight flowed freely from her cheeks straight to the hospital's floor. The pain in her little eyes moved Chloe emotionally. She rubbed her back and led to a seat.
"It's okay. I'm here for you. Where are the other kids?"
"They're at Miss Binna's place. She even fed them herself while I went to hustled for Ayo's treatment fee" she squealed with her tiny voice and cleaned her tears with her left palm before Chloe offered a handkerchief.
"Thank you" she dabbed the handkerchief into her nose and rushed her anxiety and fear in form of mucus into it.
She raised her head up a bit relieved and raised a good conversation up.
"Chloe, I heard Odo later fought with the chairman yesterday. And I also heard we are standing mass firing from work very soon"
"I heard about that too. It'll be a blessing in disguise somehow for me. I might go back to Ghana if that happens" she shrugged with a pout.
Yemisi's heart dropped at friend's drastic decision. It's going to be a tough time for a young widow like her to live without a supported. She stared at her for a while and tore her gaze when Chloe looked at her direction.
"What if they don't.. End up firing us as rumored" she tried to disrupt her friend's plan of leaving her behind.
If Yemisi's words were being recorded and played to a stranger, one would mistook her voice for a small school kid.
"I'll still go back to Ghana. I've made this decision since last week. I'm sorry I'm just tell you now"
Seeing that her mind was made up already. She relaxed back and thought about home. Her relatives in Nigeria thinks she's counting dollars every second in "Ilu Oyinbo". Going to Nigeria empty handed is a no way. But her sojourn land is hostile as hell!
"I think I might return to Nigeria as well. Even the Femi who brought me here is no more!"
Recounting her husband's death is scariest nightmare. He was killed in the early hours of a morning by a stray bullet few months she had her son.
In the afternoon, his brother whom he could assisted her in the mess got murdered by a ghost source along side with his wife. They only left their little child, Temmie to live.
She carried Temmie and adopted her as her third child from then. That day is the darkest moment she won't forget till her next life.
The twenty nine year old widow wandered about in her mind, thinking of her next move. She can't continue like that.
An old black man with the Jamaican flag color overall gown stormed the mini hospital with a loud voice as if he swallowed a speaker. He sang an American old blacks song. When he got the two women, he addressed them;
".. Ohhh Black women!.."
When he got to the white nurses..
"Ohhh white women!.."
It took the hospital management no time to drive him out of the hospital premises.
What a world! Yemisi thought aloud.
Now
Aminat increased the volume of the TV a bit from the sitting room, tapping Yemisi out of her thoughts. She looked at the old picture again and a tear stray down from her cheeky face.
That was about twenty years ago or so. Within this twenty years, things have turned around, grounds have been gained.
Fortunately, Chloe didn't left in the States for Ghana, she stayed till the kids grew into late adolescent. By the time she left back for Ghana, Ayo was already gaining attention from the media as a young talented singer.
Funnily, Ayo also revealed to his mother that he had a huge crush on Chloe. She couldn't scold him anymore, she just smiled and smacked his shoulder playfully.
Chloe died a year ago. Her death was the second death that got to Yemisi after her husband's death. She had no children before death, but she was buried honorably by family, friends and - crush.
Yemisi finally would be expecting her three children right away. Ayo might defile his promises and stay in Lagos two more days.
Aminat pressed the okay button twice in excitement of seeing her husband on the TV during an interview.
"We have Ayo Fashola better known as Tlay here, a multiple award winning Nigerian but American bred singer and entrepreneur..."
After a few boring words the female TV presenter finally turned back to him after a few boring words the female TV presenter finally turned back to him
"It's feel so good to have Tlay in the room. Tlay the Chapman how was your morning from your bed to the traffic then down here?'' She grinned to him and he giggled
"Lagos would be always be busy. So you just have to walk even if it's not easy. But it feels good sha!"
"So let's start from what can you say about life before Tlay. Like how did you find it ordinarily as Ayo" she gestured and he nodded in comprehension.
He took an awkward laugh before talking.
"Hmm.. Life before Tlay is just boring. Let me blunt and straight forward, it was fun though, you know.. The energy of living as a kid, play ball around with peers.." He couldn't finish that when NEPA took the light.
Aminat got infuriated so hard that she felt like punching the wall. Just in few seconds, they brought the light back.
"Fools! You should have waited for me to teach you a lesson you would never forget!" She be bragged unnecessarily at the power distribution company.
Since it was DSTV, it took a lot of time to load back and she feared they might have been through with the interview. After it had successfully loaded, his face appeared on the screen again and her world went calm.
"This stage is a game, truth or dare?" The TV presenter adjusted on her seat and Ayo looked lost.
"Truth"
"Why not dare?!" She laughed and he shook his head.
"Okay, who was your first crush?"
Aminat waited for him to say Sophia, Kismet or Fana but he didn't say anything close to that.
"Actually it my mum's late friend, Chloe"
"A little friend or your mum age group?!" The presenter exclaimed in shock.
"I think she was the same age with mum" he replied, rubbing his forehead.
"Wow!" She smirked and took to the next stage.
"This time you'll be choosing a preferable out of choices, are you ready?!"
"Yep!"
"Amala or Cookies?"
"Amala please" he licked his lips in interest.
"White women or black women?"
"Both" he waved
"Boobs or butt?"
"Butt please" Aminat quickly checked herself if her butt was big enough.
"Fana or Kismet?" The presenter smirked and he roared in laughter.
"Kismet, my babe" he raised two fingers up and Aminat hissed in jealousy.
"Single or taken?"
"Taken!" He rubbed his palms together hurriedly and Aminat's cheeks burned.
"Oh mine! You've finally gotten a girlfriend after four years of total blackout!!" The presenter chuckled and he laughed.
"A wife sorry!" He corrected and the presenter covered her mouth in shock and her popped out.
"Did you hear that?" She turned to the camera and Aminat jumped up.
Unfortunately, Aminat's joy was short lived as NEPA took the light for the last time.
"Ohhh!" I groaned and rolled on the couch.
She lazily stood up and went to the fridge for a drink. It was barely a week she had been living with Yemisi, waiting for her dude to sweep her feet to wherever they'd like to settle at.
Her heart kept pounding at the thought of her marriage being real. Her phone buzzed and blogging sites she had subscribed for trooped in with;
"I'm married!" - Tlay declared in an exclusive interview.
She giggled at social media outburst. Twitter must be on fire, too hot to touch.
She went to check on Yemisi. She hadn't stepped out of her room after breakfast. She saw brooding over a little old picture in her hand.
"Mummy, should I get you something?"
"No. I'm fine. Ayonitemi or Ayoola must be on their way by now" she sniffed and Aminat nodded, turning to her room while Yemisi strolled out of the building.
Aminat jumped on the cozy bed and comfortability flexed her nerves. She tried her best not to think of Hassan. He must be at the exam hall writing English paper besides.
"Ayonitemi!" She heard Yemisi screamed in excitement and she jumped up.