A knock on the door broke the silence of the neighborhood, a voice could be heard from inside the house, soon a figure cladded in a black windbreaker and a black shorts came out of the door.
He looked at the tall man that was a step away before his eyes settled on the the blonde lady. The boy at the door was just a sixteen year old boy that was quite tall for his age, he was also lean but on a safe side with a brown hair and black eyes. Due to the dim light in the neighborhood, his complexion and face wasn't seen clearly.
" Zayn", he called to the blonde haired woman "come in", he said as he moved away from the door. The lady and the man behind her entered.
" Hi Kel, this is my friend Lionel and Leo this is Kelvin", the lady introduced after making her way into the dimly little apartment.
" Hi, nice to meet you", Kelvin replied as he shook hands with Lionel.
" Nice to meet you too".
" Why is this place dimly lit", Zaynella asked fumbling for her phone, and when she found it she used the torch light from it to lit the place.
" We're short on electricity bill", Kelvin replied leading them into a room inside the house, it was the only well lit room.
" Why didn't you call me, at least you should have left me a message", Zaynella questioned not sounding happy.
" I forgot, grandma's sickness acted up yesterday so it escaped my mind, I was planning on seeing you after school today, but then her sickness acted up again", Kelvin said his voice laced with a bit of fear and tiredness.
" I understand, where is she now".
" Sleeping".
The have just entered the room, an old woman was lying on the bed and her face were full of wrinkles, her hair was stark white with no tint of black, she was looking worn out and tired her eyes were shut tight and her breathing irregular.
" Have she eaten".
" I bought food for her at the night shop down the street, she had a little before taking her drugs".
" You must be tired, let's leave her to rest, come with me to the kitchen I brought dinner since I know you probably haven't eaten".
Kelvin nodded and headed towards the kitchen with Zaynella and Lionel. After arranging the groceries, she brought out five take away dishes filled with warm food and handed it to Kelvin.
" Here have something to eat, keep the rest for grandma she will definitely be hungry when she wakes up".
She handed him another bag.
" I brought your favorite dessert, rainbow cake and fudge shakes with marshmallows, I had George make them, take it".
Kelvin nodded and took the things from Zaynella, he was really tired and hungry.
" I will be outside waiting for you, we need to talk, hurry up and eat". She patted his head and went to the living room to join Lionel who had left earlier to give the two privacy.
She sat down on a chair once she got to the living room, her face was looking stressed. Both sat in silence for sometime before Lionel asked her a question.
" What's wrong with the old woman".
" She has a hole in her heart, we tried looking for compatible heart, but after the surgery, we found out that she has leukemia, and the heart that was transplanted couldn't withstand the leukemia so it started reacting we have been trying to find another heart for her, but we haven't found any I barely think she would live past this year if things continued at this rate", Zaynella explained her voice filled with worry.
" There is still hope, did you ask the hospital to notify you if they find a matching donor".
" Yes we did, am just worried she is the only family Kelvin have left if things are to get out of hand, am worried about what he would do".
Lionel had seen the woman in question and knew that the possibility that she would live long was almost zero, so he would be a liar if he said that things would get better. Silence prevailed in their midst, till Kelvin walked out of the kitchen.
" Did you finish the dish", Zaynella asked.
" Yes, thank you".
She nodded with relief.
Kelvin sat down near Zaynella and waited for her to talk. She tried to steady her voice before she finally talked.
" Tomorrow, I will send her to the hospital, if she's there the doctors will have a closer look at her health, I will drop by in the morning, your school called and said that your grades are dropping, I know it has to deal with grandma' s health but your studies are important too leave grandma to me I will take care of her, focus more on your studies I don't want you to drop school, tomorrow I will drop by at your school and have a talk with your principal. You really have to take care of your self".
She fumbled inside her purse for sometime before she brought out some cash.
" Take this, it's for your allowance I will have the electricity bill paid tomorrow, also pack some of your stuffs you will be staying with me till grandma is discharged, store the groceries well I will be heading home for the night, and I will call you occasionally okay".
" Okay, thank you so much Zayn", Kelvin said trying so much to hide the tears in his voice.
" No need, your my brother now so definitely I need to care for you, have a good night sleep".
Zaynella stood up and moved to the door with Lionel, Kelvin saw them to the door before waving them goodbye.
Silence hung in the car as they drove home, Zaynella was worried as she drove, getting to her house she Parked the car, after securing the lock she went in Lionel following her quietly.
" Am tired let's talk tomorrow, there are some things I will like to discuss with you okay", Zaynella asked heading towards her room.
" Sure, goodnight".
" Goodnight".
Once in the comfort of her room, she picked up her phone and dialed Kelvin's number and he picked almost immediately. After making sure that everything was okay, she made Kelvin promise to call her if any thing came up. She then made a call to Kelly inquiring about her son's sprained ankle before calling it a night.