CHAPTER ONE
11:27 pm at the Federal Medical centre. A family involved in an accident was rushed to the hospital. The husband had a fractured arm and had received medical attention. His affected arm was wrapped with bandages, and a sling for support. His wife also had a little bruise on her head and had also received medical attention. But their son was in coma.
Tunde Adebayo was a wealthy and successful businessman, he was tall, dark, and handsome as some ladies would love. His wife, Tolani, was pretty, and she was also tall, slightly shorter than her husband. First glance at her would bedazzle the eyes of any man beholding her chocolatey burnished skin which announced her elegance and classy verve; no doubt, the evidence that she took good care of herself.
Their son, Olajide, was a perfect combination of his parents. He was cute and mollycoddled. They had only him, not being able to have another child since after his birth; and they fondly called him Jide – short form of Olajide.
Tunde and his family were returning from a dinner party at the residence of one of his friends, and a drunk carless driver ran into them, and his car was badly damaged. Tunde had four other expensive cars, and the one with which he had the accident was the least of his cars. He did not care much about the car, that was the car that he used for casual affairs, especially in the evenings. The car was portable and not as attractive as the rest, though not common.
Tunde and his wife, Tolani, were worried over the condition of their son, Olajide, their only child. Ever since he was rushed to the Intensive Care Unit, they walked restlessly, up and down the reception, praying for the safety of their son. Some other people were seated at the watching the television, beguiling the time as they waited to be given medical attention. Suddenly, there was a news flash on the television.
"Good evening viewers. This is the news flash at 11:30 pm. Here are the headlines. A popular Journalist, Jideofor Uchendu, was shot dead by some unknown gunmen…" The news caught Tunde's attention and he glanced at the Television to follow the news, but just then, the doctor came out and walked towards him.
"Mr Adebayo, please come," The doctor beckoned at Tunde, with no specific expression on his face. Tunde could not decipher anything on the doctor's face, but he quickly sprang up and ran to the doctor and his wife ran after him.
"Yes Doctor, how is my son?" He asked anxiously, rubbing his left arm to supress the anxiety and anguish.
The Doctor sighed, adjusted his glasses, and then looked at Tolani, whose piercing eyes were fixed at him like guns ready to shoot.
"He didn't make it," said the doctor, in a low and sad voice, and utterly regretful countenance. Impulsively, Tunde grabbed the doctor by the collar of his shirt angrily in utmost confusion and utter disgust.
"No… No… Don't tell me that my son is dead, go back in there and do something." Tunde shook the doctor and his hand applied pressure on the frames of his glasses causing them to lose alignment on his face. Tolani, his wife, ran to the theatre, yelling and pushing everyone on her way. She did not want to waste time listening to what the doctor was saying.
"No way, my son cannot die!"
The doctor held Tunde's hands and struggled with him, trying to stop him from choking him.
"Please sir, you are choking me."
"Yes, I know, doctor…, where is my son…, my only child?" Tunde replied with listless melancholy, with a fierce stare. Nurses around the scene ran to rescue the doctor and pleading with Tunde to release the doctor. They released his hands from the attack and Tunde broke down in tears.
"Very sorry sir," the doctor sympathized with Tunde, "Please you have to be strong for your wife," he said, tapping Tunde's shoulders.
"Jide! Ahhhh, Jide…! Please don't do this to me," Tolani wept helplessly, shaking her lifeless son on the bed.
The nurses came and held her, trying to comfort her, and they grabbed her and took her away from him. Tolani overpowered the nurses and ran back to her dead son.
"Madam please, don't hurt yourself. Try and be strong," one of the nurses said. She held Tolani again and quietly detached her from the body of her dead son.
"Why should I not hurt myself?" Tolani said in anguish. "MY son told me that he did not feel like going out with us, but I insisted. He would have been at home with the nanny, probably watching television," Tolani lamented, crying bitterly, and her face shone with the brackish wetness of her tears and slimy stuff from her nostrils.
"Don't blame yourself for it, madam, you didn't mean any harm asking your son to accompany you. It's just unfortunate that things happened like this, but you must be strong; think about your husband," the nurse entreated her.
"Strong for what?" She asked, rhetorically, "What is life without my son, my only child?
"Be strong for your husband. He will be shattered if he sees you like this. Both of you lost the child, you need to be strong for each other. It is quite painful, but you must brace up yourself and face life courageously," another nurse said, robbing her back and trying to comfort her.
As they were about to leave the theatre, Olajide body jerked suddenly. A nurse was about to cover the body with a bedsheet, but she stopped to observe what would follow, and the body jerked again.
"Oh my God! He just moved," the nurse said, in utter surprize. "Doctor…, doctor!" She yelled, running out to call the doctor.
Tolani turned and rushed back to the body of her son. The nurse met the doctor and told him what she saw. The doctor did not let her finish, he hurriedly ran to the theatre. Tunde ran after him.
"But how is this possible?" the doctor said. He then saw the body of the dead boy struggling on the bed with his eyes close like he was in a bad dream. He rushed to him.
"Madam, please excuse me," the doctor said to Tolani, who was holding the body of her son tight and fretting over the condition. Her hopes had just resurrected, and she wanted her son to open his eyes and be okay again. She got up and the doctor examined the body.
"This is beyond science," the doctor exclaimed in utter amazement. I can't explain what happened here," he said.
The doctor ran his eyes across everyone in the room. Tunde's befuddled expression was obviously written on his face, and everyone in that room was amazed. They all had their eyes on the doctor and the dead body like football fans anxiously expecting a goal. Soon, the body stopped struggling and became calm, and then the eyes slowly opened, indicating that Olajide was alive.
He saw strange faces with questions in their eyes, but he was too weak to react. Tolani rushed and grabbed her son.
"Jide…, my baby!" Tolani cried in Yoruba tone.
Jide was the short form of Olajide, her son, her only child, but the 'boy' could not come to terms with that. The body was that of her son, but the occupant was no longer the person that used to bear that Yoruba name, Olajide. Her son's body had been mysteriously taken over by a new occupant. The present occupant of the body was no more Yoruba, but Igbo, also fondly called Jide, the short form of an Igbo name, Jideofor. The tone for Jide in Igbo is quite different from the tone of Jide in Yoruba, and there lay the confusion. Jideofor was the name of the popular Journalist, Jideofor Uchendu, that was shot dead by unknown gunmen. The new occupant of the body was surprised to see a strange woman calling him, and in Yoruba tone. He did not know her and could not remember ever seeing her before. Then he noticed that he had shrunk in size, and that alarmed him greatly, and he screamed in terror. The doctor quickly got hold of him and calmed him down.
"It's ok, you will be fine," the doctor said.
The doctor examined him again, and he was feeble and still in pains.
"How is he?" Tunde asked.
"He's obviously still in pains, and still suffering from the shock of the accident; but he'll be fine. We'll administer some drugs to him and let him sleep. He'll be better when he wakes," the doctor replied and began to write something in his file.
Tunde got closer to Tolani and hugged her in amazing joy. A nurse injected the boy, while Tunde and Tolani were caught up in deep emotion of excitement; but the 'boy' kept a puzzled gaze at them till his eyes closed.