CHIKÉ
I recovered consciousness and groaned as my eyes readjusted to the light emanating from its new environment. I studied the place all at once, noting that I was in a hospital. How I came to be here, I had entirely no idea, nonetheless, I felt much lighter and less frailer than I could remember in the past few days.
How long have I been here?
I observed the monitor thingy, it seemed to read my heartbeat was normal. There were a ton of balloons with the words 'Get well soon sir' and I could only guess they were from my employees. Wow, news sure spread like wildfire around here! Anyways, they were bound to find out one way or another. My heart warmed at their gestures of concern. I was just about to shut my eyes again, when the door at the end of the room flew open although gingerly, and a gold dyed hair sprang in with the rest of its body. It was Samira, she exuded an exhausted appearance but she had never looked more beautiful than now.
"Oh my, I thought you were asleep. It's my turn to visit and uh, though the Doctor said we shouldn't wake you up, I thought I could come in and play you something soothing because music is food for the soul and I believed you would still hear me though asleep. Gosh I'm rambling! I should probably stop talking now." she pressed her lips together to stop her speech and it worked.
Her rambling caused a small smile on my face. I patted the bed and called her over. She walked dutifully yet cautiously as if afraid that I'd be discomfited by the merest nudge. As soon as she got to me, she searched for a chair she'd sit on rather than the bed I had requested.
"Hey, I'm fine and I want you here. Sit, please." I pleaded, patting the side of my bed again. She nodded and sat conscientiously and brought to view, the property she had unconsciously concealed. I stared in awe at the ukulele, instantly remembering my mother.
"How long have I been out?" I questioned, hoping she'd give an answer that bordered on the lines of an hour or so. However, she double tapped the screen of her phone to turn it on and checked the time displayed.
"Seventeen hours, more or less!" What??? I wasn't sure I heard her correctly. Seventeen hours? What the hell happened to me? I racked my brain fervently, trying to remember what happened to me but the only thing I could remember was coughing and blood everywhere. Darn!
"Are you all right?" she sat up straight immediately, worried that I wasn't feeling good. "Do you want me to call the doctor?" I shook my head, not acceding to her question.
"No, please." I beseeched. The last thing I wanted was anything that would distract us. "Can you play instead?" I requested, touching the musical instrument. My favourite.
"Okay then. This is a piece my great grandmother composed and then taught my grandmother who passed it down to my mother who finally passed it on to me. I hope you enjoy it." She strummed the ukulele, introducing a serene atmosphere into the room.
"Tu me rends heureux comme la pensée de l'été ..." she began to sing about how happy a person feels especially from the thought of Summer's arrival. I watched her sing with adoration in my eyes, my mind, my heart and in my entire being. The way she closed her eyes when she sang a particular lyric and the way she caught me staring and smiled. The process felt so novel and romantic and the harmonization of her voice and the ukulele brought the sweetest melody.
A sudden flashback; I remembered the train station, how desperate and organized I was to give up, how liberating the thought of dying had felt. Then, how captivating her voice had been. Reminiscing, I came to the realization that this was the same song she had sung and how strange it was that I had heard my mother's favourite song instead. A rush of emotion channelled into my body, making me experience the need to weep but I controlled myself by breathing in and out.
"It was you." I mumbled and she stopped playing and singing.
"What? I don't follow." she whispered. I grabbed her hands and impelled her to move a little closer to me as I finally confessed to her completely.
"You were the reason I chose not to kill myself that day at the train station!" her mouth agape, she struggled for words to say but found none. I chose to continue,
"You know I mentioned I had orchestrated everything from start to finish? Well, my plans flew out the window the moment I heard your voice, singing this very same song and playing this same instrument!" she was still astonished.
"You once referred me as the 'weird guy at the Gare du Palais Train Station' and for real you were right. I acted so weird the exact moment you began to sing and the reason was the fact that instead of seeing you sing, I saw my mother instead, singing her own favourite song and playing the ukulele as well. It was her favourite instrument. I sang along with her that day, so I guessed my words didn't rhyme with the lyrics of your song therefore, you considered me as weird."
"As soon as my mother ended her song, she said these words to me and I quote, 'I love you my warrior, please keep on fighting. I am with you!'. There and then, her words gave me hope! Initially, I who had wanted nothing but to sigh with pleasure as the next train crushed me to a million pieces, felt so much at peace and quite frankly ashamed of myself for my horrid thoughts and plans. You see, the trance or whatever you'd like to call it, happened long enough to distract me until the train was fully loaded and had gone far away. Ever since that day, the thought of joining my parents was extinct and in its place existed a burning desire to know why I was privileged to still be alive. At the end, it all brought me to you." I caught my breath, my eyes alit with tears.
"How did you find me after that?" ultimately, she found her voice.
"I called my private investigator, Stan, and asked him to find you, he did. I'm sorry!" I released an apology in response to her raised eyebrows, a sign that she wasn't pleased at all. "That's why I visited the Ice Cream shop daily. I wanted to talk to you but lacked the balls to do so. I was worried you'd reject me even as a friend and I didn't want that to happen so I could eventually find out your role in it all." I stated much calmly.
"And what was your conclusion about me?" She asked a bit tensely.
"That you are the fur on my bed of thorns! You're my solace and my inspiration. You basically motivated me into giving and making others gladdened by how capable I am of turning around their entire lives." I whispered in need to catch my breath.
"Oh! But I haven't done anything, truly." she whispered right back, in contrast with mine, she was holding back tears.
"I want to tell you something that I hope guides you henceforth, are you ready to hear it?" it was a question from her and I replied yes. "I'm only human, Chiké! I can't guarantee I'll be here for you all the time. In fact, I believe I haven't done so much to you but nonetheless gratified that you think so highly of me."
"There'll be times when I won't be physically or emotionally present to help you. But I know someone who will always be there for you. Do you know this person?" I shook my head, wondering who this person is and how they would do that.
"He is God!" she stated matter of factly. "I've come to a point in my life where I worry less because I always feel His presence over my life despite the hardships my family and I have been through. God will always be there for you Chiké! He'll complete and perfect all that concerns you so much so that even when you're going through the worst, you'll be confident that He's got your back." I stared into space, digesting her words.
"So please, take me off of that position as your solace. I'm not perfect, therefore I might unintentionally disappoint you in times you need me the most. This doesn't mean I won't try to be there for you, it however means there's no assurance of my permanent presence in your life. My words are sad but true, okay? I'm leaving you the choice to pick God as your number one and not me. He's the only guaranteed source of true peace!" she ended in tears. I stretched my hands to wipe off her tears, each felt like a piece of broken glass piercing my heart.
"Okay, if that's what you want, I'll do it." I agreed. It wasn't like I didn't believe in God. I just never placed Him anywhere valuable in my life. I knew of Him abstractly, however, with the way she described him with light in her eyes, I wanted to experience the same feeling.
"Thank you. I know you won't regret it!" She fondled my chin, playing with my newly grown beards. I had to shave it as soon as I got my strength back.
"So... what did I miss all these while?" I inquired and then she began to recount everything. How I went unconscious during our phone-call, how worried she had been and in urgent need to know I was all right, called my office via my business card to speak with Alexa who wasn't keen on giving her my home address at first but later did, getting to my home and finding me in a grisly scene and calling an ambulance, my impromptu surgery and astonishing recuperation. As she described it all, especially her fear of losing me, I felt like I had let all of them down. These people who meant the world to me had suffered a great extent, all because of me. I owed them my eternal gratitude.
"Speaking of what you've missed, are you aware that your uncle, Gerald and your chef, Harriet, are dating?" she squealed in child-like happiness. I was bewildered by her words. Uncle Gerald and Harriet, dating? When? How?
"What? Those two are dating?" I asked, utterly perplexed.
"Oh shit! I thought you knew. In that case, when they eventually let you in on it, make sure you act as surprised as you are right now, okay?" She pleaded remorsefully. I managed a nod.
"The two of them together sounds so awkward. My Uncle is too reserved, he rarely talks. Harriet on the other hand is caring and pretty social. I don't think they match." I further explained why both of them together sounded absurd.
"Well, I think they make a sweet couple. You should have seen them yesterday, all mushy and touchy feely." I made a face of disgust which caused her to laugh out loud. I joined her because well, she had an infectious laugh and laughter felt liberating. "And from what you just expounded, I think the saying, 'opposite sides attract' is true." she added.
"Nah, I don't believe in that actually. I believe you attract who you are! Perhaps on the surface, they may seem different but in their hearts, I think they have the same personality." I contradicted her theory.
"All right, all right Psychologist, I get you." she mocked me playfully, sticking her tongue out in a cute manner. "Whether they're opposites or not, I like them together. They make me believe that true love exists even in old age. You know, that the gittery, butterfly in the belly effect of love is always present regardless of age. I'd like to experience that when I'm old and grey."
I was just about to reply along the lines of 'I'd like to experience that as well, with you', when the sound of the door opening, distracted us both. Two doctors trod in and behind them, Uncle Gerald, Harriet and Alexa came in as well. Both doctors, upon sighting Samira, whispered to themselves and at last, one of them spoke up.
"Miss, I'm afraid you'd have to excuse us as what we're about to discuss with the patient should only be in the midst of family and close business associates." the doctor directed to Samira and she made a move to stand up and leave but I held onto her hand, stopping her.
"She stays right here! She probably knows more about me than anyone else in this room. So whatever you have to say to me, I want her to hear as well. You understand?" my CEO bossy nature surfaced subconsciously, making me bark orders like I often did on a daily basis.
"Yes Sir, we do!" the one who complained earlier said. Samira glanced at me and sat still. They all put themselves in order. Guess my ailment never took away my ability to authorize after all.
"Great! You may proceed." I gave a curt nod, and both doctors cleared their throats like mutually trained robots.
"Sir, first of all, we would like to apologize for our misconception which we believe played a role in the deterioration of your well being. We, on behalf of this hospital, are very sorry and hope that we would not be prosecuted for what we're about to say next. " the other doctor announced. He was much calmer of the two but there appeared to be beads of sweat on his forehead that exposed his nervousness.
What the hell were they apologizing for? I stared at them in suspicion. The moment our gazes met, they quickly averted theirs to the tiled floor.
"What are you sorry for?" I asked tentatively. I didn't want to scare them off... yet. Believe me, I could if I wanted to.
"Several months ago, you dropped by to get yourself tested; a general check up to see what was wrong with you that would likely explain your health impairment. Your test results came out and you were allegedly diagnosed with Stage 3 Cancer of the heart. I'm afraid we were wrong!"
ALLEGEDLY??? THE HELL WERE THEY TALKING ABOUT??
"Can either of you tell me what exactly is going on? My patience is wearing thin." I replied, already at the brink of an outburst.
The calmer one who had the courage to explain so far, brought out a handkerchief from the pocket of his pants to wipe his perspirating forehead and motioned for the other to take charge. The other opened his mouth like a frightened kitten and said.
"What my colleague is trying to say is that you do not have cancer of the heart, Sir. In fact you never had any form of Cancer at all in the first place!" He said in a rush, I well-nigh missed what he had to say.
"You better get to the bloody point before I get up from this bed to crack your skulls in one motion." I demonstrated my point by rising to a sitting position. At the moment, I could pretty much hear their palpitations.
"I'd answer him if I were you. He's able to do what he has just said and more!" Samira spoke up beside me, rousing more fear on them. She squeezed my left hand which was still wrapped around hers, offering her support. You see, I made no mistake in making her stay.
"That wouldn't be necessary, Sir." The calmer one reasoned, finding his voice.
"What we meant to tell you is that there was a mix up in your diagnosis, Sir. You never had Cancer, rather, what we failed to notice several months ago is that you have been steadily poisoned all these while!"
The whole room fell silent until the only thing that could be heard was my right fist banging the first thing that came to sight.
The hospital's cabinet.