Rejected At Birth
Episode Three
Grandma was in a state of shock, puzzled, like she was molded and fixed in that position, holding onto the doctor by the collar.
The doctor was chōking, then he slowly removed her hands from his collar.
Breathing heavily, he said, “I understand and I’m very sorry for your loss.”
He tried walking away, but grandma held onto his trousers, screaming, “Revive her.
Do you understand that I will have to take care of two children all by myself?
Do you know I’m an old woman and my daughter is supposed to take care of me?
How do you expect me to survive?”
The doctor tried his best to let loose from her grip without hurting her.
I pitied both him and grandma. She released him and stood still without saying a word.
Then she started breathing heavily, and the nurses rushed in to fan her.
“Ma, please don’t dīe too.
We cannot take care of two children alone,” the nurse that held me said as they fanned her while she was breathing heavily.
The doctor just walked away, shaking his head. Shortly after, she was better and the nurses left to attend to other patients.
Grandma sat on the floor crying and lamenting her fate.
“Anna, why did you decide to do this to your poor mother?
You know I have been living from hand to mouth, and yet you decide to put this huge responsibility on me.
I warned you about getting married to that man, but you refused.
Look at what he has done to you,” she cried bitterly, and I cried too, although no one heard me.
She cried to the point that she fell asleep on the floor.
I wished I was big enough, I would have covered her with clothes instead of allowing her to sleep on the cold floor.
The nurses came and gave my sister and me milk to drink while grandma was sleeping.
She woke up to see it and started another round of tears.
In the evening, the hospital was filled with different kinds of spirits that I could see with my eyes.
I saw my mom bidding her final goodbye to us.
I was sure my sister saw her too because she kept crying, although no one could hear her except someone who got closer and noticed the tears in her eyes.
Early the next morning, the nurse woke grandma with sad news.
She leaned on the hospital bed where we were kept and slept. The nurse woke her by hītting the bed.
When she got up, the nurse said, “Madam, the hospital bill hasn’t been paid, and your daughter was supposed to be discharged today.”
Grandma looked at her with tears in her eyes.
I wondered if the nurse didn’t pity the fact that we had lost someone and give her time to find the money.
Grandma dropped her head and lifted it up again, asking, “How much is the money, my daughter?”
The nurse stared directly into her soul and said, “Twenty thousand naira, ma.”
My grandma screamed in disbēlief, shutting her ears with her hands.
“Twenty thousand naira? Where do you want me to get that kind of money from?
I walked to this hospital to save money for my daughter so she could help pay the hospital bill.
I didn’t know everything would turn out this bad,” she exclaimed.
The nurse didn’t say any more words to grandma. Then she rūdely said, “You can’t be discharged until you pay the money, ma,” and left.
Grandma unwrapped some money she had in her wrapper and bowed her head again to lament.
When she was finally done, she called the nurse, who didn’t come until it was time to give us lunch.
At first, she acted like she didn’t see grandma, but then she said, “You’re still here, ma?
I thought by the time I came back, you would have found the money.
Is it that you don’t have a house or you enjoy staying in this hospital?
She yelled at grandma, which really shocked me.
I was lost in thought about the same person who pitied us on the day we lost our mother.
It was the same person who was rūde to grandma because she couldn’t afford the hospital bill.
Grandma didn’t say a word to her.
She finished and left. I didn’t see the other nurse who defended mom when dad was mean to her.
It seemed like she had something important to do because she didn’t visit our ward all day.
I wished she did because she would have understood and allowed grandma to look for the money instead of being rūde.
Grandma sat on the bed, unable to look us in the eyes.
She was lost in thought, and I wondered what she was thinking about.
I wished I could read her mind. She didn’t move, and her eyes didn’t too.
Then, the nurse bārged into the ward again and told grandma that she would need to leave the next day so that another person could use the hospital bed.
The nurse said they had many patients and we weren’t the only ones.
If grandma didn’t pay the hospital bill by then, they would keep us children there while she went to look for the money.
Grandma nodded in agreement and took a step towards the door.
Then, she said, “My daughter, let me go and look for where to borrow money.”
She didn’t reach the door before she fell, Screaming “Help me, help me” the nurse stood there, watching her.
My heart sānk as she slowly closed her eyes.
Thessycute Ekene
