BELINA (TENDER BEAUTY) EPISODE 6

© Nissi Adeola

Tony walked around the hospital checking on patients. After he left Richard, he had gone to the hospital cos he was doing night today. Thanks to the little sleep he had gotten during the day, he wasn’t feeling dizzy.

As he was going round, he saw someone that looked like Richard but dismissed it. When he passed by Richard’s office and met the light on, he knew he must be in there. He opened the door without knocking and saw Richard sitting on his chair going through some books.

“What are you doing here?” Tony asked clearly surprised. “Exactly what you are doing here”, Richard replied and said, “I need to check on the patient in ward C. I was just coming from there and would be going there in the next one hour to ensure that he is still stable”.

Tony stared at Richard for some minutes, sighed and sat down. “You are putting yourself into too much stress Rich, why are you doing this to yourself?” he asked. “I am not doing anything Tony”, Richard replied.

Tony stood up and walked up to Richard; “you need to stop blaming yourself for what happened to Tonia. Look at yourself, you look drawn and stressed out. You need to sleep” he said sympathetically.

Richard hated sympathy so he flared up, “I don’t need to sleep.i actually need to remain awake because closing my eyes would only compound my problem, and please, stop fussing around me, I am not a kid. I can take care of myself”. Tony sighed and made to leave. “Tony” Richard called. Tony looked back at Richard. “I am sorry, I am just tensed up” he said. Tony nodded and just as he made to leave again, his phone rang and he looked at the caller.

“Prisca?” he said looking surprised. He looked at the wall clock and noticed that it was almost 12am. He sat down back and picked the phone. “Sweetheart?” he called “Tony, I am sorry to disturb you” Prisca said. He sensed something odd in her voice and asked, “Are you ok?”

Prisca explained everything including the fact that Belina would be forced out of the country by dawn if they did not do something about it. Tony listened attentively and when she was through, he said, “Can you sneak out of the house without being seen?” She replied in affirmative and he said, “ok, I would be there in fifteen minutes max. I would call you when I get to your street. Please honey stay inside your compound and not outside, I would pick you up and we would go to her house. We would discuss how we are going to get her out on the way”.

“Thanks darling, I am sorry for the inconvenience”, Prisca replied greatly relieved.

Tony dropped the call and Richard started his own round of questioning. Tony explained everything to him and Richard insisted on following him. After convincing him that his would be more useful in the hospital, he set out.

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As I ran out of the house, I noticed that the place was an uncompleted building. I looked around and the only thing that I saw was bushes. I saw a small footpath and started following walking very fast. I had always been extremely afraid of the dark and within seconds, I started contemplating going back. The leaves caught in my hair and my feet hurt because of the several stones I had dashed my bare feet on. I was totally afraid, I heard different types of sounds but the most frustrating this was that I had no idea where I was. I thought of the possibility that there might be snakes and other dangerous animals in the bush and fear gripped my heart.

I looked around again and saw the bushes and my heart beat skyrocketed several degrees and I soon found myself running. I heard footsteps like I was being pursued but later discovered that I was only imagining it. I didn’t even think about stopping and even the moon seemed to darken. Just when I thought the footpath led to the end of the world, I saw a road ahead of me. I sighed aloud and ran faster until I got there. I stood there trying to see if I had ever been there in order to find a way out but I came up with nothing.

The road was desolate and I started wondering if any vehicle had ever passed it. I started walking upwards but my feet hurt so much that I feared they would be bleeding and that made my movements slow. I remembered that I was with my bag and I opened it hoping to God that my phone was still there. I zipped it and lo, it was there. I switched it on and noticed that the time was past twelve and immediately, a message entered. When I opened it, I noticed that it was from Prisca. She was asking me why my phone was switched off. I was suddenly grateful that I had a best friend like Prisca. I was about to call her when I remembered that I had no idea what area I was. I intensified my efforts and I got to a T junction. Thanks to the efficient work of Fashola, I saw the street name which read, ‘Boruwa lane’. I instantly dialed her number and all I heard was, “the number you have dialed is switched off, please try again later, thank you”. I almost broke the phone on the floor as tears of anger and sadness flowed down my eyes.

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Kelvin got home really late from the concert and he had a splitting headache. The headache started immediately he set his eyes on Belina and it accelerated when she was called to the altar to sing. He hadn’t seen her for close to two years now and he had wished that he would not but fate always had its way.

He entered his house and collapsed on the bed. He lived in a one bedroom apartment, although a big one. He was a bachelor so his room was not so decorated. His eyes were swimming with tears but he held it back.

His mind went back to the time he met Belina and even though he was not happy, a smile formed on his face. She had been sitting down on the field in UNILAG reading a book when all of a sudden, a guy walked up to her. He had been watching her for more than ten minutes when that big headed goat approached her. From her facial expression, he knew that she didn’t appreciate his visit and instantly headed toward her. He got there and wanted to beat the life out of that guy but kept his calm. The expression on her face when she had looked at him that day made him really feel handsome. People had told him he was good looking but he hadn’t believed it until Belina looked at him.

He stood up from the chair and moved to the fridge to pick out a bottle of cold beer. He had been friends with Belina for more than a year and after that, he had asked her out and after a little persuasion, she had accepted and then, just a week after her mother’s death, precisely six months into the relationship, he had blown them apart with his stupidity. He started drinking immediately he left her because he became very unhappy and miserable. It was then he realized that she was his source of happiness.

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Richard was worried about Tony and Prisca being outside so late but there was nothing he could do about it thought he knew that Tony could take care of himself and his baby girl. He headed towards Ward C even though it wasn’t 1am yet, not even 12:30 but he went there all the same. As he passed, he received greetings from some nurses and he smiled at them as he responded. He noticed those that were bent on flirting with him till he notices them but paid them no heed.

He entered Deji’s room and just stood there, staring at him. After some minutes, he went over to check on him. He cross-checked his heart beat, the drip bag, the temperature and other things looking for any anomaly but found none. He headed back to him office but stopped at the door when he heard some sounds. He rushed back to Deji’s bed as he noticed that he was moving restlessly. Richard prayed in his heart and tried to calm him down and just like a miracle; Deji calmed down and opened his eyes.

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Sparrow woke up to a full bladder and he stood up, went outside and released the urine. He came back inside and just as he was about lying down, he noticed something was missing. He looked round the small room and just when he felt everything was intact, he looked at the place the girl was lying, saw nothing and his eyes widened. He stood up and went to inspect the place very well to be sure that his eyes were not playing tricks but found no one. He went to spanner who was still snoring soundly and kicked him so hard that he woke up in an instant.

“Wetin be your problem now?” spanner asked “Where is the girl?” “Which girl?” spanner asked Sparrow hissed, “Which kind foolish question be dat? Wey the girl wey we bring come here?” he asked louder. Spanner looked round and exclaimed, “Chai, our own don finish. I no no where she dey o”. Without saying anything, they both set out to look for Belina.

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As tony and Prisca made for Belina’s place, they noticed that the road was empty and so they made were not scared of encountering any traffic. Prisca was worried that something was wrong so tony held her hand using one hand to control the steering. “Don’t worry honey; I am sure she is ok. Uhhh, why don’t you call her, she might have switched on the phone”, tony said. Prisca nodded and took her phone only to find it off. “oh, the battery is flat, give me yours” she said. Tony gave her his phone and she dialed Belina’s number which she knew off head and it rang. She almost danced for joy when it rang and she heard, “hello…”

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Mr Badmus was trying hard to find sleep but he could not. He was just too happy to sleep. He stood up again to check if he had packed all he needed for the journey and discovered that he had packed everything.

He had resigned from his job as a cashier during the day even though he had been on leave and was not due to return until the following week. He went back to bed and sighed happily. His plan had worked and he just could not contain his happiness. He thought about Belina and smiled devilishly. That stubborn bastard thought that she would not be useful for anything, well I have proved to her that I always have my way whenever I want to; he thought.

He rolled on the bed and started thinking about life in London. It had been a while he travelled out and he wanted to ensure that he did not come back an average man. ‘I would be stinkingly rich again’, he said audibly and after sometime, he was finally able to sleep and he dreamt of his life in London.