End of The Road Episode 6 by Sonia Okehie

End of The Road Episode 6 by Sonia Okehie

Words would never be enough to describe the heartache, emotional trauma and the pain a person goes through when they lose a loved one; the worst of it all is if you were present the very moment your loved one was snatched by the cold hands of death. It’s impossible to fully express with words how heartbreaking it is to watch someone you love, fade away from your sight. Anita almost dropped dead when she realized that Marvin wasn’t responding to any attempt she made to get him to move or blink an eye. Her body was instantly covered with goose bumps and her heart skipped several beats.

“Marvin!” Anita screamed but he didn’t respond, neither did he move. “Oh God! This is not happening, Marvin please get up! please get up, I beg you” she pleaded with tears flowing uncontrollably from her eyes. Anita’s loud voice woke Marvin’s mum and brother up, and they confusingly rushed to where she stood to know what was going on. “What is going on” Marvin’s brother asked in fear, “I don’t know! I went to pee and returned, just to find him like this. I have been trying to get him to move but all to no avail” Anita replied sobbing.

Immediately Anita was done explaining, Marvin’s brother rushed out of the room to call the doctors. While he was away, Anita kept shaking and calling Marvin but he still didn’t respond nor blink his eyes. The doctors arrived shortly and examined Marvin to know what was happening. They checked his blood pulse and heartbeat, only to discover that he was lifeless.

As the doctors carried out the examination, Marvin’s mum held Anita because she noticed that Marvin might have given up the battle. They cried as they all awaited the doctor’s report. After about 2 minutes, one of the doctors looked at Marvin’s mum, shook her head and said “I’m so sorry ma’am, Marvin is gone”.

Those words that left the doctor’s lips, hit Anita as though a huge trailer had knocked her off. She laughed hysterically for a while and immediately burst into tears afterwards. “No way! He is not dead, please just wake him up, do it now please” Anita said with tears falling off her eyes. Marvin’s brother held her but she knocked his hands off and refused to be consoled, “I said wake him up, you people should just wake him up please. Marvin wake up! baby please wake up, please!” Anita added as she stamped her feet on the floor.

Seeing Anita fall apart broke the heart of the two doctors that were present. They wished there was something they could have done to save Marvin, but it’s sad that there was none. “He is in a better place now, I’m sorry once again” One of the doctor’s said, “You are wrong! There’s no better place he would rather be than with me, please just wake him up” Anita said, still crying. The doctors had to leave the grieving family because they had other patients to administer treatment to. Anita was still in disbelief and didn’t want to accept the reality on ground.

Marvin’s mum and brother were heartbroken and cried too, but not compared to that of Anita. I guess they saw it coming and had already accepted their fate, unlike Anita who refused to accept the truth all along. Everyone that was present tried to console her but it wasn’t working at all.

Shortly after, some hospital staffs came to cover Marvin’s corpse with a cloth. “What are you doing?” Anita screamed, “Don’t you dare lay a finger on him” she warned and hurriedly went to lie down with Marvin on the bed. She held his cold body and laid her head on his chest, “Baby you promised to stay with me, you promised to never let go of my hands and you promised to keep fighting and never give up. They want to take you away from me so please wake up, please, please I beg you!” she said as she rested her head on Marvin’s cold chest.

That sight was heartbreaking indeed and Marvin’s brother didn’t know when he burst into uncontrollable tears. They were initially trying to be strong but Anita’s action melted their hearts. “My daughter please get up; you are breaking my heart the more” Marvin’s mum said with tears dropping off her eyes. “Mummy please just tell Marvin to get up, maybe he’ll listen to you. I’m going crazy and might join him because I don’t have any reason to carry on with life anymore. I’m suffering too, my heart is bleeding, my feelings are hurt, my body is cold and my mind is messed up. Marvin is the love of my life and I don’t want to do without him, so please, just tell him to wake up” Anita said as she cried bitterly.

It was sad that Marvin still had to be carried away, despite Anita’s effort to stop them. As they covered his body, Anita cried bitterly and stamped her feet hardly on the floor. She was devastated and broken beyond words can say. Although they had come to the end of the road, Anita still didn’t want to let go; she was still in denial.

Marvin’s dad called and the unfortunate news was passed across to him. It was a sad and terrible moment for everyone and they wished it was all a bad dream. Anita still held Marvin’s cold fingers, since his body had been covered with cloth. She began to sing a song Marvin used to sing to her back in their NYSC days. Tears dropped from her eyes as she quietly sang the song.

After a little while, the hospital staffs retuned with a carrier to carry Marvin’s body away. “Are you people truly carrying him away?” she asked in exhaustion and they sadly nodded their heads. Anita kissed Marvin’s hand for the last time before finally letting go of it. Marvin’s mum held her tightly as they gently carried Marvin away.

Everything still felt unreal to Anita, she was still finding it hard to believe that Marvin was truly gone. “Oh no! My heart hurts mum, it’s so painful and I can’t bear it” Anita said as they took Marvin away. She stood at the door and watched them take each step farther away from her.

Immediately they carried Marvin completely out of Anita’s sight, she collapsed!

End of episode 6 ?
Stay tuned tomorrow to see what happened next.

Written by Sonia Okehie

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