PART 23
“NWALA: THE BITTERSWEET STORY”
©️ Opeyemi Akintunde.
As Inspired by the LIVING WORD.
” He is dead!”
” He can’t be dead!”
I sat in one of the school cabs asking myself if truly Reuben was dead.
I was communicating with the good Samaritan who had finally taken him to a nearby clinic.
He gave me the good news that my Reuben was not dead “Yet”. He said the doctor had put him on oxygen.
I got to the hospital with my heart in my mouth. Thankfully it was a standard hospital. At first the hospital had refused receiving him when the good Samaritan brought him, but I had spoken to the doctor, Identifying Reuben as Bishop Acme’s son. I believe that made them put so much effort in resuscitating him…
I was taken to the ICU where he laid. Oh! The bruises were so much, he had bruises to the head, hand and leg.
“Please, how was the accident like?” I asked the good Samaritan
“Everybody dey talk say na Brake failure”
“Brake failure?’ I knew a few things about cars and Reuben’s car been a recent model was not one of those cars that would develop a brake failure. I kept this in my heart.
Two hours later, my parents and Reuben’s parents got in. To Reuben’s parents at that time I didn’t exist especially his mother. She was torn into pieces. I had never seen our mummy G.O. that distraught looking in all my years I had known her. I saw a mother’s love…
“You can return to school, I am here with him” Reuben’s Mum said the next morning.
Reuben still had not woken up. Bishop had returned to home, and because of hospital policy of not having more than 2 people with the patient, my parents booked a hotel room close to the hospital.
“No mummy, I won’t leave until Reuben wakes up”
“I hope your old boyfriend has nothing to do with this, because if he does, I will ask the Angels of God to crush him for me”
“No ma… I don’t think so”
She kept mute after that…
My phone rang and on checking the caller ID, it was June my roommate… She had been calling since the previous day. It was high time I answered her call, as my battery was almost flat. If my line went off without speaking to her, I knew June will lose it.
“Hello June”
“Oh thank you Jesus… How is Pastor Reuben?” she asked straight up
“How did you know?” I said excusing myself from the room.
“News fly quick… but guess what a student said he saw someone working on Pastor Reuben’s car last night around 1:00am when he was returning from night class after he slept off”
“Really?”
“Yes, so people are suspecting someone caused the accident”
“Hmm… thank you for the update, you know men of God have a lot of enemies”
“Yes you can say that again, we hear he is still in coma. We pray he wakes up soon…”
I went into the hospital garden as I needed to have a discreet conversation with Daniel.
“Hello… Finally, she calls” Dee said
“Tell me you didn’t do this” I asked
“Well, let’s say my disadvantaged life has some advantages to it. I mean, I may not have the money he has, nor the fame, or inherited popularity, but I sure did inherit the knowledge about cars”
“Daniel, you are a cow, a goat, a stupid wickedly wicked human being. If no one has ever told you, I will tell you the truth of who you are, you are a psychopath. Listen well and listen good, for the sake of the stupid love I once had for you, RUN… RUN… Disappear, because if anything happens to Reuben, I mean if he doesn’t wake up, I won’t be the only one coming for you, everyone will come for you…
“Nwala! So it has gotten to this, I thought killing him will be an answer to your prayer, I thought if he wasn’t alive, your parents will let us be” I couldn’t under the stupid rationale, at that point I was grateful, I had left him.
‘Daniel, like my mother said, you a broken boy who will cause me pain… Good bye!”
“No… its not goodbye, it is later, because if I can’t have you, no one will…”
I ended the call before he had the luxury of saying more nonsense into my ears…
To be Continued…
