Regret – Emeka Edozie
I was about to catch some sleep when I heard a bang on the door. I tried to ignore it but the person kept knocking…
“Doctor, doctor! We need your helpppp. A patient was rushed into the hospital now and he’s in a terriblé condition”, my trainee nurse said in a shaky voice.
“Alice, please get out from that door. I am having serious migraine because of the number of patients I’ve attended to today”, I shouted at her.
I heard her footsteps as she left my door.
I rested my head on my desk to catch some sleep again. It hasn’t been easy working with the trainee nurses in my hospital.
Three of them were employed so as to teach them about nursing. I needed them to help out with some things in the hospital since my other nurse was on Leave.
My head was spinning due to stress and I couldn’t afford to attend to anyone no matter the condition.
Immediately I brought out my flask to eat the food my wife prepared for me, I heard a bang on the door although it was more intense this time around.
I could hear the person panting outside my door.
“Doc..Doctor. please, kindly come and assist us. He is in a critical condition and we might loose him if care is not taken”, she stammered.
” Alice, don’t let me get mæd at you. Allow me to eat this food my wife prepared for me in peace. When I’m done, I will come over”
” Sir….Docccctor, please help us so that this boy won’t diéé”
” Alice, do you want me to sack you? It is like you’re tired of your job, right?”
” I am sorry, Sir”, she said before she rushed out.
I sat down and devoured the spicy fried rice with chicken that Ifeoma ,my wife made for me that morning.
I remember how she packaged the food while I was preparing for work and handed it over to me.
“Honey, make sure you eat at work. Don’t stress yourself for me ooo”, she said while giving me a peck on my cheek.
I was smiling sheepishly like a child who was given a plate of ice cream when a call came into my phone.
It was my wife.
I quickly tapped the answer button.
“Sweetie, I just finished enjoying the meal you cooked for….”
“Babe, our child…..Chima! “
” Sweetie, calm down and tell me what the problem is. What happened?”, I asked her.
” Someone just called me now and informed me that Chima had been knocked dœwn by a vehicle and he has been rushed to the hospital”
” Which hospital sweetie..tell me the hospital”, I shouted.
” The person didn’t tell me oooo. I tried to ask him but he ended the call and I couldn’t reach him again”, my wife retorted.
” What! Chima, my son”
With the speed of light, I stood up from my chair without even arranging my office and rushed outside.
As I rushed outside, I saw the nurses sobbing with an elderly man in his late forties trying to comfort them.
The elderly man was carrying a boy who was lying motionless on his body.
I would have left them but the lifeless boy that the man was carrying wore a school uniform that looked like that of my son’s school uniform.
Immediately I approached to take a closer look at the boy he was carrying, I discovered that the boy was Chima,my only son.
“Nurse Alice, what happened to him”?
“Sir, I tried to make you come down and treat the boy but you refused. He dié.d ten minutes ago”, she said with pains in her voice.
“Chima , Chima..,wake up. Daddy is here”, I shook him repeatedly but he didn’t move.
I grabbed Chima from him, rushed into the theatre so as to revive him but he was gone.
“Oh!! Chima, my only son”, I shouted as hot streams of tears left my eyes.
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