ON THE RUN (EPISODE 26)

Never underestimate the power of a woman. And never underestimate the power of a curious woman. The things hidden in the darkest corners of ones knowledge could easily be brought to light by God, and perfectly searched out and displayed by an inquisitive woman. Salewa Fashakin was not the kind of woman who liked to take rash decision. But when it came to issues that pose a threat to her, she plunged into one.

After driving kilometers away from her home to the address on the blue fluffy paper, she missed her luck, as the person she planned to see just zoomed out of the compound the very minute she arrived. ‘Doctors are very busy people,’ Salewa failed to realize this when she knitted her brows and growled at the innocent nurses, who understood the ethics of their job, veiling their madness behind glowing grins.

“Ma, the doctor just left the hospital. You might have bumped into him on your way in. We ain't lying.” One of the nurses said. “Are you here for a checkup?”

It had be better if it was a checkup. Though they were all well experienced and could stand in the gap for their boss, still the solo situation bugging Salewa was way too high for the beaming nurses to handle.

“When is he coming back?” She took off her dark shades, as her pale blue handbag slipped down from her shoulder.

One of the nurses peeked at the ticking clock and another answered, “he left not quite long...we can’t certainly tell where he went or when he’d return.”

Salewa itched her head with the tip of her car-key, then took a glance at her wristwatch. “Can I wait for him?”

“That’s up to you ma. You can sit over there.”

Over where? Salewa turned around and saw all that didn't occur to her when she walked in. The long brown benches, far left of the reception room, were filled with sick people who sat in turn. Tottering under her many anxieties to take a seat, her sensible heels squeaking on the pristine tiles drew more attention to her. And then the piteous patients budged their loath behinds, creating a space for her to sit. Fair enough, she could managed the edge of the bench.

She noticed again that there hung no paintings on the wall nor any sign of vibrancy. Everything was a shade of pure white, the floor, the walls and the ceiling. This very minute a pungent, medicinal whiff rushed into her innocent nostrils. Now this was one of the reasons she hated visiting the hospital. She couldn't fathom where the smell oozed from. It was everywhere. She almost closed her nostrils, but then she wondered if she was the only one perceiving the odour, as the folks around her were all very comfortable, inhaling and exhaling it.

The clock ticked on and on and on, and the arrival of the doctor grew even bleak. How long more would she have to wait? Her anxious mind wondered as her eyes wandered. The programme airing on the TV, situated at a corner far above the reach of the tallest nurse, refreshed her already heavy eyes. And just as she enjoyed the tranquility of the once annoying environment, the aged man sitting beside her began his series of cough. This self-same moment, the baby behind the woman seated in front of her began his bouts of cry. Now Salewa, who shielded her nose and mouth from catching the bacteria the coughing man fired into the atmosphere, wished she could stuck her free hand into the mouth of the baby, as his noise pitched into her sensitive ears. She rolled a goggle eyes at the baby, hoping he’d be quiet, but to no avail. That only escalated the volume of the ignorant baby to a whole new level.

The woman stood to comfort her baby, loosened her wrapper and patted his buttocks gently with her palm. Then Salewa spotted this woman’s protruding tummy. She was definitely expecting another child. The baby stopped crying, but Salewa couldn't stop thinking. Would she ever be like this woman? Hope she wasn't just an uterus in heels? Would she ever carry Sanmi’s child in her womb? How on earth could he hide such a weighty and insistent information from her? No answer surfaced to these maddening questions. Her palms became damp and her brow furrowed. She hissed, clutched to her bag and soldiered on to meet the giggling nurses, seated behind the counter.

“I wonder your job here. Been over there watching you since like forever and all you do here was laugh and chat. Patients aren't attended to... That man, the one on red polo shirt, is busy infecting people with what doesn't have a name and all you do was to have him still seated amongst us. Sorry, among them. I doubt if you even care.”

“Excuse me ma...” One of the nurses tried calming her down.

Salewa wouldn't be easily interjected. “Hey! Please excuse me busty nurse I’m still talking. I wonder if that’s how you operate daily here.”

“Excuse me ma?”

Salewa rolled her angry eyes at the busty nurse and again, she held her peace. “I still can’t believe Sanmi had anything to do here.” She thought out loud. “Even the doctor doesn't seem reliable, he left these number of patients and went on a hike!”

Salewa threw a quick look at the astonished patients, who paid keen attention to all she was saying, then shuffled her gaze between the nurses, standing at different positions. Nobody said a word as the silence screamed out loud. She reached for her dark shades in her handbag and wore it. “Now imagine, this is too dark.” She yanked off the shades, peeked at the clock and walked out of the hospital. The day couldn't have been more disappointing for Salewa, as she drove home with her headlamps on, hooting at every slow driver that came ahead of her.

Even though the sun had long settled, the bag of money with Dede brought back sunshine into his life. His face radiated with joy as he sat on his bed with the loaded bag in between his legs. He peeked again at his door to ensure he had dropped the iron latch behind it. The heat that consumed the stuffy room could lit a cigarette. He hauled out his shirt, tossed it aside, then dug into the bag and brought out bales of naira notes.

He grinned.

Now his mother could live the life she never dreamed of; having her relocate to the city to set her up with the biggest cold-room in town, selling different species of fish, beef and turkey parts. And his twin may perhaps own a business, if schooling was of no interest to him anymore. Thoughts kept rushing into his greedy mind, but not too long was he jolted back to life when a knock hit his door. He paused for some seconds staring at the door, and the bang came again, even louder.

“Dede! I’m sure that was loud enough to bring you back from your dreamland.” Salewa said. “Bring my gown. Now!”

His heart stopped racing as he heard her heels fade away. It had be a good idea if he whizzed away, that very moment, with the money. But he didn't because of the fear of being stopped by the sentry at the exit of the barracks, the search every night was usually very thorough. So Dede went quickly to deliver the gown to her.

The ardent ire swirling within Salewa sent her deep sense of reasoning on vacation. She failed to notice the dress she wore wasn't hers, even while it was tight coming into it. It didn't matter to her then nor now that she wiggled out to Captain Dogo’s wife’s get-together. The only place a angry woman wouldn't refuse going is the shopping mall. With Salewa, it was a well organized party.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked every person that approached her in the party.

“Nothing, I’m very fine.” She had repeated over and over again.

The only way to seal their lips from further questions was to join in the merriment. After several cups of Hennessy, she finally convinced everyone she was very fine. The party continued till eleven, but Salewa left the venue some minutes past ten. She teetered down the quiet street, her eyes giddy and were dragging to a close. Oh! The consequence of pleasing others at the detriment of oneself always have a longer repercussion than one could ever imagine.