Present Day
Aholah's POV
"Wura, are you okay?" It was my mum's voice.
I felt heavy, my eyelids, everything on my body. It was like I had been on that bed forever. What day is it now?
"We are leaving today. The school has just sent your expulsion letter." I could feel the sadness in her voice. She seemed to have accepted the whole situation for what it was. She was calm like she had no other choice than to be... just calm. I just nodded.
"Your father has booked our flight. We are transferring you to a hospital in China..."
Did I hear about China? What a shame! The first time I will be leaving the borders of Nigeria would be as a vegetable. I remember my dad's promise to me when I resumed Convent Faith University. He had said if I could finish with a first class in microbiology, he would send me abroad for my master's. Now, at the same time, I should be flying abroad for my master's. I'm expelled from school with a 1.5 GPA, a damaged womb, and an issue of blood. What a life I lived...
"We are leaving tomorrow morning. The doctors say we must get to the hospital as soon as possible." Then she went mute, sucking on her tears and examining me.
"Your sister..."My heart jumped."She said she wants to see you before you leave. "
"Mummy..." I groaned.
"What is it?"
"How is she doing?"
"She's now better. She's been clean for about a year now and almost finished with her fashion school."
I was shocked. The last time I heard of my sister, She was enrolled in a Rehabilitation center for taking drugs and expelled from school. That was four years ago. Since then my parents never talked about her to me since I was always at school and on holidays they were always busy with work. So Aholibah is finally making something out of her life. Oh my God, I have failed.
"Mummy..." I tried again."Am I going to die?"
"No, not under my watch. Not under God's watch. I have prayed for you and I know my God is a god of mercy. He will have mercy on you and you will find favour in the sight of the Chinese doctors. God will use their hands to heal you. He will give you a second chance my dear."
I suddenly felt loved. If someone had told me my mum would talk to me in this manner after all I had done, I'd have told the person to stop the wild joke.
"Before we get to China, let's settle this thing about your past. I'm glad you're telling me. It will help me to know where to channel my prayers."
"Mummy, I'm sorry..."
"Just go on with your story."
"Is Micheal still in this school?"
"No, he left. That was when we broke up. He got an invitation to join an international team and so he dropped out."
"Hm..." She shook her head. "Let me guess that was when this Martins came into the picture."I nodded.
"Your Chaplain said Martins was also a leader in the Chapel."
"Hm. Prayer unit."
"What?"
It was the loudest she had spoken since we started talking and I saw her try to caution herself immediately.
"So you two were working in the Chapel, mounting the pulpit and doing God's work while doing all sorts in secret and no one ever knew about it."
"No mummy, my very close friend later knew. But we were all in the same shoes. Since they were also guilty of the same thing, they can't snitch."
She was quiet.
"Mummy, I'm sorry."
"The boy was expelled too. I wonder how much trust his parents would have had in him."
Guilt robbed me of my breath. I made Martins who he is today. He was just an innocent prayer unit leader when he met me. We became friends and I seduced him. One thing I have noticed about myself is that any guy who gets intimate with me once becomes an addict. I knew I was carrying something poisonous but there was no way I could get help because I was living a double life. The good part was that no one could easily suspect my faked identity.
"Is this even a spiritual school? If there is anyone with open eyes here, shouldn't they have seen it before it got to this point?"
"I'm sorry."
"Wura, it's not about being sorry. You need to see yourself now. See how you look. You are fading away. You need God Wura because it is only HIs intervention that can save you. Oh, how I wish you guys had been exposed earlier before it got to this."
She stood up shaking her head and left. "Let me go and bring the car."
***
Deborah's POV
"Miss Deborah, you are needed in ward B." One of the clinic's cleaners announced it to me. I rushed to ward B immediately. A young girl was being resuscitated by the doctor from an attack.
"She needs to use more oxygen masks. Please get some for us from a nearby general hospital as quickly as possible. This is the last one we have. Be quick Nurse..."
I was out of the clinic before he completed his statement. The image of the girl struggling for breath has pushed something bigger in me. I was walking like a soldier. I took a bike as soon as I was out of the school gate and I was back in less than twenty minutes. But when I got back to the clinic. I met with the good news that her breathing had gone back to normal. I immediately went to ward B to see for myself. Oh my god is this how it is to be a nurse? I was shaken.
"You're awake." I loved this girl immediately, the way she rolled her eyes on seeing me. Though not in the most friendly way, she's the first student I'll be meeting since it's my second day at the clinic. She wasn't smiling and somehow I wished I had magical powers to know the thoughts she had in her head at that moment.
"You are Esther Obi right?"She nodded blankly.
"Okay… Ehm… The doctor says you'll be allowed to go when you've gotten enough rest."She had that look that made me want to run away. It was like she was saying "What do you want? Get out of here" with her eyes.She was quiet so I turned to leave. Then her soft voice came.
"Do you know which ward Aholah is in?"
Did she just say Aholah?Who bears that kind of name?