Xclusive-Stories

            CHAPTER TWELVE            CODE OF SILENCE I returned to my room after spending half of my day with Kunle. I couldn't say how many days he would spend in the psychiatric home because his recovery was really slow. He seemed to have been too attached to Tracy, his puppy that he couldn't get over her death. What surprised me was the fact that Kunle wasn't mourning for the death of his Mother but for that of Tracy.  Poor woman, she died of Breast Cancer. He met his father for the first time in his life, thanks to his mother's death.  Otunba Dibu Ayinla, one of the top politicians in the country came to meet him and introduced himself as his father after the interment of the dead one Otunba insisted that he accompany him for his trip to Abuja. He said "that was meant to bridge the gap of the long term separation as well as to build Father to Son's relationship". However, he persuaded Kunle lea...

                  CHAPTER ELEVEN                Away from the world The evening of that day, I went to see Kunle in his ward. I couldn't wait to finish my shift. I had Kunle in mind, almost all through. "What could be his story? How come he is back in Nigeria? When did he come back?" I was perturbed by these questions in my mind, as I walked along the corridor leading to his ward.  At about opening the door, my mind .flashed back to the medical history I had read about him. I was hoping to see a trait of that kind in him.  I was however wrong. He looked cool and calm. In fact, he looked just fine with his full black beards covering his oval shaped head's chin. One could hardly say, he is sick if seen outside, without the patient's uniform. I had barely entered the ward, when I heard him call out out my name. "Aliyah". " May I come in?" My brows raised, as I asked while still standing close to ...

                                     CHAPTER TEN                     VIP WARD It is the first time I will be travelling in the same bus as my colleagues. At first, I thought I wouldn't be comfortable being with them. But honestly, I was completely wrong.  Here are my mates, chatting, blabbering and laughing together.  "How can a doctor be this talkative?" I said in my mind, as i turned my face side way to look at the girl sitting next to me at the second to the last row of the coastal bus.  "My name is Tinuade". She turned towards my side to start conversion with me. " I am",  "Aliyah, I know your name. As a matter of fact, I know your surname. Aliyah Serah Akinlabi". She interrupted me. But I was glad that I don't have to stress over the introduction. She blabbed all the way, jumping from one t...

                                        CHAPTER NINE                   About Stephanie   When our last clinical posting as an undergraduate was announced. I was so bothered. I didn't know how to break the news to Stephanie, my room mate. Coupled with the fact that I have not been able to get the dream I had few days ago off my mind. Why are there so many lifeless bodies? Aside Mom, whom I know is really dead, why is Father's body also lifeless, he is still alive. We were to spend four weeks at the Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Wasinmi, Ekiti. "How will Stephanie cope without me during these weeks" I mumbled  to myself, as I turn my back against the notice board to look for an empty seat. I found one close to the Post Natal ward. I was still in my scrub, although done with the day's shift. I just wanted to relax a little, before...

                CHAPTER EIGHT               The guy next to me "What course do you want to study?" The man asked "  Medicine and Surgery" I replied. He then proceeded to getting the details of my other choices. While this was going on, Father dipped his hand into the front pocket of his white stripped shirt, brought out his phone to press, as he was no longer interested in the rest of the registration information. My JAMB examination centre was in a high school located at the outskirt of the town, very far away from where I stay with my parent. Unlike today's method of conducting exams, where everything has been computerized, it was a Paper Based Test. Our seat number is written at the left hand side of the print out. It is written immediately after the personal information. My sit number was 2056. The exam was set to start by 9am but I arrived at the centre around 7am. Just to get myself settled...

        CHAPTER SEVEN         Monitoring Spirit 'Silent cry'. That's the title of my autobiography. It is the record of all my experiences, all my wishes and my intents. The poor millions of ink are buried in the cemetery of my diary, which I guard immensely . No one knows about it and no one must know. And that's because of what it entails.  Here is an example:     " Johnson Akinlabi , you received your death penalty the day you took advantage of my innocence and made me a wimp. You are accursed for the countless times you bulldozed my dignity and beauty and turned me into a desert.       Over and over again, i had stabbed you in my heart. You are just a living ghost in garment. I swear!  Your pyre will burn for eternity..." I have had my days numbered in my parent's house as my JAMB examination approaches. I was so eager to get to University. Of course, my desire was not only to be an undergraduate...

                  CHAPTER SIX                 Mother's Duty "Yes, don't worry Madam, I won't disappoint you, I will meet you by 6:30am, yes, in the saloon of course, you will get to your interview location on time. You should just ensure that you get to the saloon on time. Alright, do have a goodnight rest, bye". Mother said this to her customer on phone, the eve of the day it all started. The following day, just like mother had promised, she left the house, very early in the morning but prior to the time she left, she had an argument with Father. I had no idea of what the argument was all about. And then she came to my room, she  instructed me to prepare food for everyone, and then she left. I made yam and egg that morning, Paul and Prisca were still sleeping, I didn't wake them up, since it was holiday. I took Father's food to him in his room and then I greeted him, he was sitting on his bed...

                     Chapter Five                     The Last Joy Step Father was very amazed and  couldn't believe what he witnessed during the service. He thought about it so well, and couldn't understand, why a man could just decide to make men like him suffer? why a man could decide to make those who work for him go starving? One million is more than enough to do the settling. Step father told his colleagues about their employer's action the following day, and they all agreed to boycott work as well as confront Honorable, making step father the spokesman. " Honorable sir, we are very much aware that, this company belongs to you and that, you decide how it runs. But how can it be run smoothly, if the people working for you are not happy? How can we discharge our duty properly, if we are hungry and weak. For the past twelve months Sir, you have not given us a dine on o...

                   CHAPTER FOUR                        Honorable Collins "Mother, till the moment i was taken  away by the mid wives, I still held on to our plan. I thought it would just be for few minutes and that I will only have to act as instructed and everything would be over. Little do I know that there is more to what I had imagined and classified simple. I had a change of mind during the labour, when the agony, the pain and the river of tears could not be avoided. The mid wives kept encouraging me, they kept keeping my hopes high about the great joy I am about to receive. Their words in relation to my pang brought the anticipation of this little thing you are holding. Therefore Mother, please, let me keep this child for she is a present to me". " Those were the words of my daughter on that fateful night. You would wonder, if I also wanted to have the baby dead,...

                                        CHAPTER THREE                      Precious Pain "People who heard about the incident told me not to take the matter up, especially involving the police, for my daughter's sake, she might be tagged and her image might be tarnished. She was still menstruating even three months after the incident, and so I was not so worried about the possibility of pregnancy. Little do I know she was pregnant. Her tommy was looking flat. The first symptom she exhibited came after she was four months gone, when her period was missing. The fear of loosing another child gripped me, when the thought of terminating her pregnancy ran through my mind,  My daughter had a very good body, she never fell ill, vomited nor felt anyhow during all these periods. Her tommy began to swell after her pregnancy had ...

                                  CHAPTER TWO                       Too Late My poor uncles, Hammed and late Mohammed suffered greatly, all because of ignorance. Unknowing to my grandmother, the twin were having sickle cell disease, a group of blood disorder caused by an inherited haemoglobin, and so, they fall ill often as a result of its crisis. Thanks to Doctor Charles who discovered and confirmed the nature of their illness. However, the discovery was a bit late. We lost Mohammed. Dr Charles who hailed from the eastern region of Nigeria was the only youth corp member posted to Ilarin Community Clinic and Maternity Centre, a community very close to Badejoko town. The clinic was filled with community health workers and midwives volunteers who barely come to work. Grandmother relocated to Ilarin, after she left her husband's house...

               CHAPTER ONE                    The dream In the middle of an empty road, with birds twinkling, and crows crowing,  and the sound of gong sounding from afar. I walked through the sideway wondering what has happened to everybody. It felt like I was the only one on earth, and that I crave for companionship. I kept walking with my face downward. I was frightened to death when I saw that rat ran past me. I stopped with fear to look around. I was taken aback at the sight of what I saw.  Hundreds and thousands of lifeless bodies. I looked at their faces one after the other. They were faces I don't know, nor could recognize. But the last set of people I saw made me scream aloud "mum and dad". Stephanie standing before the mirror looked back to be sure I was alright. "Babe,whats wrong with you? Is everything OK? You have been sleeping for the past three hours". I...