Hacked Chapter 11- Away from the world

                 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 the door. "Come in! You are welcomed" he replied. 

Smiling at him, I reached out for the plastic chair placed beside his bed, to sit on.

"Its been such a long time", I said, initiating the conversation. Although, it is unlike me to start a conversation, I just couldn't help my curiosities. "How have you been Kunle ? What brought you here?" I asked feigning to be ignorant of his condition. "I heard you went to America, when did you come back?"

'That's a whole lots of question. you know" He paused and continued. "I feel sorry for myself, buddy. I had lived an invincible lifestyle, that I don't even know how to come out of it". "Invincible? How do you mean by that ?" I questioned him, willing to hear more. He didn't hesitate to pour out everything. It was as if he had been longing to tell someone his story.

"Mum gave birth to three of us, all from different fathers. She is someone you can refer to as 'baby mama' ".

Right in front of me, I watched my two siblings taken away, by their so called Fathers one by one.. They were separated from my mother and I at a very tender age".

He sat up straight, trying to adjust his sitting position, as if doing that will help him give an accurate account of his history.

"I never knew my father, not until last year when he came for my mum's burial. Of course, he came for me". He chuckled. 

I was ashamed of my mother, even though I loved her. She lived her life to the fullest however, recklessly. She never looses a chance of getting into any rich man's bed. Some, whom she later turns to ATM, after using the photographs of their affairs together in hotel rooms to blackmail them. Some, she tamed with pregnancies and babies. Yes, that was what she did for a living.  Everybody in the neighborhood knows her, and often use this to tease me. They call me 'Ashawo pikin' ". 

"I tried so well not to allow it get to me. I kept myself away from friends, to avoid them coming around my house. Little do I know, that I was drifting away slowly from the world. Hmm!" He sighed and continued.

"America made it worse. Everyone minds their business. Everyone cares less about relationship, about friendship! And there I knew. i knew the value of what i had lost". 

"In my tenth month in Florida international University. I adopted Tracy. You know, then" He smiled "she was a puppy, very cute and adorable". He exclaimed while smiling and looking at the space. 

" The old granny cleaner from Dominica gave her to me. I accepted her, and took care of her, as part of me, since that used to be the culture of the whites"

"Tracy was my only companion all along. She was always with me. She satisfied me, even to my sexual need. What other friends do I need? I was fine with just Tracy around". 

"Even when I decided to come down for my Mum's burial, I couldn't leave her. So I came down with her to Nigeria. However, that decision ruined everything".