Lineage

Bankole Ajayi Part 2

It was the first day back to school after the holidays; the pupils were excited to be back and all looking fresher even Mrs Coker although she was still wary of Lydia. Bankole saw Tinuke walked up to her.

"Sorry about your ill health and I am glad that you are doing better," seeing that her scars were fading.

She whispered, "Thank you."

Tinuke ran to Lydia as soon as she called. Bankole could see that Lydia still had a hold on her crew, and the 'Others' like him simply avoided them. But that night he had a dream, Tinuke was in his room. She sat on his bed and was talking to him but he could not move nor make out what she was saying and then she disappeared.

It was Friday morning and Bankole was running late to school and he forgot to take his lunch in the kitchen. He did not want to get punished with the latecomers, so no going back. He had a dream, a very strange dream, all he could remember was Tinuke in it. By break time he was famished. He also had eaten no breakfast and with no money, on him, he couldn't buy anything from the Tuck-shop. He didn't join the 'Others' to play today too for the fear of feeling more hungry. Lydia walks up to him like she knew he was hungry, or maybe it's because he yawned a lot in class. She opened a food flask and the pleasant smell of bean cakes filled his nostrils. Bankole's mouth watered and his tummy rumbled so loudly he thought everyone could hear it. Then he remembered Mama's warning about not eating outside, but he was hungry and it would be another three hours before the end of school. Bankole reasoned that Lydia was, after all, a classmate, and it was nice of her to offer. He never expected that from her. He took one, but she urged him to take a second one. They tasted as good as they smelt. He thanked her and she smile, "see you soon kiddo".

That evening Bankole did not feel good, was having a tummy ache. He got home, ate his lunch, skipped dinner and did his homework. Later that night, the tummy ache got worse. He cried out to his mother he was already having a high fever his mother rushed him to the hospital. There were many people at the emergency unit, so it took a while before a doctor finally attended to him. The nurse took some blood samples and medication administered to bring down his fever as well. They gave his mother a cold towel to mop up his body to further bring down this temperature. The doctor told Mama it could be Lassa fever or typhoid fever.

For Bankole, he was hearing his mother's voice and other noises, but they seem so far away. He felt too weak and could not move his limbs nor open his mouth to talk. He felt pain, and yet not it did not seem physical. It was like he was in a dream and yet it felt so real, conscious, and yet unconscious, feeling everything and nothing. He saw the doctor stick a needle into his hands, his mother mop his body but he didn't feel any of it, and yet he was in great pain like his chest was going to explode. He was screaming, and no one heard him, he  looked dead except for the steady movement of his chest.

Finally, he slept or it felt like sleep. A few hours later the doctor came back with the results of the test and told his mother that all the results were negative and he had no infections. The doctor had no explanation for his fever. There is nothing that the hospital could do for him. They can only hope that the fever breaks before morning and then she can take him home. The doctor told Mama that she had seen this type of case before and unfortunately some kids died from the high fever and those whose fever broke before morning lived. She encouraged her to pray for her son and keep talking to him maybe he would hear and come back. Bankole had an IV line hooked up to his arm. If by the next day he is not awake she would have to take him home with the IV line. A nurse will come show to her how to fix a drip to keep him hydrated and given necessary supplements. The doctor apologized and had to leave because she had other patients to attend to and it was a very busy night. She promised to check back again in the morning before she goes home for the shift. The news devastated Mama. She prayed to God to save her son; and kept talking to her son to wake up; she cried, begged, and prayed.

* * * * * * * *

At around 2.30 am Bankole woke up, looked around as for the first time noticed that he was floating. He saw his body on the bed and his mother asleep, her head right next to his. She looked tired. He called out her name, but she did not hear him. Bankole got scared as he thought that he might be dead and now he is a ghost. Then he heard children laughing, and he looked outside of the window. At first he did not recognize any of them until he saw Lydia and then recognized the rest of her crew members. What  were they doing here? He wondered.

They were in the air too. He was so confused by all that was going on. They beckoned him to come outside. He hesitated, afraid that if he left the room, he might not return to his body. As he got to the window, he floated pass through it. They surrounded him as he came out of the window and Tinuke had a chain around her neck like a dog on a leash, Lydia's leash. Lydia welcomed him to the group.

"You don't have to be afraid; you are one of us now," she assured him. "I was right about you, you are a strong one, few survive. Come now guys let's go play."

Confused and excited, Bankole was flying like a superhero in one of his comics. They were all flying and laughing, then they landed in a strange place. It was strange to place to Bankole. He did not know how far they had gone, but it was somewhere in a bush. 'Are they still in the city?' he thought to himself, trying to listen for the noise from busy streets. He wasn't aware of any bush in the city, or maybe they flew out of the city. He joined the others as they all sat on the ground and watched the other kids were singing a song in a language Bankole had never heard before and danced a strange dance. Bankole could not help himself as he joined in the dance and singing. He was in the centre of the circle. It seemed more people had joined them. He could not tell if they were human. He was in a trance. Then suddenly the dancing stopped, and Bankole who was in the centre of the circle was the only one left standing everyone else sat on the ground. Some sort of food was being passed around. They served it on plantain or banana leaves. The other kids ate it variously but Bankole declined and just like that, in a flash, he was back to his body. He was no longer in the hospital. He tried to wake but could not, then he fell asleep again in his sleep.

* * * * * * * *

Sunday morning Mama was leaning over Bankole's body. Mama had been praying to God, to Jesus, to heal her son. She was grateful that his body temperature had returned to normal, but he did not wake up. She kept doing what the doctor told her to do, talk to him. Mama was begging him to come back. He heard her voice from far away and just followed it, then he felt the cold towel on his skin.

"I fly..." he whispered, and immediately went back to sleep.  

Two hours later, he woke up again. He called out for his mother as loudly as he could. She came running, thanking God for saving him. She hugged and kissed him again and again. Bankole was hungry and asked if Mama could get him some food to eat, Mama laughed for joy and rushed to the kitchen. After eating he slept again, but this time it was a dreamless sleep. He rested now for real.