ANOTHER MORNING

Nine Lives

"Teny, Baby... Teny," Gbenga cried as he struggled out from the passenger seat of the flipped rental car. Teniola wasn't moving, the blood from her mouth rolled down her cheeks and filled every hole it could find, her eyes, nostrils and ears, she was barely breathing. The seatbelt kept her from falling off the seat. 

The windscreen had shattered and shards of glass were everywhere, the airbag was what kept Gbenga from losing a few teeth, but their rental car was already beyond salvation.

He cursed as he struggled out of his seatbelt and the caved-in window. There was a lot of blood on his blue jean, but neither that nor the deep cut on his forehead bothered him. He just wanted to pull his wife out of the wreckage. 

Gbenga used all his strength to pull at the door to the driver's seat, it didn't budge. He instantly regretted letting her drive, he hated himself all the more and knew that this was totally his fault. This could have all been avoided. 

He ran into the road, there weren't any cars on the road at the time and their rental car was upside down in a spot that couldn't be missed by any passerby. He couldn't wait for someone to come around, his wife might not have a fighting chance if he did, he looked around and found a big stone which he lugged back to the car, bleeding as he walked. He threw the stone at what was left of the windscreen and it left a larger hole, large enough for him to crawl in and pull out his wife. He pulled at Teniola's seatbelt but it was stuck, he quickly searched amongst the shards of broken glass for her bag, he found it and emptied its contents.

He pushed everything aside till he found her make-shift make-up bag, he reached in and took out a fresh razorblade. He unsheathed it and started cutting into the seatbelt, tearing open his thumb as he cut with such fierceness. His right thumb bled so much that he tore a piece of his t-shirt, bound the bleeding thumb and resumed cutting. 

A few cars had parked and the drivers ran towards the ruckus. 

"Oga comot make we help you," one of the drivers said while another tried pulling at Gbenga's leg. Gbenga kicked him off and continued cutting and crying, he finally cut through the belt and started pulling out his wife. 

The men who gathered decided it was easier to help him get her out than trying to get him to let them do it. It took a little over 15 minutes to carefully pull Teniola out from the windscreen. 

Gbenga held her unconscious body as he knelt on the road. The crowd around them gradually grew. 

"Teny, I'm sorry." he cried. "Babe please don't die on me."

"Teny, Teny," Gbenga cried as his half-naked wife lay lifeless in his arms. He carefully lifted her off the floor and towards the sitting room. He lay her flat with her head down and feet lifted on a stool.

He ran back into the kitchen, turned off the tap, and took out his phone to make a call, but his battery was flat. He was frustrated and angry at himself, cursing as he ran into the bedroom to get a change of clothes for Teniola and his charger. 

He rushed to the closest socket, plugged in his phone and ran to his wife's side.

"Babe, please don't die on me, I am sorry," Gbenga said as he took off her robe and tied her legs to stop the bleeding. Teniola still was unconscious.

He dashed out of his apartment and almost broke down his neighbour's door as he repeatedly banged at it. 

Mr Clement's entire family woke up and helped carry Teniola into their car and to the nearest hospital.  

Gbenga opened his eyes, he almost didn't recognize where he was. He tried to stand but the pain in his legs and the headache that throbbed his head caused him to lie back. He closed his eyes and bit his lips to stop the hot tears. 

"Teniola," he weakly said and passed out. 

Gbenga came to and tried to stand.

"Oga, no stand o, your wound go open," the nurse said nonchalantly. 

"Teniola"

"My name na Dorcas" the nurse replied rolling her eyes and attending to another patient on the adjacent bed.

"I'm sorry, I am asking about my wife. The woman that was brought here with me," he gently said. 

"Oh that one wey do like say she don die... na your wife?" she nurse asked without looking at him. "She dey for woman ward"

Gbenga managed to get himself off the bed and walked down the corridor till he found the female ward. The pains in his legs and head grew with each step, but he wasn't about to be stopped.

He searched all the spaces till he found his wife lying on one of the beds. He ambled up to her and sat by her side.

"Teniola," he said quietly but she didn't respond. He let his tears fall freely this time, holding her hand tightly and wishing he could take everything that happened back. He should have never let her drive, they should have been on that 10 am flight, this was his fault, he thought to himself.

"Teny I am sorry, this is all my fault," he said kneeling by her side and resting his head on her body.

"Teny I am sorry, babe," Gbenga said, holding her hand as the nurses wheeled Teniola into the hospital. Mr Clement and his wife stayed back with Gbenga as the doctor joined the nurses and they all disappeared with Teniola into one of the rooms. 

Mr Clement and his wife walked up to Gbenga.

"We have to get going now, the kids have school in the morning" Mr Clement said.

Gbenga got up, cleaned his eyes, and extended his hand which Mr Clement took for a firm handshake. 

"Thank you," he managed to say and watched them walk away. 

His phone rang, it was Okoro. He busied the call. Okoro called back, Gbenga busied the call and blocked his number.