Beckoned Through The Dark

14 // Lesego // A Dose of Medicine

If my life was full of surprises, well, I wasn't prepared for this one. I woke up and went to the bathroom, and when I came back, I found my mother waiting for me. But that was not the worst of it; she was acting a bit strange; she was way too nice. "Hey, I've been waiting for you. Here, I got you new clothes." She said with a smile. Full white teeth, an actual smile that reached her ears.

I just stood there at the door and stared at her. Something was going on. First, she was smiling at me; second, she bought me clothes; third, she was wearing nurses' uniform; and fourth, it was 6a.m. on the dot. "Come on! Get changed." She said in a singsong voice.

Say you were in the same situation as me, what would you do? Would you go running for the hills because this was all suspicious? Or would you gladly accept the clothes and run away with your mother just because there was a change in her attitude?

It was creepy, but good. What if her new attitude was something you had been longing for all your life? To have a mother, a friend, and elder sister; all in one person– your mother. Honestly, I was glad; but this was all too good to be true. She was purposely manipulating me with the things she knew I craved a lot.

"Mother, what’s going on here? You are acting strange?" I asked, biting on my lip as I waited for her to shout at me; but all I got was a smile in return. She placed the plastic on the bed and walked towards me, the smile still on her face. I couldn't help but take a step back with every step she took; until I was literally against the wall, with nowhere else to run. I could hear my heart beating so hard against my ribcage as if it was going to tear out of it.

My mother put her arms on both sides, caging me in her embrace. I stood shocked by her actions, that I took a while to respond to her hug; but by the time I did, she pulled away, and rubbed my shoulders. Her next words hit me in the core, "I know I haven't been the best mother to you, and I'm sorry. I am so, so sorry that I was not there when you needed me; I'm sorry for being too hard on you; and I'm sorry that I pushed you away." Tears rolled down my face. She was saying all that I've ever wanted to hear from her. I couldn't speak, I had no words; the only response she got from me was a bone crushing hug with all my emotions poured into it. My mother tensed when I hugged her, but I didn't blame her; we restricted ourselves from any physical contact.

"Okay now, here are your clothes; I want to go home. Dress up quickly." She commanded, that alluring smile still on her face, her eyes a soft blue. I grabbed the plastic bag from the bed. It looked like she had bought expensive clothes only. I looked at her and she sighed. "Ay, come on Lesego. Can't a mother spoil her child?" She scolded and rolled her eyes, a sight you never got to see from her. "Thanks, mother." I said sincerely, and smiled at her, and she smiled back.

"Well, let me go and put on my new clothes. Wait for me in here." I said, walking backwards to the bathroom, and I accidentally hit the frame with my head when I turned around. "Ouch!" I yelped, and then I started laughing, but mother did not. In fact, her entire demeanour changed. "Are you crazy? The last time you did something so stupid, you ended up in a coma. Careful, young lady! I'm tired of paying your hospital bills!" She shouted, her eyes a dark blue.

I felt angry at her all over again. I couldn't believe it; I couldn't believe that I let her manipulate me. Her sudden change in attitude after what happened yesterday was screaming 'run' at me, and yet I failed to see it. If you didn't know the feeling of a heartbreak, you could ask me now, and I'll tell you in detail. I didn't what to say to her. Her devious nature had rendered me speechless.

"You know what, mother; you can keep your clothes as well. I don't care. Let's pretend like this visit did not happen at all." I said quietly. When she realised what I said, she tried to act nice again, but I had seen right through her. "Les! I..." She tried to explain herself, but then it was too little too late. To make my point, I threw the plastic bag at her. Her eyes were wide, she looked scary.

She let the plastic fall on the floor and stepped on it while taking steps towards me. I felt as if my heart was going to jump out of my chest anytime soon. "You will take this plastic, go to the bathroom, and change into these clothes." She said slowly as if speaking to a two-year-old. She scared me, but I refused to back down, "no!" I said firmly, trying my best to sound and look strong.

My mother lost her temper. There was no trace of her previously sweet self or anything for that matter. "Listen here, little girl." She said coolly, sending shivers down my spine. "In this world, there are two types of people: the good ones and bad ones. Accidents happen every day; and even little angels like you die too." She said quietly and yet so coldly. Her voice was venomous, killing me straight from the heart. I had no words for her; my mother had done enough damage to me today.

"What is going on here?" Lwandle barged in, looking fierce. I was grateful that she was here; however, my mother was not.

"It is a family matter." Mother replied, glaring at Lwandle. Lwandle took steps and stood in front of my mother, head to head; arms crossed, and head held up. "I don't care what it is, as long as it happens here; it is my business." She said, but my mother refused to back down. "I am taking my daughter home." She said. "Oh! That's a pity, because your daughter has not yet been discharged." Lwandle said; my mother gave an unladylike laugh before her face remained passive once again; and the two of them stared at each other for the longest time, none of them blinking, or backing down.

"My daughter should have been discharged the very moment she woke up," my mother said sternly, "her stay here has brought nothing good, but an old can of worms."

"Oh, really?" Lwandle challenged her. "And by an old can of worms, you mean Adelaide Martins, don't you? Or was there another can?" My mother tensed, her breath slowly increasing; but Lwandle did not stop there, she kept rubbing on her wounds, not giving her enough time to lick them. "How bad are these worms, ELEANOR?" My mother's eyes went as wide as saucers. You would have thought that was Lwandle's final punch line, but no, she had other plans when my mother remained silence; "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, what was that?" She placed her hand behind her ear and leaned forward, slowly torturing her.

"Dr Benjamin!" My mother called, and Lwandle jumped back, and swivelled around just in time to catch the old lad of a doctor walking into the little space. He was a white doctor with grey hair, and wrinkles. He looked like he was in his mid-seventies. He was wearing those specs bound with a little rope, a dark brown shirt and a black and white striped tie, and grey pants; and on top, he wore a white coat with a tag written 'A. Benjamin.'

"Hey, Betty!" He breathed, "it's been a long time, what brings you here?" He asked, fixing his specs, "oh, I didn't know you had finally decided to join us." He referred to the nurse uniform on my mother. "No, doctor," Lwandle intervened, a determined look on her face as she continued, "this woman here is not part of our staff, she entered this hospital, breached all of our regulations in an attempt to kidnap." A shaky gasp escaped the doctor's lips as he stared at my mother. However, he shocked both Lwandle and I when he hugged my mother, "How good to see you. It's been a long time." He repeated, and my first thought was 'the old lad has lost his screws'.

"Yes, indeed, Aaron, indeed." She replied and smirked at Lwandle who looked like she was ready to kill someone.

"So, tell me, what brings you here?" The doctor asked as he stepped back. She looked at Lwandle and I, and winked at us before she took her attention back to the doctor, but he couldn't have caught the wink because he had have to wear his glasses to catch it, or anything small. "Doctor, I wanted to find out when you were planning on discharging my daughter, she's been here for a very long time now." My mother: whom I now decided to refer to as Betty for being so conniving, said to the doctor in a 'damsel in distress' voice. The doctor looked at her, then at me, and then Lwandle all in confusion and asked, "Oh! And which one is your daughter?"

I wasn't the only one running out of patience; I saw my mother clutching her hands into fists on both her sides. The doctor was old for sure; Lwandle looked just about my mother's age if not a bit less to be her daughter, so he should have had his eyes only on me and avoided confusion. My mother didn't say much, she just pulled me towards the doctor against my will. Since I was twenty-three, you'd think that she would at least respect me.

The doctor squinted his eyes behind his glasses and brought his face closer to me, assessing me. "Oh, is this your daughter? She looks nothing like you," he commented, causing Betty to shift uncomfortably, but she wasn't the only one in hot waters as the doctor asked, "Lwandle, I thought you said you had discharged the girl? Betty, this is the girl who had a concussion, right?" Betty watched as Lwandle stiffened and smirked, aiming for her crown as she said, "Yes, doctor."

Lwandle trembled in anger and turned her hands into fists as she gritted, "Of course not, Doctor Benjamin, that girl was discharged about a week ago; this girl had an asthma attack and slipped into a coma for three weeks. She just woke up yesterday, and we can't discharge her before we can run more tests on her." 

You would think that the doctor would at least try to understand what Lwandle said in a professional mind, but no; he looked at me and then at my mother with pity. "Oh, Betty! After everything you went through during her birth, you must have been really worried." He said, his hand on his chest. "From the bottom of my heart, I'm truly sorry you had to go through that." He looked at me, and then at my mother. "Betty, you may get your daughter ready. Lwandle, in my office right now!" He snapped at Lwandle and stormed out of the room in a pace of a snail.

Lwandle gave my mother a murderous look before she turned to leave, but Betty stopped her, "did you hear that?" She whispered from behind her ear. "Betty. That's my name." Lwandle raised her hand, and Betty stepped back, and then she turned around and stood in an angle, just enough for Betty to see her face. "You think this is over, don't you?" Lwandle asked, "let me tell you something; I am not scared of you. Doctor Benjamin is doing all of this because your wild eyes scared him, but you don't scare me." Dead silence fell through as my mother burnt holes into Lwandle's back.

"You have ruined me once, Eleanor Edwards, but don't count on it again, because you won't win. Remember those cans of worms we spoke about earlier? I am one of them; and you are going to see me in your food, in your bathroom, under your pillow, inside your clothes, and shoes." The sweet Lwandle that I knew from before was gone. This one was scary, but I liked her; I liked anyone and anything that could make Betty squirm or make her look like ash. "Everywhere!" Lwandle whispered before she left the room, with her head held high, and a smirk on her face.