Conjuring Silent Flames

Prologue

A rush of energy forced through me. Like pushing from death to life and to death again. I wasn’t sure where I was, or what was coming next, but everything around me was gravely dark and silent. ‘Am I dead already? Is this the end of me? Would I make heaven or hell?’ These thought toyed with me until a loud buzzing sound intervened.

‘Dzzuuuu!’

My dead eyes woke me to light. With a lot of effort, I closed it and then opened it again. Slowly, this time. Instead of light, it came in blur colours.

‘Am I alive?’ I wondered, trying to figure out where I was. A flow of blood soared in my ears as the surrounding commotion intensified.

‘Dzzzuuuuuu!!’

My chest movement exaggerated to the loud, disturbing buzz. Then a beeping sound that monitored my heart beats came through. It’s vibrating sound reduced by the second and I knew I was definitely in the hospital. They placed the machines side by side of me as if my life depend on it. The monitor, guarding me like Angels, displayed two zig- zagged lines moving with flagging signals.

Black spots doodled my vision and bewilderment clouded my sight. Numbness made me lean sideward as the pain overwhelmed me. A flash of what happened sipped through my mind.

The poisoned meat, the leftover fish bones. I’d mistakenly ate the meat and rushed to my parents’ house before the police came. Yes, the police. I grabbed my head at the thunderbolt headache that struck through me. My head was literally swimming. My vision was still unclear, but I pulled up, strong this time. Properly. My joints creaked for help. ‘Why am I this weak? Who long has it been?’

My gaze drifted towards the old ticking wall clock with broken eyes. It read 7:41 p.m. I dragged my weak body from the sitting position, my bare legs slipped down, touching the cold marble floor of the hospital. It was just then; I realized I was in a blue hospital gown. My shaky right hand held onto the iron holding a sachet of transparent drip, flowing through a slim wire like vein. The pain increased, and I supported it with the left hand.

Pulling towards the door, my shaky legs ambled forward. I peeped through its glass frames and could take a rough view of those outside. There were three police officers standing behind the ward’s door. My heart jumped to my throat, and I swallowed down the lump of fear.

‘They followed me here? How cruel? Don’t they have anything to do? Why are they watching over me?’ Pulling myself back into bed, looking through the clear pane of the window hanging above the plastic stretched bed. A thought of jumping through came to mind. ‘Would I make it after the jump?’ My steady eyes searched through the room for a rope, but there was none. ‘Only if... Only if I could escape from these right now.’

Instead, I laid back in bed, waiting patiently for what fate has for me.

Struggling with these thoughts in the screeching silence, the door flung open. My eyes widened and cleared at once to the door’s bang. It was one of the police officers.

“She’s Alive!” He stormed and the other two police officers followed suit.

“Who... Who are you?” My shivering voice stammered.

“It’s a good thing you made it alive, Mrs. Fajuyi!” His lips curved in a malicious smirk and my eyes darted to the tag on the right side of his black uniform. It wrote ‘Lt. J. Kolawole’.

“What did I do?” My eyes studied his devilish glare. “Doctor!” I cried, but my voice came low and hoarse to due the overwhelming fear. “Nurse! Help me!” My hoarse voice cracked and luckily, an angel flew in the doctor's form.

“Sir, she’s still in Com-” A hand grabbed the doctor by the collar of his coat and he choked on the words. “In co-ma!”

“Get her discharged right this minute!” Lieutenant Kolawole, who seemed to be the boss of the team, ordered.

“What?”

“You heard me!”

“But she’s been in a coma for two days now!”

“I don’t care! Just do as ordered! This lady is a murder, and she killed the president’s only daughter!-”

“What? Pearl is what?” I stuttered the words slowly. Disillusioned and weak to the bones. “Is she dead?”

“You sure do not know, right?” He chuckled at the words and my mind clouded at what happened exactly. I just pushed her when she passed out. I wouldn’t kill a fly, let alone... A human being."

“Ugh... My head.” I gasped in more pains.

Suddenly, I felt the world spinning around me. I tried holding back the pains, but it came with more pains. I felt water hanging out in the brim of my eyes.

“Just Leave already!” The doctor ordered and lieutenant Kolawole fought not to leave. As they dragged the issue, a solemn teardrop trickled down my eyes.

The beeping sounds of the lifesaving machines fastened as the darkness overtook me once again. Amidst their push and pull, and the beeping sound of the monitor’s signal, their noise faded. And I fell back to hands of death again.

***

Hello guys!

Thanks a million times over for checking out this book. I surely won't disappoint. It's my first time writing a Nigerian Mystery Novel. I'll update regularly by weekends so, stay tuned. This story is well planned and needs to be read by an interactive audience so, anticipate as you read. First, click on the star below and share to other Nigerian readers that might be interested in this genre. Do you think  Lieutenant Kolawole was being fair or was he just doing his job? Is Todun as innocent as she seems? You'll know as you read ahead.