ENIOLA: Beauty For Ashes

Chapter Three

The concept of being unconscious is quite interesting because it makes you wonder what one sees in that state.
Is it like sleeping?
Are they borderline dead?
Eni was definitely content with the bunnies she'd been playing with and was not okay with being conscious again. The stench of drugs and sterilized equipment nauseated her, yet it was preferable to the soreness, the migraine and the intense pain she felt.

"M-madam? She's awake"

The harsh whisper belonged to Emeka.
More voices joined his, harsh whispers that nearly made her head shatter. In an attempt tell them to shut up, she slipped back into the blackness and woke up 20 minutes later to a pair of glasses hovering over her. In a few seconds, the face behind the glasses came into focus.

"Y...you're th-th-e guy fr-"
"Try not to talk. I had to up your pain medication because your body is dealing with heavy trauma"
"Tun-de...bir-hhthday"
"No...no talking, please. I'm going to give you a sedative, let's allow your body rest"

******************************

"Doctor, can I come in sir?"

Kingsley snapped out of his nap and stared into space for about a few seconds to recollect himself. He was so close to despising the unnecessarily shrill voice his secretary had. He stretched, let out a yawn and raised his body to a sitting position, still quite out of touch with the environment.

"Doctor you said I should wake you if Mrs. Adewunmi wakes up. She's awake oh"

Sleep disappeared and he sprang to his feet. When he'd gotten the call from the ER about a battered woman, he'd been up all night for a surgery and was about to push the case to one of his doctors on call, then he saw her on the stretcher. Her wounds made her almost unrecognizable. A man was wheeled in as well and he was told he was her husband. He wasn't in good shape either.
Were they robbed?
What on Earth could have happened?

And she was married.

She had multiple wounds, a cracked rib, a black eye...predominantly maxillofacial injuries, a large bite wound on her right ankle, hematoma and cuts on her legs, arms and almost everywhere else. This injury pattern screamed domestic violence.
He spent hours stitching and cleaning her up, all the while wondering what kind of monster would do this to such a beautiful woman.
Her husband was in a different ward, tended to by another doctor, fighting for his life.

Despite having injuries commensurate with abuse, there had to be a reason why her husband had a broken hip and bruises all over his face...but the focus now was her well-being.
He walked into her ward and stood by the door for a bit to observe her.
She looked lost, swollen, in pain and mentally tortured. Few seconds later the lost look melted into an awareness that she was not alone in the room and she turned slowly towards the door.

"How are you feeling?" he asked gently.

She didn't respond immediately because she was taking in his features, like she was trying to recognize him. So he walked to her bedside and put on his glasses.

"Oh....no" she said with a sigh.
"Yeah...hi" he replied and smiled.

She dragged in a deep breath before speaking.
"I thought I was seeing things. I'm not. How long have I been here?"
"Well, it's been three days, five hours and twenty minutes. You've been slipping in and out of consciousness. How are you feeling?"

Before she could answer, Emeka and another doctor entered the room with sullen faces. They whispered back and forth but somehow, Eni managed to hear something about Kunle being taken off life support. She could also hear them debate on when to give her the news.

"Is he dead?"

They turned to her, surprised at the question and even more that she could hear them.

"W-what?" Kingsley stammered.
"Kunle Adewunmi. Is he dead? The truth please"
The other doctor spoke up. "Yes ma, he is. We did the best we could, you have our deepest sympathies"
She looked at Emeka's now expressionless face for confirmation. "He's dead ma" he said.

Kingsley observed her, not knowing what to expect. She froze for a few minutes before letting out a heart wrenching cry. He moved to comfort her and keep her from moving so much when he heard something that made him stop.
"Oh God, thank you...thank you!"
He turned the other doctor and Emeka, who didn't look bothered at all.

She wasn't mourning.
She was celebrating.

******************************

Over the next few weeks, Eni got better, healing quickly and steadily.
She was discharged one month later. Before leaving, she was asked what was to be done about Kunle's body since he had no other family except her.

"Sell it, I don't really care"
"You don't mean that, do you?" Kingsley asked.
"That man made my life hell. You can harvest his organs and sell to ritualists for all I care" she replied coldly.
He didn't blame her; in fact he wasn't almost entirely opposed to the idea of selling off his body parts. God knows if a man made his sister cough the wrong way, talk more of laying hands on her, he'd take off his garment of salvation, fold it neatly and keep it somewhere safe to prevent it from getting stained with blood.

Okay maybe that was a little much...
But yeah, you get the idea.

"About my bill, how much is-"
"Don't worry about it"
She frowned, not pleased.
"I'm not a charity case Doctor. I have money and I can pay. How much is it?"

"I can tell you have money. However I own this hospital, which means I get to decide whose bill I feel like footing, and right now, that person is you. So, don't worry about it, I insist"

"You own this place?" She asked, switching from irritation to amazement. For one to own a standard hospital in Abuja, Maitama of all places, means he/she was really living in money. Kingsley looked rich but she didn't think he was this rich.

"As God would have it, I do" he replied.
"Well that's awesome" she said.
"Thank you. Now please, remember what I said, no heavy lifting, cut down on TV and phone time, hydrate and rest a lot. Your body is healed for the most part but you're still fragile, so take it easy. If you need anything or you feel funny, come here immediately" he said.

"Yeah, I got it. Thanks for everything" she replied.
As she was stepping out of the office, he called her.
"Ma'am"
"Mm?"
"What are you going to do now that...he's gone?"

"I'm going to live life"