RUNNING

Chapter Seventeen (unedited)

"So many times, life takes a turn that is against us. It is not every time you will have things working your way... But when all things get wrongs remember to keep to the right tides by turning to Allah." - Anonymous

"So you are the friend the nurses has been talking about?" Maraya can tell that it is Habeeb's voice, but what is he doing here and who is he talking to?

"So it seems." Even in her sleep she can tell that the voice belonged to Afnan, her roommate. What is happening here, where is she? Are they talking about her? She is supposed to be in school and Habeeb should be in Lagos, what is this discussion all about? So many questions continues to run in her mind.

"You said you guys are roommates?" obviously we are roommates dumb head if not what will she be doing in my room? Wait a minute, am i really in my room? She sense the air around and she can tell that it is not her room, the smell seem weird and peculiar, it feels like a smell she has perceived so many times yet she couldn't figure it out.

"Has she been doing fine all along or was there something that seem to be bothering her lately?" how she know, for God's sake why is Habeeb acting detective and Afnan is not her friend.

"Well I wouldn't be able to tell." Better you say that, Maraya thought to herself.

"She never talk to you about anything unusual?" well I never talked to her about anything and again nothing seems to bother me lately but her.

"We are not that close, i guess." Good answer.

"I am sorry if I'm making you feeling uncomfortable, am just so worried as to what cause the shock, the coma and everything. Please don't mind my manners, i should be thanking you for being there for her, for taking care of her like your own and for all your time and kindness, thank you so much." Now what is he talking about? Who is shocked? Who is in coma? Wait a minute!

Then the reality hits her like a dream, she remembered everything clearly. Akin's call, beatrice hospitalization, the realization of the relationship between Hafeez and Beatrice, Akin's house and then the accident.

"Oh my God, then i must be in the hospital. How long have i been on this bed?" she thought to herself. "I need to get out of this place" she tries to move her hand but she feel so weak she can only lift her finger, she tries to speak but her throat was too dried she couldn't make a sound.

She opens her eyes and the first person she sees was Afnan, she can see shock and excitement in her eyes but she was too weak to say anything and then her eyelid dropped again before she can make another move.

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It was after another day that Maraya finally wakes, the first thing she asked for was water, after she was given some water to drink she was able to asked for food which was provided. Throughout the period she realized the only people besides her apart from the health workers were her brother and Afnan.

She noticed the way the nurses are smiling at Afnan as if she was the happiest person and the conversation between them shows that she has been in the hospital long enough to establish a friendly relationship with the workers in the ward.

After she relax for some time, the nurses examined her neurological status using *Glasgow coma scale and she has 15 scores which shows that she is fully awake and oriented to the world around her, her vital sign shows normal results and she was booked for further tests which includes Computer Tomography scan (CT scan), X-ray of some parts of the body and some laboratory tests.