WHERE THE LOTUS GROWS

STIRRED FEELINGS, UNSETTLED EMOTIONS

Taiwo hurriedly walked towards the nurse's common room where a clerk said he had seen Karen enter earlier. Dapo might soon be here to pick him up as he had promised when he called and he wanted to say goodbye.

The instant he entered the common room however, he froze. The woman in front of him was breathtakingly beautiful and she looked so calm and serene that he lingered in waking her up. Every time he saw her, thoughts of Anita seemed to disappear from his mind but this time, he found himself comparing them.

He tried to hang on to thoughts of Anita because he was afraid of his attraction to Karen and he knew it. He was so deep in thought that he did not know that Karen had woken up and was beside him before he finally noticed.

"Taiwo."

"Hm-hmm." He replied, still in a daze.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Her tone laced with concern and a crease of worry formed between her brows at the stunned look on his face.

"Yes. Actually I just came to say goodbye." He said, gathering all his willpower to stop himself from reaching for her hand. He didn't understand this unexpected attraction and didn't know what to do with it either.

"Oh. Bye then." Karen said cautiously, not knowing exactly what to say.

"Yeah. See you around. It was really nice meeting you." He said awkwardly and was already leaving when she called him back.

He didn't turn because he didn't want her to see the sadness in his eyes that he was leaving her...didn't want her to see the true depths of what he felt because he was too scared of it.

"I wanted to ask you something..." she started but stopped when she realized that he was already out the door. She rushed to the door and saw that he was halfway down the corridor as he hurried towards Dapo who must have come in while her brain was still processing what just happened.

"I'll call you." He said hurriedly as he got to Dapo.

"Okay." She called after him. So much for the question; now, she just might never get to know she thought as she went back into the common room and slipped to the ground gripping the wall for support. What a perfect mess: her family wasn't really hers, she had wasted three years of her life searching for a mother who probably didn't want her, her best friend was in love with her and she was falling for a mysterious hot man who had tried not too long ago to end his life. What could be worse?

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"Hey T-boy, how things now?" Dapo asked jovially as he hugged him. Translation: Hey T-boy, how are you now?

"We dey o" Taiwo answered smiling.

"Who be we? Abeg me we dey go joor." He smiled back at him. Translation: Who are you calling we? Please, let's go.

"Your friends at the law firm have really been concerned and they've been calling me all the time since your phone was unreachable."

"Yes. I saw the huge 'Get Well Soon' card they sent. It stood out among the others I received including Frank and Nora's from Canada. And I thought theirs was big. That thing was humongous." He laughed, getting into the front seat of the car.

As they left the hospital, Taiwo stared out the window and kept silent as a million thoughts crossed his mind.

"So now, about the wedding..." Dapo started, treading carefully knowing how sensitive the subject was to Taiwo. He glanced at him briefly before turning his attention back to the road; he didn't seem all that pained anymore. That had to be a good sign.

"Yes, the wedding, umm..." he had absolutely forgotten about the wedding. In fact, his stay in the hospital had been quite peaceful-except for a couple of nightmares which he just pretended never happened, his brain had actually managed to move the actual reality of his life outside the hospital to his subconscious. But now, it was staring him in the face and he had to face it head on.

"Will you do it?" Dapo asked.

"Of course I will. You should trust me now. My personal person go dey do wedding me no go con show face as baba. Which kine tin be dat one?" Translation: My close friend will have his wedding and I won't now attend as a special guest. Which kind of thing is that?

"That's my man!" Dapo said and chatted on about sports. His brain was too occupied to grab everything Dapo was saying but he managed to put in the right 'oohs' and 'aahs' to try and convince Dapo that he was listening.

However, his friend was not deceived. Still, he chatted on until they got to his house where Kike was waiting with a maid they had gotten him. The moment they introduced her to him, he turned on Dapo.

"What?" he shouted, his voice dripping with anger.

"I just got her to be doing some basic things in the house. You know...and so that you'll have some company and..." Dapo's voice faltered.

"And what Dapo? So I won't try to kill myself again? I am a mature adult not a little child, I've learnt my lesson. I may have been careless and reckless but I am perfectly capable of taking care of myself, okay? I am not stupid and I don't need you or anybody else for that matter trying to do that for me." He lashed out.

"Really? Well, you have a really wonderful way of showing that maturity. You gave me this same stupid excuse when I suggested you get professional help or at least someone to live with you and I gave in. Look where that landed you; the FREAKING HOSPITAL! Thank God it didn't get any worse. I am not making that mistake again."

"Oh yeah? Well, newsflash Dapo. It is my life and I do what I want with it."

"Taiwo, we've already been through this. You know we only want the best for you. I think you should let her stay. Please, just until you're better and able to do more things yourself."Dapo said in a more controlled tone.

"No, and I think you should leave now. And take her with you." He said, fuming and trying his best to control his emotions going haywire. Nice move Bro, his subconscious mocked but he barrelled on, letting his anger lead. "And you better pray she hasn't touched or tried to move anything." He added, stalking upstairs.

"You don't mean that." Kike called after him, speaking for the first time since they got to the house.

"Oh I do. And don't try me or I won't be the only one you should be scared of landing in the hospital."
He answered from the top of the stairs.

'God, why was Taiwo so adamant to accept help? Dapo thought. Maybe, they had pushed him too far against the wall by bringing someone without his consent but they just didn't want him to try anything stupid again.

"I'm sorry. I should have known he would do that and advised you against bringing someone here." Kike said, rubbing his arms in an attempt to ease his agitation.

"Don't worry about it, it's not your fault. He'll calm down soon anyway. I'll take the girl and keep trying until he gives in."

"Okay. We should leave now though, I have an appointment with the wedding caterer in a few hours. I'll go get Sayo's things."

"You're right. But next time, I think we should bring a guy instead. Now that I think about it, I don't think it's wise for his help to be a girl." He said, rubbing his hand over his face in exasperation.

Coming down the stairs with Sayo's things, Kike looked at her fiancé and sighed. She knew that Dapo was only trying to do the best he could for his friend but sometimes you could only show a person the path and teach them how to tread it, you couldn't force them to. The way she saw it, Taiwo was going to have to step up and fight his own demons because no one else could do it for him. What he needed was professional help and God in his life but getting him to even consider it was definitely not going to be a walk-in-the-park experience. "Babe, let's go."

After both Kike and Sayo had settled into the car, Dapo looked towards the house one more time before driving off.

"What of oga now? Abi, no work again?" The young girl asked looking from Kike to Dapo in confusion. Translation: What about my boss? Or am I no longer going to work?

Kike placed a soothing hand on the girl's lap with a sad look. "No work for now."

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Taiwo does have some pride in him...A good dose of it I might say but...keep reading please :-)