Ex Gratia (#1 EX TRILOGY)

Chapter 17

Aba and Louisa felt impatient and started to pace at the hospital. Both of them had gotten to St. George’s as fast as they could. Gracefield was not informed about the incident because Akoma had warned the girls not to. They had been waiting for close to an hour and nobody was attending to them to deliver any status report. One young nurse walked past them and they seized her.

“Please, my friend – Akoma – is she OK?” Aba squeaked. “Please tell me where she is. We have been – “. The nurse looked them over and tried walking away, but Aba pulled her back and clapped her hands angrily. “Hey! I am asking you a question and you are walking away. What is that?”

Louisa placed a restraining hand on Aba’s shoulder and said calmly, “Aba, relax. We will find out soon. Let’s be a little patient.”

“Patient for what? Look at this nurse!” Aba scowled at her and clenched a fist. “Ah! Is that how to treat people?” The nurse stood there watching them, and it looked like she was going to cry. Aba scoffed. “Are you a nursing training student or what? Aaah first year? Is that how you are taught to receive people?”

Instantly, a senior nurse showed up to intervene and sent the young nurse away before taking the two to the ward Akoma was. When they got to the ward, two policemen was standing outside, and the nurse turned around to look at them in front of the door, and they paused and exchanged looks. The nurse grimaced and said, “Please try not to make noise. She is quite OK. I think she will be better because you are here. Please take it easy.” She slowly opened the door and held it ajar. A female doctor in white coat was stooping over a patient near a bed, and the patient was hidden from view. A policeman stood nearby watching the scene. Aba and Louisa walked in slowly after thanking the nurse who followed them in and decided to stay close to the door. Aba and Louisa greeted the police. The doctor noticed the new presence and straightened up to look at who had entered.

“Good morning, Doctor,” Aba greeted. “Um – please, is our friend – “

The doctor gestured for her to calm down, and Aba took in a deep breath and kept silent. The doctor returned to the patient and did something the others could not see, and slowly, she stepped aside to reveal Akoma lying on the bed looking dreamily at the ceiling. Her left hand was bandaged, and there were bruises on the left side of her face. She looked very devastated and a very unusually pleasant look of pain, bitterness and gloom was on her face. The other free hand was handcuffed to the bed’s frame.

“Akoma?” Aba asked and attempted to touch her, but the doctor signalled with her hand to her to dissuade her from doing so. “Are you OK? Doctor, is she OK?”

The doctor sighed and took down some notes and took off her glasses before finally looking up at the two. “Your friend has endured a traumatic experience – shock – and it lapsed into a brief state of hysteria.”

“So doctor, ne koraa koraa no, ɛne sɛn? (…what’s the summary of it all?)” Aba asked quickly.

The doctor sighed and said, “She experienced an uncontrollable mental – um – agitation because of the shock of hearing the news that was broken to her.”

“Your friend destroyed property in the hostel suite and ended up cutting herself while breaking glasses,” the policeman interrupted without notice. “She pounced on one of the staff sent to deliver the bills and beat her up, and then both of them tumbled down the stairs onto the lobby on the ground floor. The lady is also receiving medical attention elsewhere. If there had been no intervention from other staff and finally the police, your friend might have killed her.”

Aba and Louisa gaped at Akoma who was still absentmindedly looking at the ceiling and breathing slowly.

“She was merely experiencing hysteria,” the doctor rolled her eyes and explained to the policeman. “I doubt she is a killer. I am sure now that her friends are here, she will definitely calm down.” She glanced at the cuffed hand and grimaced. “How I wished that thing could be taken off.”

“No,” the policeman said curtly. “She has been fined an amount of twenty-five thousand Ghana Cedis for property damage and ten thousand compensation for harming the hotel staff. That lady has a lawyer.”

Aba’s eyes filled with tears. Louisa was utterly frightened. Aba walked closer to Akoma and carefully took her hand in hers. The doctor did not stop her this time. Akoma did not look at Aba. Aba sighed and let the tears flow. “So – hysteria – you said brief, right?” The doctor nodded. “I have never known her to behave that way all my life. I – well – Doctor –“, she turned to look at the doctor. “I hope it’s not going to cause any mental – “

The doctor interrupted with tut-tutting. “She is all right. It was for a short time. She is sober. She is just still – you know – expressing post-traumatic symptoms – maybe guilt.”

Aba leaned over and touched Akoma’s face, and Akoma gulped. Her eyes were bloodshot. “Akoma, can you hear me?”

“She has not lost her sense of hearing,” the doctor rolled her eyes and said. “Stay close and try not to talk about the incident. Keep her calm. She will come around.” She smiled and stepped away from them. Louisa drew closer and stared down at Akoma.

“Should we tell Gracefield? She needs to know,” Louisa whispered to Aba, but Akoma heard it and slowly turned to look at them, and the look was a threatening one. She clenched her fist of the hand which was cuffed and Louisa whispered to Aba, “Let’s forget it. Bad idea.”

“Phone,” Akoma moaned huskily. “Phone.” Louisa scrambled for her phone in her purse, but Aba stopped her and looked around until she found Akoma’s phone lying on a table in a corner. Akoma shook her head and added, “Yours. Not mine.” Louisa handed hers to Akoma and she quickly dialled Rich’s number. After five tries, Louisa tried to stop her, but Akoma slapped her hand away from her. Finally, Rich answered, and Akoma sat up angrily.

“Akoma, relax – “, Rich began.

“How dare you!” Akoma squealed. The rest of the words that came out of her mouth for the next three minutes were all embarrassingly vulgar. The doctor had to shout at her to cut it, but Akoma would not. “Listen to me, you fool! If I find you – I will kill you!”

The policeman took a step forwards and pointed at her. “She is going mad. This is bad,” he said and shook his head.

“God forbid!” Aba said and whipped the phone out of Akoma’s hand. She stepped away from them and said to Rich, “Look, you eh? The thunder that is about to strike you from the sky, God has not finished loading its transformer yet. You are really wicked! Stupid man! Hello? Hello?” She took the phone off her ear and frowned. “See o! Ah this man will die early.”

“That’s enough! This is a hospital ward. Please!” the doctor finally snapped at them and clicked her fingers impatiently. There was silence for a minute, and Akoma slowly slumped back into bed with her bandaged hand covering her eyes. She was trembling.

Louisa sat by her and rubbed her arm comfortingly. “Akoma, please let it out. Cry if you have to. The pain and all – it’s all locked up inside and it can be toxic. Please.”

Akoma shook her head and clenched her jaw, and she mumbled through gritted teeth, “I will not cry for him. I will not. No.”

Louisa received a text message from Rich and she read it aloud. “’Tomorrow, 9 a.m. Meet me at my lawyer’s. Bye. Sorry. I love you.’ Why does he have to end the message with those words too? Ah! Wiase paa (what a world!)! Aah! Akoma, where did you find this guy? Is that the reward of people who drive men away all their lives?” Akoma turned to scowl at her. Louisa covered her mouth and shut her eyes. “M’ano trumpet (My trumpet mouth/Loud-mouthed). Sorry.”

Akoma blinked silently in bed and could not help but accuse herself for being silly to have made such a huge mistake.