A Loner's Journey Through Lemonade Making

Chapter 3| Fresh Friendship

An unexplainable and immeasurable amount of pain spread through my body as soon as my eyes opened. I squinted and attempted to groan when the pain in my head doubled. It was like I'd been hit was a hammer, stabbed a thousand times and had a live band playing dozens of traditional drums in my head. I couldn't understand it.

I closed my eyes and tried to turn my head, but the pain only increased. I opened them and began looking around, taking in my surroundings. I noticed a bed with white sheets at the other side of the room. There were charts on parts of the human body all over. A few posters with messages I couldn't make out due to the distance were on the hall in front of me. There was a drip attached to my arm. I was wearing a funny looking blue dress which I was certain I didn't own. It looked like....a hospital setting. But what would I be doing in a ho-
Oh! A few scenes from yesterday evening appeared in my mind. They were quite blurry but at least they answered my question. I looked down at my right foot. It was bandaged. A knock on the door stopped me from making further inspection.

I looked up, expecting to see a nurse or doctor. The door was gently opened and a dark skinned, absolutely gorgeous woman peeped in. When our eyes met, she gave me a smile before opening it wider so she could come in. She did so and took her seat on the chair beside my bed.

"How are you doing?" she asked calmly in a tone aunty had certainly never used for me before.

"I'm okay." my voice came out in croaks.

She smiled. "That's good to hear. Do you still feel pain in your foot?" she took the clipboard I hadn't noticed before and started writing.

"Yes, my foot still hurts." I answered.

"Okay.." she wrote something down and looked up. "I'll send a nurse to you with your food and some pain relievers, okay?" she said as she got up. I only nodded. She helped me adjust my foot before making for the door.

"Please wait!" I called back, my voice still sounding frog like.

"Yes?" she turned around and started walking towards me. "Do you need anything?"

"Um yes. What day of the week is it?" I inquired, hoping it would still miraculously be Sunday.

"It's Monday."

"Oh." my face fell. I'd missed the first day of school! And who knew when I could get out of the hospital?

"Any problem?" I shook my head in the negative. "Okay. I'll leave you now. I'll come to check up on you in a few minutes. If you need anything, just press that bell there." she gestured to a button beside me. I nodded.

"What's your name ma?" I asked.

"Doctor Yewande." she replied.

I smiled. "That's my name too."

"I know, namesake." she winked before leaving.

I adjusted myself in the bed, thinking about all that was happening to me at that moment. I'd missed the first day of school. I usually did anyway. It wasn't like I had friends who would miss me or be worried as to why I wasn't in school or anything. A lot of my schoolmates usually resumed a few days or even two weeks later. They would have travelled and would spend a week or two at home before resuming, all in the name of recovering from jet lag.
I pushed the thoughts to the back of my head and closed my eyes for a while. I would wake up when the nurse arrived with my food. But first, I had to get all the rest I could because when I returned home, it would be work and work alone.

☆☆☆☆☆

For the next few days, all I did was rest and eat. Doctor Yewande and I became quite close. She would come to meet me for bit and we would talk. She knew about Aunty Oma and always tried to bring it up, telling me almost the same thing Shalewa always said but I never gave in. She told me she had just gotten married recently and she also had her job and family to handle. It wouldn't be nice of me to bother her with my problems. So I didn't. Neither Aunty nor Uncles Blessing had come to visit me. I didn't care much anyway.