MISLEAD

chapter 2: Edet's death

I was taken to the ward and I was treated, they had tried their best on Edet, he lost lots of blood, so he would be receiving blood while taking treatment.

I laid 2 wards away from him, mum had provided us with provisions and I had missed school for  a week, most of my classmates visited me, while few sent me cards.

Lola came to the hospital almost everyday after school, she usually brought fruits for i and my brother as her mother sold fruit at the main market, close to our school. I visited Edet and spent time with him.

One day I got out of my ward, to urinate, when I saw doctors and nurses running to Edet's ward, I was confused but I did not guess at all that it was my brother that all those runnings and attention were for, I was coming out of the toilet when I saw my mum run into Edet's ward, I knew something was wrong I ran there but the nurse had taken me to my own ward telling me all was well.

The little girl almost my age or maybe a year older asked what was going on, i told her I had no idea but I think there's something wrong with Edet, she told me nothing was wrong but I knew something was. We were still talking when I heard a loud scream, I knew that voice it was my mum's.

We both stood up from our bed and ran to the door I saw mum hugging dad, she was crying outside, I wanted to go out to know what was happening, the nurse didn't let me. My dad came into my ward he was looking like his whole world had shattered, he asked me how I was and told me I should take a good rest, then he left again, I felt something was wrong.

My mum was seated at one of the visitors chair shaking her head and crying as that nurse that attended to Edet that day was talking to her holding her shoulder and shaking her head, I don't think mum was listening she was just shaking her head and muttering something.

Dad was making a phone call, he was looking tired, I noticed that dad had grown older these past week, he was looking stressed. Aunty Uduak whose daily visit to the hospital involved food, arrived with a flask of food I guess, but stopped in her tracks when she saw how everyone was looking sad and down, she walked to my dad and he told her something I didn't hear, as she brought the food to me

" How are you?" She asked

I and aunty uduak had a really strong relationships even till now, I was crying already, even if I didn't know what was really happening

" I'm not fine aunty U, what's going on, why is mummy crying, where is Edet?" I asked

" Nothing is wrong dear, just eat" she said giving me my plate.

I had no appetite as I told her I'll eat the food when it's a bit cold. I sat watching the whole scene mum was now seated alone, she was making a call, dad was also making a call, what's all the calls for?, I asked my self, I wondered what Edet was doing then, if he knew daddy was around he would have been so happy, he loved dad so much, he often said dad was his best friend, why wasn't he requesting to see dad, was he okay?, I asked my self.

The ambulance arrived and they went inside Edet's ward, they were carrying a body, mum rushed towards them throwing herself on the floor and crying and dad and aunty Uduak pulled her back, aunty Uduak was also crying, the cloth used to cover the corpse shifted a bit and the hand of the corpse fell out, that was when I saw the bracelet, the bracelet I made for Edet last month when we learnt bead making, he had refused to pull it off since then.

Then I realised that was my brother, I ran out of the room before the nurses could stop me,to the corpse, i pulled off the cloth and I saw Edet, he looked still, lifeless and at peace, he wasn't nagging, or crying or smiling with his incomplete set of teeth, he was still, and cold, I was grabbed away as I cried that my brother shouldn't be taken away from me, dad pulled me to him and I cried on his shirt. He patted my head and when I looked up at him, I could see a stream of tears flowing down his face. Mean while mum was still on the floor rolling and crying, she was a nurse and I know she knew lying on the hospital floor isn't very hygienic, but I'm sure she didn't care, who would care in that situation.

After that day, everything changed, not in the family but for me, i kept having nightmares of Edet telling me I killed him, it was devastating, mum started acting cold towards me and dad was having a difficult time, mum was not handling the situation very well, he was trying hard to please her during those period that they had all neglected me, me who was having it worse.

Aunty Uduak left after 6 months, she had come to stay with us solely because of Edet's condition and now he was no longer around, she had to leave.

Aunty Uduak made the 6 months she was around a little bit livelier and a bit bearing for me, but as she left it was as if I was all alone. Mum went to find her self work in the bank, she had refused to work in the hospital anymore. And yes in Nigeria any course you study as long as your certificate is good, they'll take you in the bank.

Nigerians are greedy, they would look for people that are not really in the banking field, train them and hire them, so they won't have to pay much as they could not afford paying people who actually studied the course.

She would leave in the early morning and she would come back very late at night. I had written the exam for the boarding school and I was not even sure if I did well, I didn't care anymore.

My results came out and I luckily got into the school, evergreen college, is one place you should try hard to survive if not, you'll be stomped on by everything and everyone.

So I decided to make more than one update today, I do not know why tho just felt like.
Don't forget to vote and comment💜