MAMLEY

HARMATTAN

The semester had been a good one though it was stressful especially since exams were just around the corner. She was preparing towards it so much that she didn't even realize that she hadn't heard from her dad in 2 days. She would call him when she leaves the library, she thought to herself. She was heading to the library with Sally who was drinking lemonade from  her Mason Jar. Watching Sally drink made Mamley a bit thirsty but she resisted the urge to get a drink at the cafeteria when they got to the library forecourt. It was an unusual day and they left the library at 4 PM. She called her dad's number but there was no answer for the third time and that was strange. She waited for awhile and called again. This time, Ayiku answered but he sounded sad. This alarmed Mamley who asked to speak to mummy. After a few minutes, Rita answered on the other end of the phone but she couldn't hold back her tears. This irritated Mamley who just screamed at her mum to speak up. When she realized, she wasn't going to get anything concrete from her, she dropped the call and drove home after dropping Sally at their hostel. Her mind begun to race and her heart was beating rapidly. For once in a long time, the small traffic annoyed her and she wished she could literally fly over the other cars to get home as soon as she could.

She brought the car to a screeching halt in the compound and raced to the hall, where she was greeted by the sullen faces of her mum, Ayiku and some other family members. Seeing her mum in that state infuriated her more so she didn't want to even ask her what was going on so she looked to her Uncles and Aunties for answers, but nothing came. She pulled Ayiku towards her and knelt in front of him and asked him to talk to her.
"Daddy is in the hospital and it's not looking good" He said.
"How? When? What happened to him?..." She was asking when one of her Uncles told her to calm down. She looked at him from the corner of her eyes with the "oh so now you want to talk" look. Concentrating on her brother, she asked where their father was.
"At Ridge Hospital.." he didn't finish his sentence when she rushed outside and called Akiti (the gateman) to open the gate for her. Sped off to the hospital to seek answers about her father's condition. While driving, she was praying both in her heart and audibly.

Mamley sat by her father's bedside and a shiver run down her spine. Though he was lying there peacefully, there was nothing peaceful about his posture. She was so used to seeing him active that this was very unusual for her. He was hooked to alot of machines and drips attached to his fragile body. This made her heart break with every burdensome breath he took. Her phone buzzed and the caller ID showed Damien's name but she didn't answer. She didn't have time for him now. Immediately she put the phone down, Daniel's eyes flung open. He managed a smile when he saw his daughter by his side. Mamley caressed his hand as she shifted closer. She was scared to hug him because she didn't want to hurt him.
"I miss you" He managed to say.
"I miss you too daddy" she said. " how are you feeling?
"I could be better. How's your mum taking it?"He asked.
"Not in a tasteful way, I must say." She answered while smiling.
"She's always been dramatic, that one" a laugh escaped him but soon turned to a vigorous cough which sent Mamley even closer to sooth her dad with a gentle chest rub.
They spoke for an hour or so and he soon drifted to sleep. The nurse came in and told her he needed to rest so she could go home and rest. She reluctantly left the room and went to the waiting area and sat there contemplating whether to go home or back to campus. She pulled out her phone and saw 7 missed calls from Damien, 2 from her mum and 3 from an unsaved contact. She made her way slowly to her car and slumped in the driver's seat. Soon, Damien called again and this time she answered.
Damien: Mami, I was worried about you. Hope you are ok.
Mamley: Erm...yeah. I was just caught up in some stuff.
Damien: I have been in front of your hostel waiting for you to get home safe because I called Sally and she told me you dropped her off and left campus.
Mamley: I'm at Ridge Hospital now and I don't know when I'll come back to the hostel so you can go to your place. I'll see you tomorrow.
Damien: Can I ask what happened?
Mamley: I'm not ready to talk about it yet. So I'll call you tomorrow.
She said goodbye and hung up. She slept in her car that night and woke up suddenly with a cold shiver running down her spine. She checked the time and it was 4am so she went back into the hospital waiting area and sat there for sometime. A little while later, she saw nurses rush towards her dad's room so she followed. She stood by the door and watched helplessly as the professionals frantically did their job.
Soon it was all silent and their pace slowed down. She felt a knot in the pit of her stomach that it didn't  feel good and she thought maybe his condition required a surgery to stabilise him. She then saw the doctor slowly shake his head and pulled the white covers over her father's lifeless body. She let out a shout so loud, and surged forward towards him but she was caught by the nurses. In their quest to calm her down, they rather infuriated her and she gather her strength and broke free from their grip. She rushed to his side and cried a river on his body with a pain she had never felt before. She forgot about the world around her that she didn't even realize the nurses trying to hold her. They eventually succeeded in breaking her from him and led her to the waiting area where she sunk to ground and allowed her sobs rack her body so hard.