TWICE A ZING |A Nigerian Romance|

Chapter 1.

SHALEWA

Beeping sounds reverberate around my surrounding.

Peep peep peep

My eyes struggle to open but an unseen bond keeps them shut. I could feel a presence in the room but could still not muster the strength to see. Then the beeping stops and I feel my body shut once more, but this time, not into darkness.

A bright light, one almost blinding my eyes, shines on me.

Where am I?

As if hearing my thoughts, a voice answers behind me.

"You're at the crossroad between life and death, my love." Is that? Wait a minute. Turning, I am stunned by the figure I see.

Timi. My hand immediately goes to my mouth in shock. Instantly, I run to him and spread my arms to hug him.

"Timi." I finally voice out, while he smiles at me, observing my state. He chuckles afterwards, taking my hand in his and leads me to a chair, on which we have our seat.

Silence. Absolute silence from us, even though the atmosphere is filled with the chirping sounds of sun birds.

The ambience is soothing and I would love to be here forever. At least, to reunite with my husband.

"I don't want you dead, Shalewa." Timi finally speaks up with a serious expression gracing his face.

"Well, if that's the only option I have to be with you, I don't mind." I retort with defiance evident in my voice, adding a shrug of my shoulders.

"What do you think you're doing? This is not the solution. Shalewa, suicide?! Come on!" My shoulder slumps as he mentions 'suicide'. I never saw it as something that serious till now.

"The Shalewa I fell in love with would never ever attempt to take her life. Please don't make that your only option." He takes my face in his hands and slowly turns it to look at him.

"Please." He begs with a sad expression. My throat suddenly becomes dry and I swallow some saliva before opening my mouth to talk.

"Timi, I..." My utterance is cut short by a loud buzzing sound, followed by a honk.

"Well, my time is up. It is required of me to leave you at this moment." He says, standing up. Wait, I didn't even get to say what I wanted to.

A powerful force, like a tornado, pushes him away from me to the other end but I hear his voice one last time.

"Fight!" Everything suddenly disappears. Sounds of flowing water flood my hearing and then..

A cough, followed by a deep breath of air that reeked of hospital smell, and then did my eyes open to the world.

"Call the doctor! She's awake!"

How am I alive? Then it dawns on me.  It was the strength I needed to return. I blink my eyes severally, trying to find balance in the world they had just been opened to.

Timi is not here. And just like that, tears run down my cheeks. Seeing him felt so real. What I would give to have a re-run at that moment.

"Wa...wat...water." My voice comes out low but I am glad she hears it. In a swift motion, mum rinses a cup by the sink and fetches drinking water from the flask on the table. As she adjusts the hospital bed to give me water, the doctor walks in.

"Ah." She says, opening her mouth in the process, instructing me to do the same. Slowly, she pours the water down my throat.

Hungrily, I take it in, gulp after gulp. How long has it been since I have been here.

She retracts the cup from my mouth, wanting to adjust the hospital bed again but I speak up.

"More." Mum sighs and looks at the doctor who nods in approval. She fetches more into the cup, repeating the action from earlier.

"Thank you." She gives a tight smile before turning to keep the cup.

"You're finally awake." The doctor says, moving forward to examine me, while giving some points to the nurse who accompanied her.

"How long have I been here?" I finally ask the question that has been bugging me.

"Three weeks." She answers.

What? That long?

It does not take rocket science to know that mum is not happy with me. Well, I know she's glad that I'm awake but definitely feels the opposite about the circumstance leading to me being on this bed.

"Let me call your brother." She finally says, standing up to leave the room.

"So, how do you feel, ma'am?" The doctor asks. Well, is there any way I am supposed to feel?

I really don't know what to say, so I answer with a simple 'I am fine', to which she nods. Finally, she leaves the room and I am finally alone.

Right now, my mind is blank.

Fight!

I wish Timi never left. Why didn't I get stuck there with him? Tears roll down my cheeks again.

"Hey, champ." Deji enters with a big smile on his face and immediately ruffles my hair.

How did I get so lucky to have a brother like him? More tears run down my cheeks at the thought. Even in this situation, he is still not angry with me. Anger that would be justified if he was, because of everone, I have stressed him the most.

And to think he was the one who saw me the moment I cut myself.

"You're alive and kicking. Smile and stop crying, Shallywally." He takes his handkerchief from his pocket amd gently wipes it across my cheeks.

"Food is hereeeee." A sing-song voice is heard as Uwa enters the ward.

"Ah, thank you, Uwa. I don't know what I would have done if I had to eat hospital food." I chuckle lightly, to wish she laughs.

"That is impossible. I won't even allow you eat the food they give." She adjusts the bed and begins to feed me some of the fried rice she brought with her.

Hungrily, I eat and eat and eat! For someone just waking up from a long unconscious slumber of three weeks, I did eat alot. Well, what to say? I am hungry.

"Thank you, Uwa." She washes her hands and cuts a tiny piece of the chicken and feeds it to me. Finally, I'm beginning to feel some amount of strength in me.

Hello, world.