Sister Deborah

EPISODE 15: WHAT TRUTH?

#SISTER_DEBORAH

Author: Samuel Frederick

EPISODE 15: WHAT TRUTH?

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A large crowd had gathered in the campus field making noise from all angles. They were gathered in a circle, surrounding someone that I couldn’t see. I pushed through the crowd till I got to the front, only to see the least of all people I expected at the scene: Deborah, sprawled on the ground in a pool of her own blood, breathing unconsciously.

There were two ladies bent beside her, whom were her friend Divine and my course mate, Annabel. Shocked, I knelt before Deborah’s half-conscious body, pondering over what led to this.

“Debbie! Debbie!!” I tapped her hand repeatedly, but she remained mute.

“What happened?” I looked up at Divine, who was now in tears.

“She was raped.”

“Raped?” I shouted, utterly shocked. “By who? How come? When? Where?”

“I don’t know. I honestly don’t know!” Divine’s tears flowed like a river.

“I’ll suggest we take her to the school clinic on time, before she loses more blood. She’s bleeding terribly.” Annabel suggested, rising up fast. Divine and I stood up too, following Annabel’s lead. Timi and Fatai flagged down a taxi for us, while Hakeem helped us to carry Deborah into the taxi. It was a five-seater vehicle which could only contain the driver, Deborah, Annabel, Divine and I, so Timi, Fatai and Hakeem boarded another taxi that followed behind us.

Within some minutes, we arrived at the school clinic and carried Deborah inside. Some nurses aided us with a stretcher, which was used to convey her into a ward. We were asked to wait at the hallway while the doctor and nurses attended to her.

After some minutes, a nurse returned and called Divine and I to the ward. When we got there, I noticed that Deborah had been placed on medical drip and that her forehead was bandaged.

“Who is closer to this lady between you two?” The doctor asked.

“We are both her close friends.” Divine replied her, holding back tears.

“Have her parents been informed?”

“Yes, I’ve informed her dad. He’s on his way here.”

“Hmm!” The doctor sighed. “This lady lost a lot of blood today. She needs to undergo blood transfusion within the next twenty-four hours or else…”

“Or else?” Divine urged her on.

“Or else, the outcome might be disastrous.” She finalized.

“I would do it, doctor.” I chipped in quickly. “I would donate for her!”

“Can you handle it?” The doctor scrutinized me from head to toe within a second. “I am talking about one full pint of blood here.”

“I said I’ll do it, doctor.”

“Okay.” The doctor agreed and called on a nurse nearby. I was tested thoroughly before anything else. Thereafter, I was asked to seat on a chair close to Deborah’s bed, and then the transfusion commenced.

Some moments later, after I was done with the blood transfusion, my roommates and Annabel came into the ward to check up on us. They shared their sympathies with me and stayed in the ward for a while, until it was late enough to announce their departure.

They left, which left Divine and I alone with Deborah in the ward. I sat on a chair close to the sickbed, while Divine sat on the bed, next to Deborah.