Don't Let Me Go (A Kenyan Story)

Awakening

She sat in silence, watching her son, as tears slid down her face. He'd been comatose for two days now. She didn't hear her second born, Valerie come into the room.

"Mum," she heard her, her voice evidently brittle. Mother and daughter hugged each other tightly as if life itself depended on it, crying openly for the young man they had all come to love,adore and respect a great deal. They stood there, clinging to each other, lost in the joy of having each other and in the pain they both felt.
It was a long while before they let go of each other. "You look beautiful as ever Val, now even more so."
"And you look like shit mum," she said as they burst out laughing.
"Now that is something we can agree upon. How are Daniel and the twins?" She asked her daughter as they sat on the leather couch in the room.

"They're good as can be expected. The twins are so distraught. It took their father's intervention to have them agree to stay behind. They wanted to come over with me to see him," she said looking at her baby brother, a fresh set of tears snaking down her face. "Dad seems okay."

"Well you know your father, always the one to act all okay while he is really hurting. He is putting up a brave face but he has no idea what to do about all this. I found him in the chapel earlier today, praying and in tears. In as much as it made me proud, it broke my heart to see him so shaken."

"Dad, praying! I can't remember him ever being religious."
"He once was a very religious man. As hard as that might be to believe. Life just happened and he hardened his heart."
"What was he like? You know back then? " Val asked her interest piqued.
"He wasn't any different than he is today. He was just a little bit livelier and laughter came easily to his eyes." Her face lit up when she remembered what it felt like to hear his easy laughter.

Val noticed her brother's right index finger twitch. "Mum, I see movement. His right index finger just twitched." Her elated voice filled the room.
"Are you sure?" I didn't see anything.
"Yes,I'm sure. Watch this." She held his left arm and began talking, "Mark, it's Val. If you can hear me, let me know." Nothing happened at first and she almost gave up hope thinking that it was her imagination playing tricks on her. Then his thumb twitched, followed by his index finger.

Her mum stared in amazement, a fresh set if tears streaking down her face. "Call the doctor." She held her son's hands tightly. "Fight baby. Fight! I can't lose you, especially not now. I'm not ready to lose another man in my life."

Val came back with the doctor and her father in pursuit. He ran several tests on Jayson while they watched hopefully from one corner of the room. "Well,it seems that he's coming out of the comma. It might take anywhere between several minutes to several hours. So you all have to be patient."

"Thank you daktari," Dr. Kanyi spoke up for the first time since he entered the room. The doctor nodded and left the room.

"Hear that mum,dad, he is going to be okay." She hugged her father furiously crying and laughing at the same time. A lone tear escaped her father's eye.

Jay woke up disoriented, not sure of where he was. Two ladies were with him in the room. The older one was fast asleep in a couch adjacent his bed while the younger one was busy on her phone talking. He noticed the IV drip on his left hand and then it slowly occurred to him that he was in hospital. He tried getting up but he winced, feeling a sharp pain on his lower back. It was then that the younger lady noticed he was awake.

"I'll call you right back. He is awake." She ended the call as she got up and shook the older lady awake. "Mum, he is awake."

He watched the scene from his bed, his mind still a little hazy. The older lady woke up and upon seeing him, she began crying. He still could not figure out why total strangers were in his hospital room crying when they saw him.

"Jay,you gave us quite a scare," the younger lady said as she hugged him tightly while he still lay on his bed. "Where does it hurt? Should I call the doctor? Of course I should...I'm just so happy that you're finally awake."

"Who are you people?" He finally managed to ask. The hurt on the older lady's face was evident. The younger one was taken aback, confusion written all over her face. "What I'm I doing here? What happened to me?"

AUTHOR'S NOTE
Translations
"...daktari,"
"...doctor,"

Hey good people. Trust that you've been well since my last update. Sorry for the inconsistency, been juggling a lot for the past two weeks. Hope you enjoy the chapter
Have a lovely week ahead.