TICKING

18

"Come in" a weak voice called from inside the hospital room.

I pulled down the door knob to open the room and went inside, Osas walked quietly behind me.

It was a small private room with just one bed and a cupboard located by the bedside.  The walls were painted white and a door was at the left side of the room, probably a toilet door.

My sister's lean frame was lying on the bed. She had reduced in size a lot.

"Sister Itohan." I whispered.

She turned slowly. When her eyes met mine, she smiled weakly then attempted to sit up. Osas quickly rushed to her side to help her sit.

"Welcome." She greeted us.

I couldn't believe that my beautiful elder sister, a woman that has earned respect from many and lead with the fear of God is the one her husband has subjected to this kind of pains.

"My neighbor is coming with the children." She informed us. I couldn't look at her anymore, because I would burst into uncontrollable tears and end up affecting everyone's mood. Her complexion had gone from caramel to ebony, she had big bags under her eyes and dark circles too. Her hair wasn't even combed on her head and she was wearing clothes that seemed too big for her. They probably use to be her size.

I sat down in the only chair available in the room and Osas sat on the bed next to her.

"Osas, thanks for coming, I appreciate." She reached out to him and rubbed his knee.

"I wouldn't hear about something like this and decide to stay back." He replied as he wrapped his hand around her shoulders softly.

The room was quiet for a while. We didn't know how to start a conversation or what conversation to start. The situation was becoming awkward then my sister broke the silence with another heart breaking news.

"He told me to lie to everyone that it was a domestic accident."

I snapped my head and faced her. That man is shameless. I looked at Osas and observed that he had rolled his fingers into a fist, the vein in this hand was becoming more visible.

"I have tried, I know I'm a good woman, I don't deserve all these things happening to me in the name of marriage."

"That's why I'm here to take you away sister. I don't care what anyone says, I don't care what the society or even our parents say, I need my sister, away from abuse, I need her alive and safe."

She blinked her eyes hard and tears started to run down her cheeks. "Just like a movie, I saw my whole life flash before my eyes. That was when it hit me that I could die some day. I don't want my kids to grow up thinking the true way to love another is through abuse."

"That won't happen sister." Osas assured her.

"I need to start processing the discharge papers, so that when the kids come we would just start going, we still have to go back to Port Harcourt today." I informed them.

"I'll go with you." Osas offered.

"Okay." I could handle it on my own but I knew he needed a breathe of fresh air. We both need to talk about how we felt with the whole situation to free our tightened chests.

The Nurse in charge of discharging patients initially refused to discharge sister Itohan reasons being that we were not the one who brought her and she still needed to do a scan the next day for her head and x-ray for her waist; she landed hard on the floor and hit her head on the wall. But Osas requested to talk to the doctor who later gave his approval after seeking approval from sister Itohan and giving our word that we are not taking her home to sit but only transferring her to a hospital in another state.