Chapter Five
Kemi couldn’t stop herself from sobbing. She had nearly killed someone’s child because of her recklessness.
“Don’t be too hard on yourself Barrister Kemi. It’s not easy to take this all in.” Mangodo kept his hand gingerly on Kemi’s back as he spoke. It was the only soothing action that came to his mind in the circumstances.
Kemi kept sobbing. “Please, will she be alright?”
Mangodo smiled. “The danger is past. She’ll be alright. Don’t worry too much about it.”
“What about her parents? Her relatives? Anyone I can call?” Kemi’s facial expression was a fine blend of worry, confusion, and concern.
“I was about to ask you the same thing. Was there anything on her when the accident occurred?”
“Honestly, I don’t know. I was in a hurry to get here. Besides, I wasn’t thinking straight. It didn’t cross my mind to seek some form of identification.”
“Don’t worry, we’ll get to that. How are you feeling?”
“Lucky. I feel really lucky. I’m okay, I guess?”
Mangodo smiled again. “Physically you do look okay. Any headaches?”
Kemi shook her head in the negative.
“Okay, that’s lovely. Let’s see,” Mangodo glanced at the file he held, “your blood pressure is a bit above normal. Your pulse as well. Are you cold?”
“Yes. Extremely cold.” Kemi sneezed noisily into her handkerchief. “But I’m all sweaty as well. How’s that even possible?”
“Just a moment, let me examine your eyes.” Mangodo pried Kemi’s eyelids open with his fingers and peered into her eyes with professional concentration.
“Pupils are a little bit enlarged, and you’re all pale. Have you had any seizures since the accident?”
“No.”
“Have you had trouble sleeping?”
“Always.”
“Any chest pains?”
“Yes, but very mild.”
Mangodo scribbled furiously on the sheet of paper inside the file for a while, before addressing Kemi again. “There’s nothing to worry about Kemi. These are all symptoms of shock. But to be assuredly safe, I’ll give you something to help you sleep, then we’ll have the radiography department take some X-rays tomorrow morning. From there we’ll know if we’ll be needing a CT scan. But not to worry, just relax. You’re in good hands.”
“Thanks a lot Doctor, I really appreciate.”
“You’re welcome Barrister.”
Ivy saw nothing. She felt nothing. She was falling, falling upwards. Falling upwards? That was weird. She could feel herself falling through space. But rather than descending rapidly into the beckoning void, she was ascending toward what looked like an open vault. It was as though a force was pulling her against the force of gravity.
Then the pains hit her.
Hot searing pains that jolted her straight out of coma.
The voices followed.
Whispers.
Far away whispers.
Her brain struggled to make sense of it all. Was she finally in hell?
The voices grew louder.
“Hello Miss, can you hear me?”
Ivy opened her eyes. She could hear alright. But she couldn’t say the words. Her throat was jammed. There was a collar around her neck. Her legs were cast in Plaster of Paris, as far as she could see. She couldn’t move her arms either.
“Talk to me. Can you hear me?” The voice asked her again.
Yes I can. Ivy replied, mentally. Her lips hadn’t moved. And no sounds escaped her vocal chords. She had only responded inside her head. Ivy couldn’t bear the pain. She closed her eyes and went back to oblivion.
To be continued…
© Oselumhense ANETOR, 2019.
Image Credit@PIXABAY
