A little bit over 110km/h wasn’t
a normal speed on a single lane road at an odd hour of the day but that wasn’t
the problem, the tension in the vehicle was. It was high, skyrocketing, I must
say. I could remember the feeling I had, a bizarre; it was that of a vehicle
drifting too fast into a sharp bend and I heard the tyres voice out in a
screech as they struggled to remain on the asphalt and for a split second they
went mute and all I heard was a violent roar of the engine and I felt a new sensation
like we were airborne, a loud thud followed. I could feel my internal organs
shake like a vibration was sent through every cell in my body and I went blank.
I heard voices difficult for me
to articulate any when I regained consciousness. All my body was numb, I
couldn’t feel myself but I knew I was in motion. I was moving fast with a lot
of people around saying all sort of things and by their tone, I could tell that
all wasn’t right plus I was the topic of the deliberations, the whole scenario
must have overwhelmed me like a dark cloud, making me drift back into darkness
once more.
“Can you hear me? Hello Sir, if
you can please move a finger on your left hand”
The sweet feminine voice said as
I gradually regain consciousness. My eyes were heavy but I needed to know what
was going on. With a sense of Delirium, looking Confused, I stared at the
unfamiliar faces. The environment was a familiar sight and I could instantly
recognise what it was. It was an emergency ward of a hospital. I had been in a
similar facility before; that was when
Nancy, My Ex girlfriend in the university, had a complication after an
unauthorized abortion but that isn’t a gist for today. I could hear sounds like
beeps from the equipment in the ward and of course the doctor who was asking
me a question. I could feel my body now so I acknowledged her question by
moving my index finger twice. Then I a split second it dawned on me that I was
with my wife a while ago, something happened and I am here now, Oh My God,
where is she. Just before the doctor could say anything else, I voiced out a
sentence with all the strength I had despite how bad my chest was aching,
“Where is my wife?”
The doctor’s reaction wasn’t
clear, maybe that didn’t expect me to speak or maybe it was something else, I
couldn’t phantom and that made me very nervous.
******
(48
hours prior)
It was the 3rd of
March, a day before our second wedding anniversary, and I had just arrived from
work. Feeling exhausted, I knocked at that door of the flat we lived in and I
didn’t get any response so I knocked again; over and over again. ‘At least, she must have heard the sound of
my car when I drove in’ I thought, what’s
wrong? I asked myself. Moments later, I heard footsteps and twist in the
lock. As the door swung open, behind it was my Sandra; my wife. She was in
tears, looking dejected and frustrated. I had seen that look before so I didn’t
bother asking what happened. Sobbing intensely, she said as she threw herself
into my embrace was;
“I shouldn’t have picked her
calls Tope, I swear I shouldn’t have”
“I understand dear, Mama can be a
pain in the ass a times, maybe most of the time. I am sorry” I responded.
We had only being married for two
and yet my mum was pestering her for a child, obviously not because she didn’t
feel she could have children but because she was trying to get back at me for
marrying someone from the East; an Igbo girl, against her wish. This kind of
emotional torture was fast becoming a regular occurrence in our home, solely
caused by my Mum but that very day, she crossed the line. She told Sandra over
the phone that she was bringing a new wife for me and she will have to live with
the reality of being a first wife in the house since she didn’t have a womb
which could qualify her to be the only wife. The incident got Sandra really upset
but it was still my choice to accept mum’s proposition which was definitely off
the table. So I comforted her and promised to take her out on a date the
following day to make up for that episode she had with my mum and to celebrate
our wedding anniversary. That night, things didn’t go as planned.
I arrived early from work at
about 6pm to pick her up for our special date and at around 7pm we were both
dressed and ready to go. I had made a reservation in a wonderful resort at the
edge of the city and since it was Friday we decided that we would be spending
the night and hoping to make a baby in one of their exquisite suites. So we
drove out on a 40mile journey. 10 minutes into the trip, I noticed Sandra
wasn’t laughing at my jokes anymore, she became quiet and lukewarm at first and
suddenly, she asked me with a soft tone; so you have started chatting with the
new bride huh? I was confused at first and then I remembered that Mum had shared
my contact on WhatsApp with the lady she wanted me to marry as a second wife during
the day and I was trying to be polite so I responded to her messages. Sandra
was with my phone and I guess she must have seen a notification from the lady
and read the chats. Oh! How stupid I was. I planned telling Sandra but not that
night, it was supposed to be about us, just the two of us.
With a rather harsh tone she
asked again “Tope, didn’t you hear me? What is this date about if you already
have plans for a replace me?”
I didn’t want to make any wrong
statement that could ruin the whole night so I kept quiet trying to pick the
right words to respond in my mind because I knew how Sandra becomes when she is
vexed; more reason why I have never pictured cheating on her besides the fact
that I love her more than life itself. Just before I could respond, she made a
terrible statement;
“Hope you have told your Mum that
I am not the problem, she should be considering checking her son too, he has
some old books we need to be consult”
I knew she didn’t mean it, she apparently
was referring to my past but my ego got in the way of my reasoning so I flared
up like a volcano. Not quite long, we started exchanging words, saying a whole lot
of things we didn’t mean. I never knew I was going too fast, I didn’t see that bend;
I drifted too fast, and before I could regain control of the four runner jeep,
it was off the road. We took a dive for valley down the slope of the main road.
********
“Where is my wife? Where is
Sandra I asked again?”
“Please sir, calm down, your wife
is alive, we manage to safe the three of you but we are hoping for the best
concerning you wife, please you need to rest” the doctor responded.
I had a fracture on my left femur
and I took a hit to the head, the doctors said I was lucky, the airbag helped.
But Sandra didn’t have her seat belt on so she sustained a severe head injury
and she was in a coma. Once I got better the doctors allowed me to see her, I would
seat beside her bed in her ward everyday praying and hoping she open those
pretty eyes once again. The doctors said they save three of us but I didn’t pay
attention to the statement until I got better and found out that Sandra was
pregnant and she didn’t even know it. I wept, prayed and hoped. In that period,
my mum discovered that what we had for each other was more that her prejudice
and bias, she had to pray with me and a lot of friends and family also joined
the train.
Two weeks after the incident,
Sandra opened her eyes and I was right there to be the first person she will
set those pretty eyes on after being tragically shut for weeks. I felt like I
got a second chance with her and this time I was willing to stay and fight for and
with her no matter what. I was happy to have my wife back and not only that,
our child was also on the way. Oh the table turned; a tragedy became a testimony.
****
Doris, My Daughter, is 3years old
today and we are expecting her younger sibling. Looking at my beautiful
daughter and my very pregnant but extremely beautiful ebony wife, I can’t but
reflex on all I could have lost, but all that I have gained instead. That wrong
turn, on that highway, one that night years ago, could have been my last. But I
had the opportunity to make the right turn even after I made that wrong turn.
No comments:
Post a Comment