A Daytime Nightmare
Written by Sonia Okehie
Episode 10
Last episode!
Life can be unfair sometimes by not giving second chances to people that genuinely needs it. So many people have been cut short for something bad they did but regretted immediately afterwards and yearned for a second chance; which was never given to them. Victims of jungles justice are a perfect example of people that never got the opportunity of a second chance before they were lynched by angry mobs. The same applies to Tony; he never got to experience the second chance grace to make his marriage work again, due to the deadly HIV he contacted from his mistress ‘Jasmine’. The fact that he only had an extra-marital affair twice and was unlucky to fall into such mess, made him feel cheated by God because there were so many other men that cheated on their partners on a daily basis but still had multiple chances to turn a new leaf and make things right. He might actually have a good point here but that still doesn’t justify the fact that Cheating is Wrong and shouldn’t be condoned at all. The two times he went on Cloud 9 visits with Jasmine was more than enough to over-write every feeling of injustice he was having. Poor Tony!
After the Doctor shocking revelation of Tony’s new health status, intense wailing followed up immediately. Tony’s mum broke down in tears and cried her eyes out and after a short while, Becca joined her too. His dad soberly stood there without knowing whom to console first because both ladies didn’t look like they needed consolation.
“Not My Son! He can’t die! We made sure he had the latest medications and treatment, how is this even possible when the doctors assured us that he would be alright and might live till his 90’s? I am flabbergasted and beyond confused. Please tell me you have the wrong person and not my son? This can’t be happening” Tony’s mum said as she cried bitterly.
On the other hand, Becca wasn’t making matters easy at all because she was crying uncontrollably too. Immediately Tony’s mum was done talking, she chipped in; “Doctor please where’s he? Can we see him?” she soberly asked and the doctor agreed to her request. Everyone marched towards Tony’s room with the doctor and tried their possible best to curtail the crying and wailing. As they entered inside the room, Becca almost dropped dead when she set her eyes on the man that drove her world crazy and made her fall head over heels in love. It still felt like a bad dream for her to see him in such condition. All she could do was remember when they said their marriage vows to one another on the altar and promised to love each other till their last breath. It’s sad at how unfortunate things had become.
When everyone settled inside Tony’s hospital room, the doctor left them to attend to other pressing issues. The first 5 minutes inside the room was an awkward one as no one knew what to say and how to begin any communication exchange. Tony was still unconscious at the time and wasn’t aware of what was happening. Becca had to excuse herself to go dismiss Tony’s business associates that were still at the waiting room. It was such a traumatic and emotionally draining day for everyone but they still had faith that something somewhere could happen and bring their beloved Tony back to them. All fingers were crossed!
Evening gradually approached and the sky began to get darker. Becca begged Tony’s parents to go back home and rest, while she remained there with him. They initially didn’t want to go but had to take their leave because there wasn’t enough space in the hospital room for everyone to sleep comfortably.
After everyone had taken their leave, Becca climbed Tony’s bed and laid next to him. Tears gradually dripped from her eyes as she watched the love of her life die slowly in her presence without the power to do anything to save him. She sobbed bitterly as she held him tight from the side. After sobbing for a while, she began to talk to his unconscious self.
“I never believed a day like this would come. A day where I wouldn’t get to make you food, laugh at your dry jokes, call you sweet names and quarrel with you for always neglecting me. I wanted to ride with you till the very end but this was beyond me babe. I wanted to have your kids more than anything in this world. I wanted to carry a part of you in me and wanted us to grow old together. What went wrong Tony? Why did you do this to me? Why did you deny me everything I had always wanted with you? I miss you so much and things would never be the same again if it isn’t with you. I love you so much and don’t know why this happened to us. Please don’t leave us, we still need you here with us. Your family loves you and I love you more than I can say; please come back to us” Becca soberly said as she laid on his shoulder. That evening was such a heartbreaking one indeed and Becca later managed to sleep after being awake and talking to Tony for a long time. Throughout that night, she had all sorts of Nightmares and kept praying whenever she woke up from any of them.
First thing the next day, Tony’s parents arrived at the hospital and began to hold God in prayer. With his parents and few other relatives present, Becca had to take her leave so as to freshen up and come back later in the day. Everyone thanked and commended her for her selfless act of love towards her Ex-husband. She accepted all compliments in good faith and told them that she would be back as soon as she could that same day. They waved ‘Goodbye’ to each other and brought their focus back to Tony who was lying helplessly on the bed.
While Becca was gone, something highly unfortunate happened. It turns out that Tony came back to his consciousness but was reported by the doctor to be in a very critical condition. “He has just a little more time to live and at this junction, only a miracle can save him from giving up the ghost anytime soon” the doctor sadly revealed.
That revelation stirred up great panic mode and fear. Everyone began to let lose of their emotions as they cried to God to step into Tony’s case. Becca wasn’t informed about the new development at all and only got to find out when she retired back to the hospital that evening.
“Mum what’s going on? Is he not going to be ok?” she curiously inquired, “I don’t know what to say my daughter; I am very tired” Tony’s mum soberly said. Everyone tried to say one thing or the other to Tony but he wasn’t responding to any social interaction. Unable to give up, Becca continued; “Baby can you hear us? We miss you so much and we are rooting for you to come out of this hospital bed soonest and return back home to us. We love you so much babe, you will beat this” she calmly assured.
Well, if only Becca knew that Tony was about to say his final Goodbye to her because he was tired of fighting to live when there was absolutely nothing to be alive for. Despite the fact that Tony had a strong support system that choked him with love, he still felt there was no need fighting to live since the only woman he wanted to live for had moved on and was even in a relationship with another person. What a heart breaking situation indeed!
Immediately Becca was done talking, there was silence in the room. After a short while, Tony broke the silence. “Hey baby, hold my hands” he calmly said and stretched forth his hands towards her. Becca hurriedly held his hand and drew closer to his bed. “You will come out of this, I promise you” she soberly said. Tony smiled faintly and looked into her eyes; “I am so sorry for everything Becca, I am sorry. I rather die than watch you be with another man and since I can’t stomach the reality of you moving on, I have decided to move on from this world. Don’t cry anymore my darling wife, it’s OK. I’m so sorry I couldn’t give you a child, please forgive me from the button of your heart. However, I made arrangements with my doctor to extract my sperm and save in a bank just in case you will ever consider using it someday. Don’t worry about the sperm being conterminated because it’s not. I was on heavy medication when it was extracted so we were able to get a substantial amount of it that is HIV free. If you ever do anything with it, I pray my child looks like you and nothing like me because I wasn’t a good husband to their mummy. You deserve the whole world and I hope the 50 million Naira I deposited into your account and properties in your name can make up for everything I ever put you through. I love you so much but I have to go now, Goodbye my darling wife” He said and gave up the ghost.
For over 3 minutes, Becca just stood close to Tony’s bed without saying a word. She was speechless and dumbfounded at the same time. There’s no suitable word to describe the marathon of thoughts on her mind at that moment, it took everyone some time to digest the shocking reality that Tony had departed from this world. When it finally sank into their heads, weeping began. Becca cried the loudest and almost collapsed due to the overwhelming pain she was feeling within.
As the hospital attendants took Tony’s body away, everyone cried their eyes out and tried to stop the body from leaving their midst. It was such a horrible day for Tony’s loved ones and family members. No one could believe that their vibrant Tony was no more. It was harder for Becca because of the things he revealed to her before he died. Too many things were going on in her mind and was just too much for her to fully digest.
A month later, Tony was laid to rest in his home town. The burial was attended by so many people ranging from business associates, partners, loved ones and family members. Becca carried the burial preparation on her head and worked tirelessly to make sure everything went well. She cried when no one was watching and was strong when in the presence of people. That period was one of the toughest moments of her life but things gradually calmed down after the burial.
As everyone were done mourning and returned back to their lives, Becca was still trapped with the last conversation she had with Tony before he passed on. Due to Tony’s demise, she cut ties with Benjamin because she wasn’t in the right frame of mind to love any other man at that period. Matter of fact, Becca was tired of love and just wanted to live a happy life on her own.
Whenever Becca thought about having kids, the thought of Tony’s sperm that were stored in the bank would come ringing in her mind. She thought day and night on what to do and was indecisive on whether to go ahead with the IVF or not.
It took Becca over 4 months to finally make up her mind that she wanted to have Tony’s kids. The doctor was notified immediately and the process started. She informed Tony’s parents about everything and they were extremely happy that there was an atom of hope of them ever holding their late son’s child. They supported Becca to go ahead with the IVF and kept their fingers crossed for a positive result. The procedure failed the first time and they had to try again. It was on the second attempt that a miracle happened.
One fateful morning, Becca woke up with a sore breast. She had never felt like that before and felt it was nothing serious, but when the pain persisted, she had to buy a pregnancy test kit to confirm her doubts. That evening when she got back from work, she hurriedly did the test and almost fainted when she saw 2 lines; which meant she was pregnant.
For over an hour, Becca sat quietly on the floor and couldn’t talk. Her whole body was cold as tears of joy fell off her eyes. “I am pregnant?” she shockingly asked herself. It was such a happy and sad day for her as she wished Tony was present to hear the wonderful news that he would soon be a father. Too sad!
The news was broken to Tony’s family and everyone rejoiced for joy. As the baby bump started coming out, Tony’s mum begged Becca to move in with them so they could take good care of her; of which she did. They all pampered her till the 9th month when the baby finally come into the world through C-section.
The first look Becca gave her son brought tears to her eyes. She was lost as she stared at her healthy baby boy. With a joyful heart, she looked at Tony’s mum and said; “He will be named Miracle”. Everyone was happy with the name and accepted it whole heartedly.
Becca finally looked above the ceiling and said; “Thank you Tony, thank you so much my darling. I can’t wait to see you again but for the meantime, Miracle and I have got things on Lock here. Love you baby, thanks for being the One”.
End of story! ?
Thanks for staying tuned till the end.
Written by Sonia Okehie
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@Sonia Okehie
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