SCATTERED BY FIRE ?
Written By Tosin Ezekiel
Episode 18
When the generator of the hospital stopped working, patients who went to the restroom were seeing goats with six legs chasing them.
They were forced to go out where a Pastor had started an unprecedented vigil.
They began to pray in the dark.
Suddenly, the generator that had stopped working picked up and there was light. There was a shout as patients and people began to return to their wards.
Again, unexpectedly, there was a commotion.
What was it this time?
There was light and no strange goat was seen, but smoke was coming out of the floor at the entrance of the hospital.
They thought it might be an electric wire melting under the ground until the ground began to shake and finally, split and vomited something like a black pot but covered with sand.
They saw it but no one was bold to touch it. They all ran and stood afar.
“Pastor, my pastor, you have anointing now, you can pull it off.” Dr Brown said using his two hands to cover the front of his trousers as though he would pee.
Pastor D summoned courage and used a mopping stick to dismantle the pot. It was scattered on the ground.
There were meat and oil inside the pot, buried at the entrance of the hospital. The meat was still fresh, and you couldn’t tell if what you saw was oil or blóod.
Some patients left that hospital that morning and never returned. The news spread around in the town, but no radio station or newspaper carried it, the owner of the hospital, the director, was a big man in town, a highly placed politician too.
Later in the afternoon, Dr Brown drove in to the hospital and stopped at the gate to chat with the security man. He was eating roasted corn. That man no sent anybody.
He gave one piece of corn to the man, “Papa, how was yesterday?” The man collected and kept it, he was in a sober mood thinking about the strange thing the saw.
“Papa, eat corn, life continues ooo.”
Dr Brown stayed with him as they talked soberly. But Dr Brown finished his corn before he went in to the hospital.
SCATTERED BY FIRE : EPISODE 11 – THE END
The hospital was unusually quiet, he went to his office. He barely sat down when the Admin entered. After exchanging pleasantries, she dropped a letter on Dr Brown’s table and was about to leave.
“Why are you dropping it, is it a love letter?” Dr Brown said with a smile.
“I am sorry, I have to go back to my table now,” the Admin said solemnly.
“I won’t read your letter oh, you better come and place it in my hand. Who are you even frowning at?”
The Admin exited the office without answering any of his questions. Dr Brown left the office too, to go see some patients in the ward.
Ella was in the ward getting ready to be discharged with her baby when Nneka, their old friend, walked in to greet her. They both had forgiven each other.
Dr Brown entered the ward and met Ella holding the baby, Nneka and Mrs Johnny.
“Mummy G.O, well done o. After this one, you will have a triplet,” Dr Brown said and everybody managed to smile.
There was a tense atmosphere in the hospital and Dr Brown’s joke wouldn’t ease it.
He turned to Nneka, “Sister, bless you. You look so cool.” They both greeted.
Another doctor walked in and told Dr Brown the director would like to see him.
“I’m on call or are you assigned to this ward?” Dr Brown.
“Yes, the director told me to come and he is waiting for you in his office,” the other doctor said.
The director hardly came to the hospital, Dr Brown didn’t know he was even around. He left to meet him, the director of the hospital. As he entered his office, Dr Brown had not finished greeting him when he said, “What are you still waiting for? Have you received your letter? The director demanded.
“No, she gave me, but I will read later. sir,” Dr Brown replied.
“You won’t read on time. It’s pastors you were following up and down talking like a woman. Now you can leave,” the director said as he used his hand to show Dr Brown the way to the door.
This was shocking, he didn’t even understand, he went and checked the letter on his table, he had been dismissed!
What happened the previous night at the hospital was a big blow. The director knew about people dying monthly in the hospital. He felt Dr Brown permitted the pastor to hold his unasked vigil to stop the sacrifice. Besides, many of the patients saw it.
In his sack letter, it was written that he was sacked because of improper temperament like an excessive jokes, talkativeness and over-relating with patients.
Dr Brown left the hospital and was driving home when he saw Nneka trying to get a cab. He gave her a lift.
Although Dr Brown was sad, he wouldn’t stop talking, he explained everything that happened to Nneka. They seemed to be good friends at first sight. They exchanged numbers.
Nneka called Dr Brown when she got to appreciate…that was how it started.
SCATTERED BY FIRE : EPISODE 11 – THE END
A few days later, at the ever of their new baby christening, Pastor D, Ella, Ella’s mother, and Chris were at home in the evening.
Pastor D was taking a selfie with Ella’s phone when, suddenly, there were sounds of car doors opening and closing. Pastor D left the sitting room to check outside.
There were three black Hilux jeeps in the front of their apartment and policemen were coming down, all of them with back sunglasses on their faces.
He stood with Ella’s phone in his hand confused and didn’t know what to do.
“Good evening,” Pastor D manage to say.
Without waiting for a response, three policemen rushed and grabbed him, they were pulling him towards one of the Jeeps.
That was when Chris came out, when the boy saw them, he shouted, “Mummy!”
Ella rushed with her Baby in her arms,
They had incapacitated Pastor D already, handcuffed him and were pulling him inside the jeep by force.
Ella screamed, “Please, wait, who are you, what happened. You can’t take my husband, you can’t!”
Nobody answered her, she tried to move close to them, but one of the police threatened her with a gvn, she almost pvshed her but the baby in her arm started crying.
Another police stopped his colleague from htting Ella…
SCATTERED BY FIRE : EPISODE 11 – THE END
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