SPEECHLESSNESS
WRITTEN BY MARIANNADE
EPISODE 23
Debbie woke up the next morning with eye bags, when she remembered what happened the previous night, she started crying all over again, she needed someone to confide in, she called her sister, and she picked at the fourth ring
“How did it go? ” she sounded cold.
“He said I should abort my baby” Debbie replied amidst tears
“Then do it, is that why you’re crying? Check for the next available flight to Lagos, that idiot doesn’t deserve you” she blurted out
“You’re not helping matters, I’ll talk to you later,” she ended the call and ran to the toilet as she almost vomited on the bed.
She emptied all she ate in the sink, she came out very weak and was looking pale. She laid on the bed shivering, she was running temperature, she tried calling Noel but he refused picking, she closed her eyes and she felt like she was going to die, she tried her mother’s number and it was switched off, she tried Thelma’s number and it was not reachable.
“God please don’t let me die here” she prayed inwardly
She thought of who to call, the person that came to her mind was George, she remembered he’s in Lagos and sighed, she was becoming weaker, she had no other option left than to dial his number. He picked at the first ring.
“George please try and reach Thelma, I can’t reach mummy on the phone, I need someone to take me out of here, I feel like i’m dying, ” she said faintly
“Debbie, where’re you?” he asked her
“I’m in Abuja,” she said faintly
“Where exactly are you? Are you at home?” he asked in a trembling voice
“No, I lodged in an hotel with Noel”
“Call him to take you to the hospital”
“He travelled to Port Harcourt this morning and his phone is not reachable” she lied
She noticed how concerned he sounded
“Please don’t bother yourself, I can take care of myself”
“My friend is in Abuja right now, I’ll call him to check on you right away”
“No need for that, I’ll call a cab to take me home”
“You’re sounding weak, just text your hotel address to me, my friend will be there in a jiffy” he ended the call to avoid much argument.
She scrolled down her inbox and copied the hotel address Noel sent to her and forwarded to him, she heaved a sigh of relief slept off immediately.
***************
She woke up feeling better, but was hungry, she bathed and ordered for breakfast, she ate it but threw up again, she laid down feeling weak, someone called her from the reception to verify if she was expecting a visitor, and she said yes,
She heard a knock on the door and opened the door to see a strange guy standing before her.
“Hope I ’m in the correct room, are you Debbie?” Elvis asked
“Yes I am,” she allowed him into the room
“I think I’ve met you before” she said trying to recall where they met.
“Yeah, I’m George‘s friend”
“He sent me to you, he said I should drive you to the hospital and from there drop you you at home” he said wondering why she couldn’t take a cab to the hospital
“I know you might be wondering why I couldn’t take a cab to the hospital, I wanted to call a cab but George insisted I wait for you, thank you so much for coming, let me pick my things”
“You look so sick,” he asked her wondering what she was doing in a hotel room all alone. His phone rang and She heard him talking to George on the phone.
He drove her to the hospital where some drugs were administered to her,before driving her home. She made up her mind tell her mum the truth and know her fate.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
*********** George returned from church to see Ruth and Dorothy clustered round Gift consoling her while she was Weeping uncontrollably,
“What’s going on here?” he threw at them
“Her mum died this evening” Ruth replied
“Ooooh, I’m sorry, it’s a pity, have you told mum about it? he asked her pitifully
”I’ll tell her when she returns “Gift answered him without looking up
”You girls should take her to your room, she needs to rest”He told them walking up to his room
*********************************************
“Honey, I think you should free your brother, I believe he has changed for good” Mrs Ufomba told her husband
“I’ve been thinking about that, I plan to send him back abroad, i cant watch him suffer in jail, I’ll withdraw the case against him”
“That’s very thoughtful of you, I pray he doesn’t go back to his previous life”
“We shall visit the station tomorrow”
“Thank you so much honey, you’re one in a million”
She can’t stop thanking God for giving her such a caring and understanding man
“please switch off the light” he told his wife and pecked her good nite.
She switched off the light and covered her body with the duvet.
***************
Everyone had gone to bed but George was still awake, he was having difficulty in filling his NYSC online form, the network in his room was bad so he came to the sitting room in search of better network, and luckily for him, there was network there, and he settled down to work on his laptop.
He was glad when he finished, he shut down his laptop and he went round to ensure that everywhere was securely locked. He heard someone sobbing in the kitchen, he switched on the light and was shocked to see Gift crying with her mother’s picture in her hands, he pitied her
“Why are you here in the dark crying” he asked her
“I don’t want to disturb my mates with my sobs, i needed some quiet time alone”
“You’re still crying over her right?” he asked her pointing at the picture in her hands
She nodded and continued crying
He went to the fridge and got cold water for her
“Take this” he said giving her the drink
“Thanks”
He moved closer to where she sat
“I know how you’re feeling right now, but you need to take things easy”
“Thanks” she said wiping her tears
“When do you intend to visit your sister in the village? ”
“She doesn’t want me to visit the village yet, I’ll only attend the burial”
“Ooooh, I see,”
Before they knew it, they were chatting like old time friends, that was when he realized how beautiful she was, he loved it when she smiled, he was happy he was able to make her smile,
“You said your mum loves listening to you sing, that means you’re a good singer”
“I think I am” she said blushing
“Can you sing for me?”
“Ooh nooo, I cant sing in this mood” she chuckled
“Ok, promise me you’ll sing for me when you’re in a good mood”
“I promise” she said shyly
“Now go and get some sleep, it’s already late, your mum wont be happy seeing you awake at this ungodly hour”
“Thank you,” she got up from the floor and returned to their room
George switched off the light and retired to his room.
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