CARELESS LOVER Part 15
UNMASKING
Depo and Jire stood beside Mary smiling and thanking God for her life. They have been around a couple of times to check on her while she was in coma.
“Who are these people?” She asked Felix.
“Seems you no longer know me?” The lady asked.
“No, we have never met.”
“I was the lady whose car’s engine was down on my wedding day,” Jire said while smiling. “It was you and your husband that saved us from the embarrassing situation.”
Mary smiled: “We thank God he used us then. Felix, he’s my friend; we are not, not…” The word stuck in her mouth as she looked downward.
“Well,” Felix saved the situation, “we are jolly good fellows. Very unusual bonded friend. You know what I mean?”
Depo and Jire both smiled.
“Don’t mind Felix,” Mary shyly dispelled his words. Yet she couldn’t stop everyone laughing.
“That was how we too started,” Jire said.
“Sometimes we were unsure, sometimes we were afraid and sometimes we reverse from earlier decisions,” Depo added.
“And we stayed in the valley of indecision for nearly four years,” Jire interjected.
“We could have lost the opportunity of being married if not for proper counselling and prayers,” Depo continued.
“Sometimes the love surge through every fiber of ones being like a high tension electric charge and at other times one gets distracted and one wonder why it has to be the person in ones life.
“Until we settled it in our hearts after proper counselling and having our minds closed from every other options we had no headway.”
“That’s true,” Jire concurred. “I remembered Skelewu who was my mom’s school mate. We were told how being smart led to her not getting married till date.
“She was blessed with a good relationship but she wouldn’t make up her mind. She kept the brother waiting for six years. She always had a reason or the other.
“Secretly, she was waiting for the perfect brother. When the perfect guy came he happened to be a wolf in sheep clothing. No sooner he had his way that he left. She jilted her old lover and he moved on with his life. He got married and had children and a home of his, but Skelewu remained an old troubled woman. She still hope to be married at seventy. Before you stop laughing, we gave her the name Skelewu while we were growing up because of her characteristic walking style.”Everyone smiled as Jire ended her short story.
“The point is this,” Depo said, “When you find the person God intends you’ll find peace, such will be real friend and you would not afraid to be your real self while with him or her. When you meet that person you should be bold to move on with such. If you find such a person you’re blessed already.”
“We hope we are not intruding into your privacy?” Jire said, “We just want to be of help so that you’ll not make similar mistakes that we made that kept us long till we are close to thirty five years of age.
“If I should comment, I’ll say that the two of you are meant for each other. It’ll be one of my greatest dream to have both of you come together as husband and wife. You’re the perfect match; made in heaven type.”
Jire rubbed her hands together prayerfully. Mary only kept smiling while Felix was nodding in agreement.
“May the good Lord make it so,” Felix prayed. “I love you Mary. Do you hear that from Jire?”
She smiled, yet prayed inwardly that she made no mistake in making good choice of a husband. The young couple Depo and Jire spent a little more time around and bid Felix and Mary farewell.
“We wish you quick recovery,” Jire said as she left along with her husband. Felix saw them off the building of the hospital. As he was about turning back he saw Helen walking into the hospital.
“Helen,” he called, “I have told you not to check on me here again. This is hospital for God’s sake.”
“Why wouldn’t I check on my beloved who decided to make the hospital his home even when he’s no longer sick?”
“That shouldn’t be your problem.”
“Felix, if you care to know it’s my headache. I am the one who truly love you, stop hanging on that weakling called Mary.
“Do you intend spending your lifetime in a hospital? I love you and I’m strong to stay by your side in thick and thin.” She kept talking freely as they walked back to Felix’s suite.
“Are you through with your unbridled talk?”
“Is that all you have to say? Come back to your senses, I’m pregnant for you. I’m the one you first love.”
“You’re pregnant yes no doubt about that. But we were never in love.”
“Then how did we come about this pregnancy? Did it come from the sky?”
“If you care to know,” Felix responded, “both of us were overtaken by infatuations. Our selfish impetuous to rock our bodies brought the two of us here.
“Really, if we had genuine love beyond a fleshly romance I’ll have remained with you till date. As you can see, Mary is the woman that has my heart in her hand, this is why I cannot leave the hospital until she’s well. I’m the captive of her love.”
“Whatever you say I remain your loyal wife. I’m here to keep you company but I cannot stand that your odious comparison.”
“Then leave me for now.”
“I’ll leave you alright, but I want you to remember today: no matter what anybody do I remain your wife. I am a woman who knows what she wants.” She said as she stomped her feet on the ground walking away angrily.
Felix continued his therapy and both himself and Mary believed she would soon be discharged and fit to go back to normal life. She only needed to gain enough strength and stability. Mary wanted him to go back to office for she believed she can manage herself at least in some ways but Felix insisted staying around.
He couldn’t risk losing her anymore or allowing any wrong perception of him to rally over her mind anymore. He had learned his lesson; especially now that he’s aware how much affection she had for him. His only concern is the ability to managed the obnoxious Monitoring Spirit.
How did she get to know that he was in that particular hospital?
“Mary, I’ve been told you are likely going to be discharged from the hospital in a week’s time and to fully recover at home.”
“How would you continue your therapy with me?” Mary sounded gloomily.
“I’ll do that every evening after work. I’m not married to you yet and Elder Mouton will not give me a room in your family house else I would have been around you twenty-four-seven,” he laughed sarcastically.
“I am so use to you these days and much rested when you are around. I have to confess that I find it hard to do without you.”
“That means you love me,” Felix whispered to her ear and she pulled his head to herself to kiss; then she remembered past scenes and she quickly withdrew her hands as if God was by her side warning her.
It became obvious that what seem to be negative gradually became the ground that heal their love and took it to the octane level.
Something happened the very next day that got Mary out of the hospital fast the same day.
Felix was lying on his bed while an image flickered through his mind as if Mary was dying and needing his help. It was real: he saw Mary’s spirit leaving her body. He has become so attached to her that he shivered and ran like lightning to her room.
He bumped into the door and he realized it was locked from within which was unusual. He began to bang on the door and a nurse opened it and shouted at Felix.
“What are you doing here?” She hollered as she walked past hissing. When Felix got to Mary he noted that she was struggling with breathing.
He lifted her head up and jerked her: “Mary, tell me what’s wrong?”
She couldn’t talk the next thirty minutes and she kept gasping for life. She slept for a while.
“I felt like life was slipping out of me,” she said when she was fully revived, by then Felix had called on the parents to come around. She had a very deep sleep and in the midst of this she felt a strong overpowering force over her; she was being suffocated. She was weak to resist and only realize some fresh air after some heavy noisy bangs.
Felix suspected foul play and he reported it to the hospital management calling for the CCTV camera. Upon checking through to the dismay of everybody the CCTV camera was off for that duration.
Something seem to be adding up. Felix thought a syndicate was up to something and he advised the Moutons to transfer Mary home or another hospital. They opted for home.
At the hospital, the nurse was suspended for lack of genuine reason why she should be in Mary’s room at that hour of the day.
Life goes on.
