The Journey of a Lifetime [Part Seven]
a short story...
Seven
She sat in the living room of the AIDS home for children and watched as the children interacted with each other. The younger ones huddled together on a large couch and watched TV. It was a Spongebob Squarepants episode which they were always excited to watch. The older kids were mostly by themselves and either read books or used their phones. The only staff present, the matron and cook, sat beside the younger ones as they watched the cartoon. She couldn’t tell if they were as engrossed as the children or if they just sat there out of force of habit. Having nothing tangible to do, she joined them and tried her best to understand the comical animation.
Whenever her eyes glanced past the television screen and landed on the little children, she automatically remembered her children back at home. She tried to imagine how much they must be missing her and tears welled in her eyes.
It had been about two months since she left the specialist hospital after receiving the news about her predicament. Life had been very unfair to her and she couldn’t believe her ears at first. The doctor had then personally shown her the reports and files on her case and she tried to understand as much as he showed her. It some time to come to terms with her situation, and even longer time to accept it. However, she was able to accept it with the realization that everybody dies someday, some faster than others. It gave her the renewed mental energy to achieve something in her short time on Earth.
There was a saying she had heard in church when she was little, “Some shortcomings are blessings in disguise.” Maybe, that statement applied in this situation. She decided to pursue her lifelong ambition- To help helpless people in the world. It was very ironic now, that a terminally ill patient would try to help other patients and save lives. She smiled to herself.
As she was growing up, whenever someone asked her what she wanted to be in the future, she would tell them she wanted to be a doctor. There was some truth in her answer, but it was also partly out of a feeling of belonging because everyone in Nigeria wanted to be a doctor, engineer, or lawyer while growing up. She didn’t want to be left out, so she chose the career that aligned most with her.
When she got to Senior Secondary school, she found the Science classes challenging, and solving Calculus or trying to find which family an organic compound belonged to was difficult for her. She knew then that studying medicine wasn’t for her and she just managed to finish Secondary School with a pass on her WAEC subjects. In university, she picked Nursing as her major and when things didn’t work out, she switched to Biology and barely graduated with a Second class lower grade. It wasn’t that she was unintelligent but she was studying the wrong courses. After graduation, she had no zeal to work in a restricting place like a hospital. She imagined herself as a bird and hated anything that tried to confine her. That was the reason why she always battled against her cancer and she avoided her chemotherapy medications. She still battled with cancer by leaving the hospital at a time like this.
After trying uneventfully to secure a job, she applied for a position in a Non-Governmental Organization. She got accepted and began working to help street children. That was the beginning of the discovery of her purpose in life. She spent time doing something she loved but had to quit when she got married and started raising a family.
Now, she decided to continue trying to fulfill her purpose in life. It was hard coming to terms with leaving her family and it was harder conveying her thoughts about the matter to them, but luckily they were very understanding and supported her decision. She had searched for NGOs to apply to but most of them either had no vacancy or wouldn’t accept someone in her condition. She had taken the offer of the only organization that accepted her. She was only accepted after she promised to donate some money and equipment. Shady as the deal was, it was still an acceptance and she couldn’t refuse.
The AIDS home was located on the outskirts of her city. It was a two-storey building owned by a foreign expatriate. The home was managed by a matron and employed the services of a cook, nanny, maid, doctor, two nurses, and two security guards. It was a very comfortable place and its inhabitants were mostly grateful for the little luxuries they were able to enjoy away from the hospital. The home was free and funded by generous donations from religious organizations, schools, and wealthy philanthropists.
The home was properly managed and its owner hardly ever came to visit. Nothing was known about him, but rumor had it that he was a wealthy senator and he didn’t have ample time for visiting. In his absence, the matron was homely and ran the place efficiently. She was also a foreigner, the only one apart from the resident doctor, but she had been in the country so long that she had learned an indigenous language and she acted like a Nigerian.
The home itself was made up of children under eighteen that were strictly selected from hospitals across the country. The children here were really lucky as most didn’t have financial support for their treatments and some were abandoned by their families. The job of the AIDS home was to take care of them and when they were up to eighteen, they went to universities or work to earn their upkeep. It was a very benevolent charity organization and almost all the children felt at home there.
In the midst of her thoughts she didn’t realize that the electricity had been cut, it was the laughter and playing children that jolted her back to reality. She checked her watch and discovered that it was five PM, at least they had an hour before the guard switched on their alternative power source which was a generator.
“Awilo! Where’s your handkerchief?” the matron scolded a little boy who was panting. He had been running around with the others. The children were all required to be with handkerchiefs at all times for hygienic reasons. There was a maximum emphasis on the sanitary situation of the home. “Now, go get it from your room. Hey there! Stop running around the furniture, you might fall down.”
The matron looked at home as she gave out orders from her special sofa. She looked like most old white people she had seen, thin with wrinkles and with veins all over. Whenever she smiled, she looked some years younger, but she seldom smiled. The matron was a strict woman that believed in discipline and you could only see her smile when she was genuinely happy.
She stood up and walked towards the front door. She needed fresh air. She felt a lot lighter these days and her weight had drastically reduced. Her hair fell easily nowadays when she combed it, so she had stopped combing it regularly. She took her chemotherapy medicine these days in the AIDS home, and it was easier than going to the hospital and back every day because there was a doctor who lived on the premises.
When she went out, she stood by a wall and inhaled the moist evening breeze. The weather was cool and it looked like it might rain at night. The children had moved outside and played on swings and rode bicycles. The scene looked like something out of a movie and she felt fulfilled here just watching them.
She spotted a girl that she had been watching since she arrived at the home. The girl was quiet, and reserved, and was always reading a book. She guessed that the girl would be about eleven years old and she reminded her of her twins back home. The girl’s name was Taiwo and she was dark and tall. Taiwo sat on the steps leading out of an adjacent door in the building, her head was bent, and she was engrossed in the book that she was reading.
She approached the younger girl and looked for a common ground to start a conversation. She looked at the book, and it was Half of a Yellow Sun. At least, she could remember reading the book a couple of years ago and she hoped that she could recall the complete plot of the novel. Still, it was very impressive for a young girl like Taiwo to be reading such a complex book for her age.
“Hello,” she said, smiling. Taiwo looked up nervously and met her eyes before they flitted to a nearby rock. “That’s a nice book that you have there.”
Taiwo paused as if she tried to make sense of the older woman’s statement before replying. “Oh, yes it is. I like it.”
She sensed an opening and inched closer. Taiwo seemed to be okay with it, so she sat down on the steps beside her. It was a little bit stressful to sit at so low a height but she didn’t mind it. “That’s nice, I‘ve read the book too. I found it…quite educative.”
The younger girl’s eyes lit up. She looked glad to have someone to talk to about the book and she had a big grin on her face. “There are some new words that I don’t understand but I will check them later. I wish I could write like this.”
“Then that’s not a problem. You just have to practice, and you might even be better than her in the future.”
Taiwo looked doubtful and stared at her suspiciously. “Are you serious? I don’t even think I know much, so how can I write interesting stories like this?”
The older woman laughed. “With practice and a bit of experience. You know, you’re still young so just keep trying and you’ll be shocked at how good you’ll be.”
Taiwo closed the book and faced her fully. “I’ve written some stories and essays, it’s in my room. Do you think that you can read them and give me some advice?”
“Sure I will. I will come over to look at them tomorrow morning.” She paused and smiled. “You know, you remind me of my twin daughters. They were always reading and writing romantic stories.”
Taiwo laughed. “They seem like fun people. All the other kids here hardly have time for me because they say I’m weird and I’m always reading. Am I weird?”
“That’s not true at all. You seem like a very intelligent girl and I like you. Listen, even if you may not have many friends here, I’ll be your best friend if you want.”
“Sure, we can be besties.” Taiwo giggled softly and her countenance changed suddenly. “I had a twin brother when I was younger, but he died. He was my best friend.”
The older woman paused, and the sudden change of emotions made her tongue-tied. It was sad that Taiwo lost a sibling and also suffered from a terminal illness. Life really was unfair.
“I’m so sorry about that, Do you want to talk about it?”
Taiwo shook her head sideways. “I just felt like letting you know, but I don’t want to.”
“No problem. I understand.” She looked for what to say to change the awkward atmosphere. “So who is your favorite character in the novel?”
The girl’s mood changed almost immediately at the mention of the book. “I think I like Kainene, she’s a bit different, but she has a spine and doesn’t care what people think.” It was a good choice and she could see some bits of Kainene in Taiwo. “I’ve been trying to understand the whole Biafra situation and the war though, it’s a bit confusing.”
She was about to reply when the generator lights turned on and flooded the building, while the siren for dinner rang simultaneously. Taiwo stood up on impulse and she held a rail for support as she joined her. Maybe, she would have time to answer Taiwo’s question in the future.