Potraits and Letters

This is the first chapter of  a book  I am working on. Feel free to read, critic and share your thoughts .........

Life is a big maze which we sometimes cannot understand. The comings, the goings, the happiness, the sadness, the loss and the love, all these are part of this beautiful maze called life. However, there are cycles that define our lives. The cycle of life and death. It’s an unpredictable and interesting cycle that happens every day. In a way it was a miracle.

A lady paced the corridors of the waiting room. She prayed inwardly as she walked the halls. The lady didn’t look at any of the people sitting in the room. She stood for a minute and prayed again. One of the five people waiting with her was starting to worry about his dear friend. She has being pacing the hall for almost two hours and hadn’t sat down. He walked over to where she was temporarily standing and stood beside her. He gently placed an arm on her shoulder.

“Vicky, you need to calm down and sit down.” He spoke gently and in a low tone.

“Am fine Chris, thank you.”

“Look, you have being standing and pacing on and off for almost three hours now. You need to calm down.”

Another woman walked over to her from the small waiting group.

“Vick, please come and sit down. You need to rest.”

Victoria Kofo allowed her friends to lead her to an empty seat. They started a discussion with her as a ploy to distract her. But, her heart wasn’t in the discussion, so she stood up a few times as the wait continued. The solemn party continued until two hours later when a female doctor clad in surgical clothes came out of the theatre.

She came to the centre of the small gathering and stood, slowly adjusting her spectacle.

“Please can I speak to the patient’s mother?”

Vicky stood quickly and went to the doctor.

“I am the patient’s mother. How is she? How did the operation go?”

“It went well.” Dr. Jones spoke hesitantly.

“So, how are my daughter and the new baby?”

Five pairs of ears eagerly awaited the doctor’s reply. Their eyes were also glued to her face. The doctor didn’t speak for the first few minutes, as a nurse came to her side and whispered something to her. She nodded, and looked up as the nurse left her side.

“The baby is fine, hale and heart. A baby girl.”
“Ah…..Olorun eshe ooo….Eshegon….” Victoria chanted, performing a quick dance, without music.

The others waiting chatted among themselves with faces beaming with smiles.

“And the mother?” The matriarch enquired.

“Well, she insisted that we take care of her baby first.”

“And?”

“We did our best, but we lost her.”

Victoria screamed, and Stephanie came to her friend’s side, holding her as she cried out.

“No…. Not my daughter.” Victoria sobbed as the doctor walked away.