Winds Of Fate – Episode 3


By Serah Iyare

She opened her eyes. She felt she was somewhere familiar. Was she home? She tried to turn on her side, but the pains that attacked her made her to groan.

“She is awake,” Osabohen announced. Her parents and brothers gathered around the bed.

“How are you doing darling?” her father’s voice felt like a balm, soothing all her aches.

“Daddy…” she croaked. Her throat felt very dry. She started to cough.

“I think she need a drink,” her mother stared at her youngest daughter.

Osabohen frowned. Why was she looking at her? Why can’t someone else get the drink?

“Sabby…” her father signaled to her.

“A drink it is…” she got up and hurried out of the room.

“How are you feeling?” Etinosa sat beside her daughter. She turned to look at her mother. Her eyes were red and she had a sad look on her face.

“I am… in pains,” she started to cough again.

“Where is Osabohen?” Osarodion looked towards the door with irritation.

“You are going to be all right darling,” Nosakhare sat beside his wife and reached out for his daughter’s hand.

Osaretin stood at the edge of the bed. He kept looking at his sister. She seemed thinner, frail and fragile. He saw Osabohen with the corner of his eye; she was carrying a glass of water. Her mother collected it from her. Nosakhare helped Osayuki to sit up, while his wife gave her a drink.

Osarodion watched his parents. Trust them to dot on their favourite child and pamper her to stupor. He shook the thoughts away. He was

supposed to be praying for her quick recovery, not licking old wounds.

She drained the glass and lay back on the bed, “My car… I parked my car outside the beach.”

Nosakhare glanced at his first son.

He met his father’s gaze and nodded, “I will go and get it this evening.”

The thoughts of what happened at the beach clouded her mind. She closed her eyes and tried to shut out the memories. The sinister look in Stephen’s eyes, the way the hoodlums ate her up, the fear that consumed her mind and the pain that took over her body exploded in her mind. She began to scream.

“Osayuki…” Etinosa shook her by the shoulder. She didn’t respond, her eyes seemed lost and distant, like she was somewhere else. She panicked and turned to her husband.

Osayuki continued to scream, holding her head and trying in vain to stop the trail of her torturous thoughts.

“Darling…” Nosakhare climbed the bed and tried to hold her. She flinched at his touch and sat up. She held her head with both hands and her shrill filled the room.

“I think we should call the doctor,” Osabohen joined her brother at the edge of the bed. Her sister’s sudden reaction had scared her.

Nosakhare motioned to his first son. Osarodion dialed Doctor Bia’s number on his phone and dashed out of the room.

“Osayuki…” she moved closer to her daughter. She recognized her mother’s voice and flew into her arms.

“Mummy!” She held unto her like her life depended on it.

“Yes, darling. I am right here. I am not going anywhere.”

“Mummy…” she sobbed, “I see them… I see all of them,” she wept.

“It is going to be all right darling. Mummy is here. I promise you, I won’t allow them to hurt you ever again.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, darling, I promise.”

His eyes smarted with tears. He got up and staggered out of the room. Osaretin watched his father leave. He felt saddened by his discomposure.

Osabohen examined her mother as she consoled her elder sister. None of them had eaten or slept a wink since they returned from the hospital

that afternoon. How were they going to cope with Osayuki’s situation? She doubted if things would ever return to normal.

xxxxxx

Doctor Bia sedated Osayuki and she fell asleep almost immediately. He turned around and looked at them, from one to the other.

“You all need to rest, eat and rest.”

“How is she?” he was worried about his daughter.

The doctor sighed and turned to the sleeping beauty, “She will be fine. She will have a lot of episodes like the one you just witnessed… nightmares inclusive.”

“Ah!” Osabohen panicked.

“For how long?” Etinosa wiped the tears on her face with the back of her hand.

He stood, “I cannot say.”

“What does that mean?” Osarodion folded his arms across his chest.

He directed his gaze at the young man, “I suggest you employ an in-house nurse.”

“What for?” Osaretin eyed the doctor.

He stared at the younger man, and then faced their father, “The nurse will sedate her with a tranquillizer whenever she has an episode or a nightmare.”

“For how long?” Etinosa paled.

He turned to look at the elderly woman, “Until the episodes and nightmares stop.”

“Wow!” Osabohen leaned against the wall. Things were worse than she thought.

“Can you help us to get an in-house nurse?” Nosakhare faced the doctor. He was ready to do whatever it took to help her to recover as fast

as possible.

“Yes. She also needs to see a Psychiatrist once she is up to it.”

“Whatever for?” Etinosa got to her feet and faced the doctor.

“Talking to a Psychiatrist will help her to off-load the weight on her mind and bring her some form of closure.”

Etinosa began to shake her head. Her daughter didn’t need a shrink. She wasn’t crazy.

“Ma, she needs to speak to someone about what happened to her.”

“We are her family. She will speak to us,” Osaretin walked up to his mother and placed a hand around her shoulder. She found comfort in his gesture.

The doctor glanced at the head of the family, “She needs a neutral person.”

Nosakhare nodded in agreement. The detective assigned to his daughter’s case also wanted to speak with her. He doubted if she was ready to share her experience. Her mind seemed fractured. He couldn’t fathom how long it took for the human mind to heal and recover from such ghastly experience.

“I will make arrangements for the in-house nurse. She will be here first thing tomorrow morning,” doctor Bia headed towards the doorway.

“I will see you to your car,” Osarodion saw the doctor out. He had a lot of questions to ask.

“I think you should both go home. You can check up on your sister tomorrow,” Etinosa patted her son on the back and glanced at her

daughter. Osaretin kissed his mother on both cheeks and hugged his father. He needed to rest. He might not go to work the next day. He was the head of the Accounts department in his father’s company. He might call his assistant and intimate him on how to oversee things in his absence. Osabohen followed her brother out of the room. They met their eldest brother at the car park. He was also on his way out.

Nosakhare and his wife walked out of the room and closed the door gently. They hoped that Osayuki would remain sedated throughout the night.

“Are you going to work tomorrow?”

He placed a hand around her shoulder, “As the CEO of Goldenberg Insurance Company, I have to be there, come rain or shine.”

She sighed heavily.

“I will go mad with worry if I stay back at home.”

“I will stay. I want to meet the nurse and help her to settle in.”

“Okay.”

“I can’t stop wondering…”

“About?”

“Where was God when our daughter was been molested?”

He sighed and pulled her close in a hug, “God is ever present.”

“But…”

“Ssssh… there are things we might never fully understand, but, that doesn’t mean that God wasn’t or isn’t there.

She exhaled loudly.

“He never leaves or forsakes us.”

She knew he spoke the truth, but, it was a bitter pill to swallow at that very moment.

“We will trust in the Lord with all our hearts and depend not on our own understanding. In all our ways, we will acknowledge Him and He will direct our paths,” he paraphrased the third chapter of the book of Proverbs, verse five and six.

She would try as much as possible to trust in God and rest in Him. After all, He sees the end from the beginning. Her daughter was safely in his arms, regardless of what she had gone through.

XXXXXXXXX

Doctor Bia sat in the living room with his wife’s younger brother. They had been waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Ehaekpen for more than fifteen minutes. The House manager, Mrs. Grace, had told them that the couple had just woken up. He knew how exhausted they were the day before. He expected them to stay indoors and rest.

Nosakhare and Etinosa walked into the sitting room. They looked a bit refreshed and visibly tired.

“Good morning doctor,” they chorused.

Doctor Bia and his brother-in-law got up and greeted the couple. They returned to their seats, while the couple sat opposite them.

“I thought you said the nurse will resume this morning,” she looked at the doctor then at the fair young man seated beside him.

He cleared his throat, “Yes, em… this is Omefe Esiri, my wife’s younger brother. He studied Nursing in London and he also has a diploma in

Psychology.”

Her dark brows creased in a frown. She caught a glimpse of her husband. His facial expression depicted displeasure. They had both expected

a female nurse.

The doctor cleared his throat again, he could sense their disapproval, “Omefe is very good at his job. He will offer both medical and

psychological help to your daughter.”

Nosakhare and his wife sized up the young man. They felt that a female nurse would have been appropriate.

“Can’t you get us a female nurse?” Etinosa directed her gaze at the doctor.

“I can vouch for Efe. Let him take care of your daughter for a couple of days, if you are not satisfied, I will go out of my way to search for a

female nurse.”

Nosakhare assessed the young man. He looked as old as his first son, “Why didn’t you stay back in London?”

“I worked in different hospitals back in London, but, I decided to come home to give back to my country.”

He snorted and got to his feet, “I am off.”

Doctor Bia and Efe rose.

“Let’s see what the young man can offer.”

“Thank you sir,” the doctor relaxed.

Efe sensed that the middle aged woman was staring at him. He needed the job. Since he returned to the country two years ago, his earnings

were nothing compared to what he earned in London. His sister’s husband had assured him that the Ehaekpen family would pay handsomely.

Mrs. Grace walked in briskly, “Sir, ma, she is awake.”

They all turned around and looked at her.

“She is screaming her lungs out.”

Etinosa panicked. Nosakhare grimaced and glanced at the doctor.

“Where is she?” Efe picked up his small bag and approached the woman.

“Come with me,” they hurried out of the room.

“She will be all right. He will take good care of her,” the doctor assured them.

He relaxed and pecked his wife on the cheek, “See you in the evening.”

She sighed and watched them leave.

xxxxxx

Osabohen met her parents taking their dinner when she arrived at the Ehaekpen’s ten bedroom mansion that evening. She chatted with them for a while before leaving for her sister’s bedroom. She met a fair young man attending to her. She was taken aback. Where was the nurse? The man was clad in a white short-sleeve shirt and trousers. He looked like one of the male nurses in the sitcom ‘Grey Anatomy’. He noticed her presence and greeted her. She gave a nod and left the room. She hurried back to the dining and took a seat.

“I thought Doctor Bia was supposed to bring a female nurse,” she looked from one parent to the other.

“Male or female, as long as he or she is a nurse, I am fine with it,” there was a note of finality in his voice.

“If you say so,” she eyed him and caught a glimpse of her mother. She looked weary.

“I didn’t see you in the office today,” Nosakhare took a long drink.

“I couldn’t lift a finger when I woke up this morning. I needed the day off.”

Her brothers walked into the room. They greeted their parents and stood by the dining.

“Have you both had your dinner?” Etinosa searched their faces.

They nodded in unison.

“Should Mrs. Grace bring you something to eat?”

“No, mum, thanks,” Osarodion took a seat.

“I had dinner with some friends on my way here. I am stuffed,” Osaretin smiled at her.

Mrs. Grace came in, greeted her employers’ children and cleared the table. Efe joined them and informed his new employers that their daughter had been sedated for the night and would soon fall asleep. They thanked him. He said his goodnight and returned to his quarters, a room directly opposite his patient’s room.

“I thought Osayuki’s nurse was supposed to be a woman?” Osaretin sat beside his brother.

“Is it wise to employ a male nurse?” Osarodion looked at both parents.

“My point exactly,” their sister added.

Nosakhare assured his children that the male nurse was highly recommended by their family doctor. They should all concern themselves with their sister’s quick recovery and not the person taking care of her.

xxxxxx

She lay on the bed in her pajamas. She had, had her dinner and was waiting for sleep to overtake her. It had been two weeks since the incident at the beach. Her nightmares came every single night. She hoped it would stop soon. Whatever the male nurse sedated her with always calmed and lured her back to sleep. Her dreams were usually centered on the faces of the men that violated her. The torment gnawed at her soul and made it impossible for her to sleep.

Lord Jesus… will I ever get over this bad experience? Heal me Lord. Make me whole again.

Someone knocked. She looked towards the door. The male nurse opened the door, walked in and took a few steps towards the bed.

“You are still awake. I thought I should check up on you.”

She sighed and turned on her side. He folded his hands across his chest. His elder sister’s husband had told him about her condition. He had

treated people like her in the past. Many rape victims lose their minds due to their ugly experiences. Some find it hard to relate with men.

Some became men haters. Others find solace in lesbianism and a great number turned to nymphomaniacs. He prayed that his patient would recover with all her faculties intact. It was a good thing that she was a believer. Her faith in God would help her heal physically, emotionally and psychologically. It would also help her through every challenge she might encounter.

“Good night,” he turned around and saw himself out.

She heard the sound of the door. She sighed again and lay on her back. Efe had been very kind to her. At times, she heard him praying for her. He was always at her side whenever she had nightmares. He would stay in her room until she drifted off to sleep. His presence was comforting. She let out a loud yawn and turned on her tummy. She blinked several times and dozed off.

…to be continued

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