re flat at 6:00a.m. The lavender rays o

of bed and went straight into the living room. Crystal was

a sober tone and then she ended the call. H

?" I asked, looking d

ng away. She bent down as a

ted seeing her this way. It

t on their way to the villag

My mouth became watery, full of questions. "Where? What did you just

mute, sti

ng; it's like she didn't underst

is de

ards her. I wanted to slap her as father would, perhaps

iately. "Your Mother is fine,"

felt a muscle twitch in my jaw and could not complete the question. Torturous thoughts harried in my brain. "I co

tor that called said he was in coma and his c

; which hospital is that?"

you want to have accident?" Ble

reature was thi

cident and her advice was that l

have accident; nonsense!" I lashed out a

oh; Oga is dead and now you want

ill take you to the hospital; just gi

ime l come back," I said to Ble

way she reasoned and the way she talked convinced me that she was not of this generati

ut and we left f

l now. Father was in a hospital, not his own, but a teaching hospital. The ward was desperately busy. we we

e other two along the adjoining width. The maps of decay on the ceiling indicated the poor

e of the patients who had fallen off the bed. T

hear her clearly, her voice cracked as she spoke. "This man is a pastor oh, he is supposed to be a pastor. How can he be looking lustfully at a young lady just because her sagging trouser revealed her bare buttocks,

e hadn't noticed our presence yet. She w

, he saw a young lady whose dressing showed the top of her breasts. He told me that women like this lady were sent by the devil to destroy h

son, you shoul

hen Crystal had greeted her. She just hissed and sat down on her stool. I quickly said to myself that it was becau

ason corpse. I felt a dart of fear in my belly. The fear paralysed every breath of air around me; the fear of losing my Fath

s and l cried uncontrollably. "Stay with me, Father," l said, looking at his eyes which were already c

olour of an overripe avocado. "Go home, dear; l will come back as soon as

said optimistically and then

n't really crying but her countenance

r voice had become deep; it was not like the calm voice with which she spok

let father and he

ly understand wh

nt or was there more to it than

eft for the house

ked strong like nothing had happened. He told me that it was God who had healed him and brought him back to life and l kept thinking how Father kne

ome for about two weeks and came back later to say he was on call. He cared less about the family;

t from the nice and respectable manner with which she conversed with him. She started keeping

ather's voice was low, as that of

l said to him, without bothering to answer his question. l thought that if t

s room. l watched him totter like a big man with the spindly legs of a child. He hadn't fully recovered, go

Contin