FISH BRAIN GAMES (8) KYENPIA “I’m wasted,” Amaka whispered as we got into the church. “It’s called a hangover,” I replied. “Tell me about it.” She got out her sunglasses and wore them. “Front, behind, top or center?” I asked. “Are there styles like center and front?” she looked at me. “I mean, I used to like to be on top but James…” I came apart in laughter and Amaka looked at me quizzically. “What’s funny?” I collected myself. “I was asking if you wanted to sit in front or behind or should we climb to the top?” “Oh.” She grinned. “My dear, you need to get married fast. You’re becoming a cobweb station.” She hit me playfully. “Let’s climb upstairs so we can see everything.” “But Kyen, why did you bring me to church this early when they’re still doing sound check? Abi you want to lead opening prayers? Even Pastor Ishi is not this early.” “Don’t worry,” I told her as we made it up the stairs. “The church will be packed full in the next thirty minutes.” I led us to the best sitting space on the balcony where we could be in full view of the overhead crane camera. “Kay, this is like the branch of our church back in Lagos, yeah?” “Yeah.” “I’m so glad I left my old church and joined this one. Is Pastor Ishi joining the couple?” “I think so.” “Oh God, I so love Warri. I’ve been having fun since I came, apart from the Fiyin and Doyin saga. Mtsheew!” “Meanwhile, what was with the bride yesterday at the bachelorette?” I changed the topic and we ventured into what happened the previous night and carried on until worshippers began to fill the two thousand sitter church. “Kay, you’re right o. The place is packed full.” Amaka looked at her watch. “But it took longer than you said. Hey, see James and Lolo and Bem!” “Where?” “Downstairs. They just got in.” Minutes later, James, Bem and Loretta joined us on the balcony and found vacant seats beside us. “Good morning, girls,” Bem extended both hands and we shook him. “Where is the third musketeer?” “There,” Loretta pointed down and we spotted Fiyin and Doyin making it in through one of the entrances downstairs. “This thing between them is for real?” “Like, who cares?” Amaka murmured and Loretta took that as a go-ahead to invite Fiyin and Doyin to occupy two of the last three seats available at the balcony. “Why nau?” Amaka hit Loretta. “You could have as well invited Lucifer and his crew. Go jor. Oh look!” she smiled, “that’s Butter Babe and Lanre and there are no seats left here. Lolo, why did you invite Mr. and Mrs. Judas here?” “Who is Butter Babe?” Loretta asked. “Shh!” I hushed them as the pastor handling the service, a young guy, not much older than Ishi, stepped on the podium and took the microphone. “Good morning, everyone.” There was slight response from the congregation. “Good to all see you here, bright and shiny. Before I hand over to the choir to commence with the worship, I want to remind us that today’s going to be a packed-full service because of the wedding solemnization between one of our own, Belema and another of ours from our headquarters in Lagos, Doctor Pere Dokuboh. So our normal Sunday service will still hold but the wedding will be part of it. The senior pastor is still away and I’ll be in charge here today but we have Pastor Ishi from Lagos. You all know him; he used to be here back in the day. Okay, so I promise that we’ll do our best to close on time. Please, do try and cooperate with the ushers and give your seats up for visitors, especially the wedding guests and our brethren from Lagos. God bless you.” “Good morning guys,” Doyin greeted as he and Fiyin joined us. “Why is he forming familiarity, even doing it with a serious face?” Amaka whispered, blocking her face with the wedding program. “He’s shamelessly palming her waist in church. Maybe we should change seats before God fires all of us with thunder.” “They didn’t hear you in India,” Fiyin put in acidly as she sat behind Amaka. “I hope you used protection – for his sake,” Amaka bit back, tilting her head backwards. I drew her forward and Fiyin followed. “Maxy, gaan die. Doyin’s not going anywhere. He’s here for good.” She rested her hand on Amaka’s shoulder and let it slide down deliberately so that we could get a good look at the blinding diamond ring on her finger. Amaka and I froze. “He proposed?” I asked. “Not yet. I saw it in his backpack. He’s been carrying it for years. It was for you, Maxy. But you can’t have it all. It’s now my time to bling.” Amaka shot up from her seat, away from Fiyin, and pretended to be lost in the worship session but I knew she was boiling within. Nevertheless, as time passed, with James drawing stickmen cartoons of the wedding couple to our amusement, she forgot the whole incident and enjoyed the rest of the service. The entire shindig took four hours. Towards the end, as the couple began to leave the church, a sharp pain, without warning, hit my lower abdomen and I almost cried out. It was a familiar feeling that had been plaguing me for a while and I had been tight-lipped about it except for the one time I complained to my doctor, Bem. He invited me for a check-up but I never made it. Now the cramping was back and was threatening to put a damper on my whole day. Ishi climbed the podium after the couple exited and only a few people were left in the church. People at the balcony usually filed out last to avoid unnecessary traffic, so we hung around for a few extra minutes. As Ishi took the microphone, everyone thought he was giving some last minute announcement until he called out Amaka’s name. “Amaka Beulah Stanley,” he rolled it out slowly. “He’s seen a vision about me,” she gasped, her eyes widening in apprehension as the overhead crane camera rotated and zoomed in on her. “Oh God, it must be bad. It’s all the Long Island Iced Tea I was drinking yesterday. Now God thinks I’m a drunk.” She hid from the camera, docking to the floor. “James Haliru Bako, in the presence of all these witnesses, would like to know if you would love to be his wife.” There was a hushed silence and people who were initially making it out of the church, stopped and waited to see what would happen next. “Oga Haliru,” Amaka faced James with clenched teeth. “I can kill you right now!” “Bee-you-lah!” Ishi dubbed in a teasing tone. “Yes, Pastor Ishi,” Amaka squeaked, still futilely hiding behind the railing of the balcony. “Come on, let’s see your face.” Slowly she lifted herself and did her best to stay calm. “Say yes nau,” Ishi continued. “Abi you still want him to go down on his knees?” There was a chorus of ‘yes!’ from many of the ladies in the church hall. “Oya, he’s beside you.” Amaka turned to James who was standing next to her. He courteously went down on his knee, got out her engagement ring and slipped it on her finger. Unable to control herself any longer, she buried her face on his shoulder and he lifted her up. “No kissing. You’re in the house of God,” Ishi said playfully and everyone expressed amusement. “I pray you find your happiness as Pere and Belema have, and I pray the same for all of you looking for life partners.” And there was a chorus of Amens from the church, again, from the single sisters. “Have a nice day, people.” Ishi stepped away from the podium and the cramping in my stomach returned full force, more unbearable. My facial expressions tried to betray what I was going through but Fiyin caught on. “Kay, are you alright?” she asked and I shook my head. “What’s wrong?” “I don’t know. Can’t move.” My lips shivered. “Lolo,” Fiyin called Loretta’s attention. “Something’s wrong with Kyenpia.” Loretta walked to me and held my hand. “You’re burning up. What’s it? Fever? Pain?” “Pain…” I barely said. “Where?” I pointed at my stomach. Bem was also beside me in an instant and staring into his watch, he was already taking my pulse. “Describe the pain,” he said. “Cramping…” I whispered and he nodded, concentrating on what he was doing. “Left? Right?” “I don’t know…everywhere…” I gave into tears and began to shiver without control. “Your pulse is very erratic. We have to get you to a hospital,” he said. I managed a nod and a look passed between us. “Can you stand? Come on, try.” He had my hand and together with Loretta, they pulled me up gently but the moment I was on my feet, I felt a gush of blood between my legs. “Kay, ya bleeding!” Fiyin gasped. That was the last thing I heard before I passed out. * * * * * * Amaka said something and they all laughed. I laughed too but I was distracted and not even Leonel’s presence beside me or the smell of antiseptics in my hospital room could stop my thoughts from roaming. At that moment I was following a lone mosquito that had been flying around the room and had come to rest directly below the wall clock that stood above Lanre’s head. I heard the clock ticking; it sounded louder than the noise in the room. My eyes concentrated on it. There was something odd about the hour hand. It wasn’t stuck on 6 exactly; it stood somewhere between 6 and 7 and it beckoned to me to make it right but I kept my restless fingers to myself and shifted my eyes back to the mosquito. Lanre followed my stare and without looking, slapped the mosquito dead. Yuck. Blood. Ishi stared at the spot but couldn’t see. Bad eyes. He wore his glasses and stared at the spot again; afterwards, he looked at me briefly, at my hand held in Leonel’s, then he went back to his phone. I looked away from him and found Fiyin who was twirling her oversized diamond ring and my thoughts wandered, pondering over why she sought what she’ll never have. Doyin was in love with Amaka but he would piggy-ride on Fiyin all the way till her back and heart break. Doyin knew what he wanted. It didn’t matter if he didn’t get Amaka; being around her was his revenge and his obsession. To him, no lines and boundaries existed, just windows opened after the doors have been shut. Amaka said she had her friend’s best interest at heart but it was a lie. All she wanted was for Doyin to vanish from her life. Was it too much for a girl to ask? Did she need any more drama in her life? James was not even thinking of Doyin. He was in financial crisis and couldn’t tell anyone. Not even Amaka. Oh well, she would find out when she got to doing the first quarterly auditing next year. As it was, he dreaded his wedding. He had to postpone it or Amaka and her family would drain him dry. Speaking of family, Loretta liked Bem but she wanted to see other men. She was a girl on fire. And was it my eyes or she was pregnant? I needed to ask her. My dearest Ishi…When would he stop loving me? The crystal ball that rotates in Lanre’s head reveals that I’ll wake up to Ishi’s face every morning. The crystal ball never lies. Yet my heart wanted what it wanted. Leonel was hiding something. He seemed too perfect, too put together, apart from the fact that he smoked blunt. But I’m also addicted. To him, I mean. Was love an addiction or a feeling? Feelings don’t last. They fade; they switch. But I still remained addicted. Something was wrong. I wondered what Lanre’s crystal ball had to say about him. Lanre…He was blank…although he joked a lot. He was always blank. Methinks he is a villain underneath it all. How else do I explain his perfect aim of the mosquito even without looking? “Kay, I’m talking to you.” Leo ran a line over my thumb and I turned to him slightly. My shoulders hurt like hell. This was due to the carbon dioxide pumped into me for my surgery. I looked swollen and puffy and my eyes burned within and it didn’t help that I was naturally allergic to antiseptics. Amaka was behind me on the bed, attending to my upper body with a heat pack. Ishi was in a far corner, smiling at the on-going gist as he browsed his phone geekily. James, Loretta, Fiyin and Doyin were all trying hard not to laugh at Lanre’s jokes anymore because the matron on duty had just walked in and threatened to send them out before the visiting hour expired if they kept on with their noise. It was a small, private hospital, she had added, and their patients were not the types to be disturbed with noise. If only she understood that Lanre was merely trying to keep everybody’s spirit up. They were all scared to death of losing me. “Hello, everyone!” Bem walked in and I sighed in relief. He had been part of the team of doctors that operated on me. Seeing him in a lively frame of mind eased my apprehensions. He picked my chart, read it and afterwards, took my vitals while asking me a few questions about how I was feeling. I replied and he assured me that I was doing well and the pain I was feeling would subside over the next few days. “Thanks, Bem.” “Doctor Bem? Amaka shifted forward a little. “Everybody in this room wants to know what happened to Kyenpia but she refused to tell us. So, please… we’re all worried.” “Kyenpia, you should do the talking,” Bem said. “I tried but I couldn’t.” “It’s not my place…: “Please,” Amaka begged. Bem bent his head briefly as if gathering momentum, then he lifted it and stared my way. “Kyenpia has been suffering from multiple ovarian cysts…” “What’s that?” Amaka asked, interrupting him. “It’s a sack filled with fluid that forms in or on an ovary.” “It’s bad?” “Not all the time. It’s common from puberty to menopause. Most times, it’s functional and goes away after two to three months but hers was more complex and she’s had them for a while. Four years ago I referred her to a colleague who performed a surgery to take out one of her ovaries because of the extent of damage the cysts caused.” “Oh my God, Kyen…” Amaka held my hand. “Ovaries? That’s serious.” Lanre said. “Can she still have kids?” “Right now, we did a simple procedure to take out another large cyst from the second ovary. Yes, she can still have kids,” Bem smiled at me reassuringly. “With the silence in this room, I guess she never told anyone. But she’s fine; she made it.” Leo reached for my other hand and squeezed it while Ishi threw angry stares at me. “What causes the cysts?” he asked. “I really can’t tell. It might be hereditary.” “Is it going to occur again?” Loretta’s eyes searched Bem’s face and he looked away and came back. “She’s…fine. Kyenpia’s a strong girl and she’ll make it. All she needs is your support and prayers.” “Kay, why didn’t tell us?” Fiyin slanted her lips down in sadness. “I don’t know… I’m sorry. But it’s good news nau, you guys... The worst is over.” “Yeah, it is,” James agreed. “Thank God you’re alive.” They crowded around me, either giving me a kiss on my cheek or a gentle rub of the hand. I had never felt so much love and support in my life yet I wanted them to leave. I just wanted to be alone. As encouraging and healing words were whispered into my ears, the matron in charge, poked in her head again and announced that the visiting hour was over and only one person was allowed to stay. One by one, they filed out after promising to return the next morning before they left for Lagos. Lanre gave me his famous wet peck on my cheek and Ishi held my hand and sent out a prayer for me before he left but I could tell he was still angry at me for not telling him what I was going through. Finally ,when it was just Leonel and Bem left, I looked at Bem and my face quickly went severe. “What’s the bad news, Bem?” I probed his eyes. He sighed. “You know this is the second time I’m working on that ovary.” I nodded, two short bobs of my head. “Unfortunately, Kyen, I don’t have good news.” “Just say it, please...” “The fluid we collected from the cyst showed signs of malignancy.” “Meaning?” “It’s cancerous and there’s a strong possibility that you could get ovarian cancer if we don’t take out the entire ovary.” I began to shake my head strongly, refusing every word he was saying. “For now, you’re okay but Kyen, you can’t take any risks again.” “So she can’t get pregnant?” Leo asked. “As I said earlier, she still can but it’s better for her that she doesn’t. I’m going to put her on birth control pills to stop her periods and ovulation for a while because these cysts form when a woman’s normal cycle is active.” “But I want to get pregnant.” “Kyenpia, you can’t afford to have your normal cycle for now. We have to curtail…” “I’m not taking out my ovary and I am not taking any pills! I want to get pregnant!” They both looked at me and Leo gestured something to Bem and they walked out of the room. I sat there, blinking uncontrollably because that was all I could do to keep from crying. I tried to ponder on what Bem had just told me but my brain wasn’t really processing anything. I was blank for a long time. A while later, Leo returned. He spoke to me but I didn’t reply because I didn’t really hear him. He held my hand and spoke some more but I was still deaf to him. “Kay?” He ran his finger up and down the sole of my foot and I looked at him. “Do you want to cry?” I was silent. “Do you want to be alone?” I shook my head. He sat down and took off his shoes. “Are you afraid?” Finally, I found my voice. “I am.” “Do you still want to have the baby?” I tried to speak again but I couldn’t because I had somehow crashed into tears. Not minding my pain or the IV line in my hand, I threw arms around him. “It’s going to be okay.” ©Sally@moskedapages
Posted on: Fri, 18 Apr 2014 09:42:11 +0000