CAMARADERIE TROUBLES

Florence stood at the door of the hospital ward as tears streamed down her face. Her lips shook wildly and she made no effort to stop the tears flowing down her cheeks. She walked slowly into the room, staring at the hospital bed, just a few steps away. Her bloodshot eyes were blind to the two other occupants of the room, as she walked like a zombie towards the bed that held her interest. She got to the bed and stared through streaming eyes at the frail form of her son lying on the bed, unconscious. She ran her eyes over his pale innocent face as tears made a fast trek down her hot cheeks. No! She couldn't accept this. Never in her wildest dreams and nightmares did she even imagine that her son would be a candidate of an hospital ward, looking like a complete shadow of himself. Leukaemia... Cancer of the blood... The doctor's words echoed in her ears, causing her chest to squeeze painfully until she was sure she could hardly breathe.

Florence took a deep breath and eased herself onto the bed beside IK, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest. She lightly ran her hand over his short hair as tear drops fell onto the top of her blouse. "Mummy is here" she said in uneven broken voice as her lips shook from the force of holding her tears back. "Mummy is here now, my son". She bent and kissed the top of IK's head lingeringly, her tears disappearing into his hair.

Florence straightened and wiped at her tears. "Nothing... nothing would happen to you, IK" she murmured as she stared at IK's face. "I promise". Her lips shook as despite her struggle, tears ran down her eyes again. "I promise you, my son" she cried, running her shaking fingers around IK's hair.

Footsteps approached and Florence lifted her eyes to bimbo. He looked completely shattered, looking every bit his age and more. Lines of worry and beads of perspiration shone on his forehead and his lips were tightly drawn against his teeth. Florence had left bimbo with the doctor when she hadn't been able to stand what he was saying anymore. She realized now that she shouldn't have. bimbo looked on the verge of tears and the only thing that kept him hanging there was probably his fierce male pride.

"bimbo" she cried as she stood and held on to him like her life depended on it. She cried onto his chest as her tears created a damp patch on her husband's shirt. "Oh bimbo..."

"Shhhhhh" bimbo held Florence so close, they could hardly draw a descent breath. Pain tore at his heart as he held his crying wife in his arms staring at his son, lying on the bed. It was all he could do not to burst into tears. "Hush now" he murmured into Florence's hair, feeling the dampness of his shirt seer the shattered pieces of his heart. He could not accept it! He would not accept it.

bimbo stared hard at IK. He knew just what cancer was and knew without a doubt that the survival rate was incredibly slim. But he could not accept it. His son couldn't have leuWunmia. He couldn't open his eyes wide and watch while his first fruit faded before his very eyes. Tears burned at the back of his eyes as he stared at IK's pale body. He blinked back his tears furiously as his arms tightened around Florence.

"That report is a lie" Florence muttered amidst tears. "My son cannot have cancer. I refuse to believe it"

bimbo swallowed and pulled back enough to look into Florence's eyes. He didn't disprove or approve her claim because he had the strong feeling that the report was accurate. "Everything would be fine. I promise"

Florence blinked, sending the tears on her lashes flowing down. "I'm afraid this is a promise you won't be able to keep, bimbo" her lips shook. "Nothing would be okay from now onwards"

bimbo swallowed. "Don't say that, Florence. Everything is possible with God, if I have to climb every mountain in this country to pray for my son, I will. IK would be fine"

Florence stared at bimbo and nodded. She swallowed as he wiped at her face. Florence turned back and sat on the bed, watching IK like a hawk.

"The doctor said we can take IK home tonight and bring him back in two days." bimbo said.

Florence turned. "How are we going to do that? If IK would be admitted here, what about the children? This place is too far from home, the car has been at the mechanics for weeks with no money to repair it." Florence continued blabbing as thoughts kept pouring in her head, making their situation more precarious. Worry took over her features. "How would we foot the hospital bills, bimbo? I've spent almost all my capital on drugs. My God, what are we going to do?"

bimbo swallowed, taking a deep breath. "I'll take care of it."

*****

Selena watched her siblings play in the veranda of Aunty Naomi's apartment. It seemed a century ago since she saw the bit of excitement. Selena smiled, feeling like a child again, for the first time in days. She was so young but felt so old already. She had always loved to be called a big girl. She hated being called a child that she wanted to grow up so bad. She wanted to do the things adults did, feel what adults feel But now, she wasn't sure anymore...

She had seen the pain in her parents' eyes, seen their excessive worry over IK, she had seen tears on her mother's cheeks when she thought no one was looking. If that's what it took to be an adult, Selena didn't think she wanted to grow up just yet. If only she could play like a kid again... If only she could be as naive as her younger ones, maybe she wouldn't worry so much about IK.

Something crossed Selena's mind and she straightened, jumping to her feet instantly as she walked into the house. the tension at home had been so much the past few days, Selena wanted to do something to alleviate it, and if what she had in mind worked, she was sure they would be little laughter in the house today. She had told IK that she would cook rice and beans, he would be in for a good surprise when he arrives, Selena thought, smiling to herself.

"Finally, you are smiling"

Naomi approached Selena with a smile. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going home"

Naomi frowned. "To do what?"

"I want to cook" Selena grinned, looking all confident.

Naomi chuckled. "You... Cook" she shook her head. "can you cook? Can you even light a stone to boil water? “

"Ahan, Yes now" Selena lied. "I can cook very well. I can cook rice"

"Ehen" Naomi folded her hands beneath her bosom. "So what do you want to cook now?"

Selena could see that Naomi was making fun of her but she didn't care. She was so excited, thinking of the expression on her brother and parents' face when they discovered she made their meal. "Rice and beans"

"Together?" Selena nodded. "Sounds delicious already. Unfortunately, I can't let you do this. What if you burn the house down or hurt yourself. No. You are too small to cook"

Selena looked crestfallen. "No, but I can" she whined. "I told IK that I would make rice and beans but he said I couldn't. I want to prove him wrong... and it would make him laugh"

Naomi stared at Selena as her face took on that sober pout that always won her over.

"You can come watch me if you want, but..." she raised her finger in warning. "...don't tell me what to do" she grinned. "I want to cook the food myself"

Naomi shook her head in wonder and laughed. "Okay, you win"

"Yes" Selena hopped excitedly and Naomi was glad she agreed to it. It had been a while she saw the child in Selena. It was a relief to see.

"You be careful, okay?" she warned sternly and Selena made a cross over her heart. "Go on now. Be careful putting on the stove, okay. I'll watch your siblings for a while then come check on you. Dont add too much salt"

Selena skipped out of the house and down the stairs, wearing a king-sized smile. She was as excited as a child who just got her first gift. She yanked open the door to their apartment and skipped all the way to the kitchen. "Rice and beans" she muttered to herself. Now that she was in the kitchen, she felt completely clueless. But nothing ever stopped her from achieving her goal, it wasn't about to start now. Bringing out the pot, she rinsed and set it aside. Filled the pot halfway with clean water, lit the stove and put the pot on it. Selena stared at the pot on fire, wondering what would go in first. Would she put the rice and beans together at once? No. She vaguely knew that her mum always put one before the other. She smiled. "Rice and beans" Selena muttered as she brought out the rice. She took a sizeable amount, washed it and poured it in the pot. She poured beans onto a flat tray and settled down to pick it. When I'm done picking out the dirt, the rice would be soft, so I can put the beans, Selena said to herself, smiling happily. She pictures IK's face and wished he would get back faster. Today, he would eat rice and beans made by me. Selena grinned excitedly.

*****☐☐☐☐☐☐