FARIDA

Love is indeed a beautiful feeling. One that makes you fill a void you never knew existed. A feeling you only get to experience when you are fortunate to meet the right person. The problems of my past do not hinder me from believing the beauty that comes with it. It's amazing to see two souls wanting to understand each other and spend eternity together as they fall deeper and deeper into that feeling that breeds sanity. Pause, wait a minute. I am not in love. It's watching Jack that has made me smile, thinking about love and all it entails. The man is currently a nervous wreck. How will he even have doubts about this?

"What if she meets some guy in Denmark and decides that I am not it for her anymore?" I want to laugh because what he said is funny but I try to understand his plight. He is currently sweating under this cold AC as he nervously unknots his tie and completely take it off before unbuttoning the first two buttons on his shirt.

"Calm down, Jack. She will not do that to you. Tamara loves you so much and we both know that." I know my friend and she is not tailored that way. Has this man looked at himself in the mirror? He is a fine specimen of man. Mind you, I am not lusting or drooling over him, just stating the obvious.

"What if?" He persists. Gosh, I badly want to smack some senses into his head right now. Jack is the most supportive boyfriend Tamara has ever had. Plus, he does not look down on her and encourages her to always push. I know my friend would be in safe hands.

"Can we focus on the engagement plans and not dwell on that? You have my word, she won't." I know he also knows she would not do that. He is just nervous and so many thoughts that would hinder their possible future together have been taunting him. It is pretty normal for him to feel this way. He should just take a deep breath and remind himself why they both love each other in the first place.

"So, what else do we have to put in place?" I ask him and his focus goes back to his iPad as he runs his eyes through the to-do list we created.

"Flowers and Invites to the brands she works with." He states and I quickly make a call to one of my QCOGs that runs a flower shop, basically a flower house because that place is big. Another amazing thing is that you can get any flower delivered and in record time. After specifications and payments were made, we tick that off our list and proceed to do the one last thing on the list before calling it a day.

"Thank you so much for the help, Farida." He says with a smile.

"You're welcome. Just ensure you take good care of my friend." I know he'll do a good job at that. They both will. Jack and Tamara's story is one I admire. The way they met was purely coincidental but look at them today, all loved up, with him even planning a proposal. This is huge!

"You can trust me on that." He says and I just hum, nodding to concur.

•••••

I have never run this fast in my life. I could barely feel my feet on the ground. It felt more like flying. The Nurse's voice behind me was selectively blocked off by my brain as I burst into the hospital ward, taking a quick retrace in my steps at the shocking reality I am met with.

Tubes, scars, bandages, plasters and the beeping sound of the heart monitor. The never-ending stench of the hospital's cleaning agent that majorly reeked of Izal hit my nostrils strong, mixed with the metallic smell of blood.

Whatever strength I have in me flies off the moment Jack's bloodshot eyes meets mine. My legs that initially felt like wings gave up and I found myself on the floor, wailing uncontrollably. Bukky was a lot stronger than I was but to see her this weak and vulnerable, shoulders shaking and palms clasped over her mouth as she cried, leaned against the door, it further cemented the fact that this situation was indeed a terrible one.

We are both engulfed in a hug by Jack who says nothing but silently comforts us. His silence speaks volumes as I know he is trying to be strong and honestly, I commend his efforts.

I hate hospitals. I hate them so much. It's so bad that personally, I hardly make a visit to the doctor unless the situation is critical; for example, the Pregnancy scare. There's too many darkness the place entails. It's scary how one minute someone is alive and the next minute, proclaimed dead.

Tamara is dead and I still find that difficult to accept. Every time I close my eyes, her smiling face blinds the darkness in my thoughts. As I watch her lifeless body on the hospital bed, the hot tears continue flowing. Jack is a mess. A huge mess. He has been sedated and is currently receiving treatment on admission. I can't believe that just yesterday, we were planning the engagement surprise and today, she is gone. She was supposed to be engaged by weekend. This life is so unfair.

Sometimes I wonder why the whole hard work and stress should be put in place when at the end, just when one is beginning to enjoy the goodwill of their hard work, death could come knocking. Unexpected and unplanned. I mean, who plans to die? Especially in circumstances as this one. Her siblings have been alerted but not her parents. They are all coming in tomorrow for the supposed engagement. We all think it's better they are present before the news is broken to them. We await her family for plans for the burial. I wonder how her parents would handle the situation. It would be a terrible one.

The body was about to be covered for the mortuary where payments are to be made when I saw a slight movement in her hand. Wait, this could be our last hope.

"Doctor! I saw her finger move." I exclaim and Bukky shoots up.

"Miss, unfortunately we have lost her." He says in a tired voice.

"Does it look like I am a joke to you? I know what I saw. Put her on life support." He springs to action and checks her pulse. It's weak but all hope is not lost. She is hanging on a thread and something could still be done. More like, a miracle could still happen. So, immediately, they put her on life support.

Her condition improves a bit, thankfully. My mind is in a state of chaos as I hurriedly walk out of the ward, tears in my eyes as I meet up with Bukky, who insists we go home, have a change of clothes, have our baths and rest a little before coming back here. Thankfully, she called in her driver to take us home.

I have never been one to believe in miracles. I have always believed in the natural order of things but with this today, I believe. Just few steps to the car, I bump into a figure. The first thing I see are the brown leather shoes just beneath the blue suit trousers. As my gaze travel from the ground up, Tobi's face is what I am met with. Without wasting time, I hasten my steps to the car and finally let out a deep breath when I get in.

My hand goes to my chest as I steady my breath. What are the odds? What the hell?

Bukky's questioning gaze meets my eyes through the car's mirror and I say nothing because myself, I am startled.

The drive to the house was a silent one. I guess we were both engrossed in our thoughts and problems. The breath of fresh air in all this is Tamara's miracle. Jack will be thrilled. Hopefully, he is awake when we get back.

"I bumped into Tobi today." I finally inform Bukky when we get home.

"What? That asshole of a man. Hope he was not troubling you?" She speaks.

"The question should be whether or not I even allowed for a conversation to take place." That's my response to her and she nods, looking at me briefly.

"Come here." She gestures.

"Don't worry. I'm fine."

"If you say so." She shrugs, taking off her dress as she ascends up the stairs, going to her room. I am left alone with my thoughts as I also make my way to my room. To freshen up and sleep for a short while before the hassle continues.

Just before stepping into the shower, my phone rings, interrupting me. In a haste, I pick the phone up, it's an unsaved number but I still pick up, anyway.

"Hello. Good afternoon." I state. All I hear is someone's breath from the other end.

"Hello?" I repeat. No response. How strange. Finally disconnecting the call, I proceed to the bathroom.

AN:

My hand is scratching me to write Bukky's story after this one. I did not want to make this a series but the thought has been bugging me. I even gave it a title already.

What is all this?😭😭 Lord have mercy.

Phew.