A Prayer And A Dollar – Episode 7

07

The days that followed were crucial not just for Miso but for her entire family as well, Mrs. Banda had had her surgery done. For three days the doctors had kept her

on an empty stomach, no liquid or solid entering her body in readiness for the operation. And when she had been taken into the theatre in the early mornings, all that Miso could do was pray and hope for the very best.

Josphat had come to offer morale support but she felt mocked, even though she had wanted to tell him to his face that she knew exactly what he was up to, she had to keep her cool because of the people that were surrounding them.

‘I need to go.’ Her father told her

She scoffed, she honestly couldn’t understand what sort of man could leave his wife in the hospital and only appear the day of an operation and also leave without knowing whether she made it out alive or not.

‘I was hoping you could stay here so that I go home and get some rest, it has been a tiresome week and a change of clothes would also do me good.’

She tried to reason but the dagger he shot at her told her everything she needed to know.

‘I will let you know about how it goes then.’ She said before he could walk away. She wiped the invisible sweat off her face, her life was definitely not going the way that she had planned and now more than ever she wished that her brother Sau made it big.

The door to the theatre opened and Khan came out, it had been a long twelve hours behind those doors and he looked tired.

‘How is she?’

Was the first question that Miso asked

‘The operation was a success but she is still in a coma, we need to put her in the intensive care unit just to monitor her progress.’ He responded

She thanked him and allowed him to go and rest.

*

He got on a Chawama bus immediately he left the hospital, he was no longer guilty about what he was doing and he was really hoping that his wife wasn’t going to make it out alive so that he lives his life freely. For a long time he had thought of ways of leaving her but he just couldn’t find a good enough reason, and when the cancer developed and got worse he used that as his escape goat.

He found an empty seat and settled into it as he waited for the bus to get filled up, as he sat there he reminisced with a smile on how he had met Thoko, the woman that he wanted to spend the rest of his remaining life with.

It was a chilly night and he was coming from one of his drinking sprees, for some unknown reason he was beginning to feel this void and no matter what he took he

still felt the same. He had become numb to everything surrounding him and each day was just another bitter sweet pain that he had to over come.

Marrying his wife had been the right thing to do, he was of age and she was ready to be married off and so it had only been right. At first he never wanted more; it was okay that she bore him kids, submitted to him and gave him all the respect that he needed, that is what women out to do – so he was told. And for a while all this was okay until later.

After drinking himself to the pulp, he found himself heading towards Msisi compound, which was a totally opposite direction from his home in Chawama. On his way, he slipped and fell into a pond of water and when he thought that death had claimed his life; he woke up in a strange environment. The room was small but well kept, even though the beddings were very light they smelt clean and fresh.

He tried to lift his head when a ray of light hit his face but he felt light headed and so he put back his head on the pillow.

The door opened lightly and an hour glass figure walked in. she was in his words the most breathe taking woman he had ever seen. Her face straight with a sharp nose, her eyes small and pressed deep in her face. She had thick kinky brown hair, one could have mistaken it for a dye but from the roots you could see that it was her natural hair color.

She had a tiny waist that looked like was being pulled down by the weight of her curves but just when he thought he had seen an angel, she clicked her tongue and walked out of the room.

He pushed himself until he was able to seat upright. He looked around the place for a while before standing up.

He found his shirt lying on a small stool just in the corner.

‘And who will make that bed?’ she had asked immediately she walked in

He was about to say something when she shot him an eye and he went to make it.

When he was done she asked him to leave with no questions asked.

He left the place and with the help of people was able to find his way back, when he got back home that day he told himself he wasn’t going to think about the hour glass lady but the more he tried to block her from his memories the more he thought about her.

So after a day he went back and this time around he found her outside washing some clothes.

‘Hey.’ He said in the most polite voice he could find.

And that is how he made frequent visits to her place, she challenged him; something that his wife never did.

She knew what she wanted and never did anything that she didn’t want to do. She was so different from everything he had been taught and that was more reason for him to want her more.

The sound of his ringing phone disturbed him.

He looked at the caller ID and didn’t recognize it.

‘What?’ he asked rudely

‘Papa it is Miso.’

There was silence.

‘Mama is out of the theatre, she made it alive.’ He clicked his tongue before dropping the line

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