A lot had happened that week, enough to break her soul and ruin her mind but she pushed with very little to no determination left in her bones. Her best friend and sister had died that week; she could not even begin to explain the pain she felt to anybody so she bottled it up. For someone who lived her life misunderstood on a regular, Bimpe had just lost the only ray of light in her life. If hurt could be expressed on the outside she would look like the scene after war; bruised, beaten, sore and sad with streams of tears running down her face. But through it all she never lost her smile and heart.
It started out like every other day; she woke up with the yearning for more sleep but reluctantly got ready for work. Going by her wristwatch it was a little too early to leave for work at the time which was 7:24am, But she set out, earphones in place and dancing Paybac and Boogey's "BBQ&Shayo"; she made her way to cross the road and it happened… passersby rushed to the scene first to take photos to send to Linda Ikeji and then next to feign sympathy. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, at this time, her battery was flat so there was no way they go get through to a related person or friend; there was no light in the hospital and fuel was hopefully on its way.
Bimpe was wheeled into the ER with her right leg barely that anymore, her face disfigured and the bones in her hands all out of place, apparently she had been hit by a trailer with failed brakes. It was 8:45 at this time and her colleagues at work were worried because she was usually the first person to come in. They tried to call her numbers and get to her via varied platforms but it was unavailable so they decided to sweat it out till 12 noon. Her operation was slated to last for ten hours with a 20:80 chance of survival.
Mrs. Ogunbare was having a terrible day, the urge to pray for her daughter at this time had intensified, so she instructed her sales girls to take care of the shop that she would be back later that evening. At the hospital, the fuel for the generator had just arrived and as Bimpe was wheeled into the theater her phone was placed to charge. A call was soon placed to her mom and she was brought up to speed on the current situation and she wailed not regarding she was on the pedestrian bridge still rushing home to pray. Her drug addict and jobless husband was home waiting for her with evil plans he had been working on all day; she knocked, he opened the door and poured hot boiling water over her, Mrs Ogunbare retreated and shrieked, Papa Bimpe what did I do?, she managed to let out those words, unable to speak further as the pain was heightening, she just stood there and sobbed endlessly.
Bimpe had been wheeled out of the operation theater and back into her room, her Manager had been called in and had taken responsibility of her bills, he was not going to let his best staff die. He had a meeting with the doctor outside and it was made clear that she might never walk again, probably lose the use of her hands too; tears rolled down his eyes, how can her life be reduced to this? He asked pensive, we did all we could the doctor replied. Her mom was rushed to the same hospital and was going to be treated for first degree burns, while her husband was taken to the police station by her neighbours.
Simi, Bimpe's elder sister who worked with Shell was due to fly offshore that same day, she had not seen her baby sister in a little over three years and that killed her; she was supposed to fly into Port Harcourt and see in the next two weeks after she was back from work. She and her production team boarded the chopper and headed for Bayelsa they would be working there this time, four minutes into the flight and there was a turbulence, they passed it off as normal and kept chatting as usual, someone was nice enough to get food and drinks, so that went round and the discussion was heated as they got into arguing about whether it was okay for career women to hire cooks and or chefs; then a second turbulence, at this time the pilot unknown to them had lost control… the plane crashed into the sea, Simi spent the last seconds of her life praying for Bimpe; and not a single life was spared.
If Bimpe had known or was given a choice whether to stay or just die, she would have chosen the latter; she gained her consciousness three days later, being Thursday, she was not even given time to recuperate as she was brought up to speed on the condition of her family; her Mom was scarred beyond recognition and her Dad was In prison. The first thing on her mind was to get through to her sister, she dialed and the call was redirected to her official line and her colleague at the office picked and said she left for work this morning and she should call later when they must have settled offshore. She was discharged the next morning and had to adjust to this new life on wheel chair and whether she accepted it now or eventually a large part of her dreams went with that operation.
She had only just got to her house when her phone rang; it was her sister's office:
CALLER: Hi, Good Afternoon Bimpe, This is the HR department of SPDC
BIMPE: Hi, Is everything alright; have my sister and her team gotten to Bayelsa safely?
CALLER: About that Bimpe, they could not make it
BIMPE: So the trip has been postponed?
CALLER: The chopper crashed into sea and nobody survived
BIMPE: Thank you sir.*disconnects call*
Bimpe lifted her eyes up to heaven and cried out, GOD! She wailed this is too much pain *she sobbed*, my whole family has been tainted today and I just lost my best friend; I cannot move on with this depth of pain and hurt, she fell of her wheel chair on purpose and cried till her eyes got swollen…
It started out like every other day; she woke up with the yearning for more sleep but reluctantly got ready for work. Going by her wristwatch it was a little too early to leave for work at the time which was 7:24am, But she set out, earphones in place and dancing Paybac and Boogey's "BBQ&Shayo"; she made her way to cross the road and it happened… passersby rushed to the scene first to take photos to send to Linda Ikeji and then next to feign sympathy. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, at this time, her battery was flat so there was no way they go get through to a related person or friend; there was no light in the hospital and fuel was hopefully on its way.
Bimpe was wheeled into the ER with her right leg barely that anymore, her face disfigured and the bones in her hands all out of place, apparently she had been hit by a trailer with failed brakes. It was 8:45 at this time and her colleagues at work were worried because she was usually the first person to come in. They tried to call her numbers and get to her via varied platforms but it was unavailable so they decided to sweat it out till 12 noon. Her operation was slated to last for ten hours with a 20:80 chance of survival.
Mrs. Ogunbare was having a terrible day, the urge to pray for her daughter at this time had intensified, so she instructed her sales girls to take care of the shop that she would be back later that evening. At the hospital, the fuel for the generator had just arrived and as Bimpe was wheeled into the theater her phone was placed to charge. A call was soon placed to her mom and she was brought up to speed on the current situation and she wailed not regarding she was on the pedestrian bridge still rushing home to pray. Her drug addict and jobless husband was home waiting for her with evil plans he had been working on all day; she knocked, he opened the door and poured hot boiling water over her, Mrs Ogunbare retreated and shrieked, Papa Bimpe what did I do?, she managed to let out those words, unable to speak further as the pain was heightening, she just stood there and sobbed endlessly.
Bimpe had been wheeled out of the operation theater and back into her room, her Manager had been called in and had taken responsibility of her bills, he was not going to let his best staff die. He had a meeting with the doctor outside and it was made clear that she might never walk again, probably lose the use of her hands too; tears rolled down his eyes, how can her life be reduced to this? He asked pensive, we did all we could the doctor replied. Her mom was rushed to the same hospital and was going to be treated for first degree burns, while her husband was taken to the police station by her neighbours.
Simi, Bimpe's elder sister who worked with Shell was due to fly offshore that same day, she had not seen her baby sister in a little over three years and that killed her; she was supposed to fly into Port Harcourt and see in the next two weeks after she was back from work. She and her production team boarded the chopper and headed for Bayelsa they would be working there this time, four minutes into the flight and there was a turbulence, they passed it off as normal and kept chatting as usual, someone was nice enough to get food and drinks, so that went round and the discussion was heated as they got into arguing about whether it was okay for career women to hire cooks and or chefs; then a second turbulence, at this time the pilot unknown to them had lost control… the plane crashed into the sea, Simi spent the last seconds of her life praying for Bimpe; and not a single life was spared.
If Bimpe had known or was given a choice whether to stay or just die, she would have chosen the latter; she gained her consciousness three days later, being Thursday, she was not even given time to recuperate as she was brought up to speed on the condition of her family; her Mom was scarred beyond recognition and her Dad was In prison. The first thing on her mind was to get through to her sister, she dialed and the call was redirected to her official line and her colleague at the office picked and said she left for work this morning and she should call later when they must have settled offshore. She was discharged the next morning and had to adjust to this new life on wheel chair and whether she accepted it now or eventually a large part of her dreams went with that operation.
She had only just got to her house when her phone rang; it was her sister's office:
CALLER: Hi, Good Afternoon Bimpe, This is the HR department of SPDC
BIMPE: Hi, Is everything alright; have my sister and her team gotten to Bayelsa safely?
CALLER: About that Bimpe, they could not make it
BIMPE: So the trip has been postponed?
CALLER: The chopper crashed into sea and nobody survived
BIMPE: Thank you sir.*disconnects call*
Bimpe lifted her eyes up to heaven and cried out, GOD! She wailed this is too much pain *she sobbed*, my whole family has been tainted today and I just lost my best friend; I cannot move on with this depth of pain and hurt, she fell of her wheel chair on purpose and cried till her eyes got swollen…
Goodness gracious! This is saddest thing I have read this year. Why do I feel like my entire family just got killed in a car crash or freak accident? Jeeez! Great piece Keren but the gloom that you have set upon me has me in a vice grip. Dear God, help me overcome this darkness that has fallen upon me.
ReplyDeleteThe great writer
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