chapter 3

Closing from work early, on his way home, Dr. Ajayimore was attacked by armed-robbers, they made away with his car and all his assets in the car bundled him into a nearby farmland and gang-beat him. They left him almost lifeless. Few minutes after the robbers left, the owner of the farmland came by and saw him. Being an educated man, he tried his best to revive him when he found out he was still breathing. When Tunde finally awoke, the words “DIVINE HOSPITAL” were what escaped his mouth. Quickly, he carried the man in his arms and carefully laid him onto the back seat of his truck. With the little petrol he had on it, He drove Tunde down to the hospital. When the young man brought in Tunde, the nurses and other personnel quickly recognized him as the DOCTOR-IN-CHARGE. They started immediate treatment on him.                                      “I’m sorry madam, your husband had obtained during the incidence, a complex-fractured spine and his nervous system was badly affected”, said Dr. Samuel, the assistant doctor to Dr. Ajayimore. “Whatt!!!”, exclaimed Kate with an air of satisfaction and pretence upon seeing her husband in the ward. She knew what the doctor was exactly driving at. “He is now paralyzed from the waist down towards his feet”, Added the doctor. “Good. I need you to help me to finish the job”, said Kate. “Do you know the gravity of what you are asking me to do, madam”, ”You’re asking me to totally paralyze my boss”, said Doctor Samuel. “O cut that shrap, I’ll give you 5 million”, “Do you know what it would do to him?’’, “15 MILLION”, concluded Kate.  “He is the chief doctor of this hospital, I can’t do that to him even if you decide to bribe me with all the money you have”, ”Excuse me  madam”, said the doctor as he went of the ward. Dr. Ajayimore was still unconscious. “Just look at him, Idiot, Foolish man”, “Na because you see person wey go give you 15 million na”, hissed Kate. Deep down what was happening actually made her happy. Dr. Ajayimore was hospitalized for a week after which he returned home. Kate was forced to buy a wheel-chair for his locomotion.

She knew he wouldn’t live long, she just pretended to care for him so she would have a great share in his will alongside Mirabel. ”Daddy would soon be home, alright, make sure to do all your homework before I get back”, “Love you”, replied Tunde from the other side of the telephone line he installed in Wole’s room. Throughout the journey from the hospital back home, he pondered on what to tell the young boy. He loved him so much and didn’t want to see him get hurt, but what could he do? Apparently, he could not do anything, still he pondered heavily.  ”Love you too”, said Wole as he terminated the call. That night, Dr. Ajayimore came home a different man, a different father than the one that left some weeks. To Wole, it was his father returning back from a long travel according to what he heard his step-mother saying to their neighbors.                                                               

“Daddy!!”,he exclaimed with joy, when he saw his loving father in Kate’s car. Kate came out of the car went towards the trunk and brought out the wheel chair. She helped him into it and rolled him inside. “Omo me!{My child}”, ”How are you , my boy”, said Tunde as Wole run up to meet him. “Fine daddy”, said Wole swinging around with smiles imprinted on him. Soon the voice of Mirabel was heard. Kate went in and brought her laying her upon his laps. She looked up at his face at regular intervals while she was playing with his fingers. She was the blue-eyed child of Kate while Wole was the blue-eyed child of his father. “How are you daddy, mummy said that you were on a very long trip and you got sick” said Wole smartly. Trying his best to carefully pick his words, he said, ”Daddy is better now”. ”Are you sure?”, came the next question by Wole. “Our health education teacher told us that it was only sick people that used that kind of chair”, Added Wole referring to the wheel-chair. He held the arms of his dear, father, he was smart enough to know that something was wrong with his father. Tunde was dumbfounded, he didn’t know what to say anymore. He didn’t want him to be emotionally hurt him.                                                                                                     

“Oluwole are you done with your homework?”, said Kate trying to change the issue. ”Daddy”, said Wole ignoring what Kate had asked him. “I said, have you completed your homework, Oluwole?”, roared Kate at Wole. With tears forming in his eyes, Wole ran to his room and jamb the door. He began to cry. He was afraid that something bad had happened to his loving father. He got up and prayed between intervals of crying. He placed his father in the Lord’s hands. That night Wole refused to eat and the following morning he looked so pale and tired, his eyes had gone sore for so much crying. His pillows were wet with so much a quantity of tears. Tunde was placed on a mobile bed and a caretaker was assigned to him. Wole went to school as usual exempting the fact that this time a teacher had a whole new experience with him, sleeping at lessons.