THE TWIST

He squeezed her fingers firmly into his hands while he emitted a long mournful squall. The ruckus of his mingled emotions submerged into a flood of tears, his face looked pitifully convulsed as he shuddered like one steeped in a cloud burst. He glared at her with a feeling of betrayal, her eyes were shut already. She had promised to fight, and not give up for his sake, he spoke words that breathed life and hope into her every day. He knew, he was going to be a shadow of himself if he lost her, he always hurled this gloom-ridden thought once it crept into his mind.

Dayo couldn’t roll with the punches, he still held unto her pale and stiff hands firmly. He howled in agony and dolor. Under his care, he watched his inamorata take her last breathe and lost the battle. He stared at the nurse who was drowned in grief, carefully pull out the cannula from her wrist and shrouded her. It was one out of the very few times she genuinely grieved with a patient relative, it wasn’t unfeigned. At a slow pace, Dayo reached for the wall and leaned his shoulder against it. He took a stroll into the past, filling his head with sweet memories of how he met Pelumi; which just turned sour. She was his lover who doubled up as his Fidus Achates and companion. From the very first day he saw her at the garden where he went to cool off, his heart palpitated wildly and this gave him a conviction within that she was the one for him. She dazzled and glowed from afar with all her body features which looked well-proportioned and fitted into her skimpy gown. Her eyes sparkled with rays of hope, her smiles were contagious that it could lighten up a heavy soul. She looked winsome and pulchritudinous, this made him completely enthralled. He boldly walked up to her and inveigle her into accepting his harmless offer of friendship with his flattering and soothing words. That day, ticked the beginning of their beautiful love story.

His journey down memory lane was cut short when he felt a certain sensation on his shoulder which tossed him into the direction of reality.

“Be strong for her, this is all she needs from you. Pelumi is in a place where she is free from all the pain and crisis this illness brought upon her. It is a difficult one for everybody close to her, but we should all be happy and thankful that she has gone to have an everlasting rest.”

He could place the voice, it was that of Darasimi; Pelumi’s best friend.

His eyes were opened, covered in his cold sweat while his heart fluttered. He looked around the room in a sceptical manner as he quavered and felt paranoid at the same time. He stared into darkness like he was haunted, a kafkaesque bleakness overruled his emotions. After a few minutes of a moment of horror, he heaved a sigh of relieve. Although, he was still in distraught.

She was diagnosed of Glioblastoma, it had spread rapidly and eaten deep into her before it was detected. Her chance of survival was very slim as it had no cure but Dayo was optimistic that she was going to blow her trumpet of victory at the end. She felt the hovering presence of death; the torment the illness brought to her was unbearable that she often wished for euthanasia. He contravened this fact, and always rebuffed her truth. For his sake, she pretended to remain optimistic. Meanwhile, every day, she knew she took several steps closer to her creator.

It was past 4:00am, after several failed attempts to go back to sleep, Dayo paced around the room in search of his phone. He needed to hear from his Sucre and be assured that she still breathed life. The dream was too disturbing for him not to calm his fears and ease his suspicion. The modulating tone of the phone filled the room, panic gripped him. Could his dream be true? He consistently redialed her number; if she was asleep, the repeated calls were enough to retrieve her from dreamland.

“Hello”, her croaky voice echoed in his ears.

“My..my love, I am sorry I disturbed your sleep this early” he stuttered after some seconds with unrest dotted in his voice.

“Is everything okay, baby? I was a bit scared waking up to your call at this early hour of the day” she uttered, with her sleepy voice clothed in deep concern.

“Yes love, all is well. I have been engaged with some work online all night, I decided to hear your calming voice before dozing off. I am sorry I called repeatedly, I was intentionally silly” he enunciated slowly. Though, he rolled his eyes, knowing he lied.

“Don’t worry, just go back to sleep baby. I will call you later in the day. Please, stay fine for me and keep being strong; I love you” he continued, with a forced grin.

“Okay baby, I love you too” she sluggishly replied.

Dayo had succeeded in satisfying his anxiety. He was certain that his lover was breathing at least, he refuted being delusional.

He reminisced on the sweet memories they had both created. She brought him undeniable bliss he couldn’t quantify. She was a good listener, brave, discerning, amicable and quite humorous; she completed him. Perfection was what he tagged their union. Losing her stood as his biggest fear, he was sure that she would be amongst the few survivors who would share their story to inspire others. He never failed to build his faith and reassured himself every day.

It was past 10:00am already, Dayo grudgingly woke up to the continuous buzz of his phone. He sluggishly reached for it, it was Darasimi! His heart skipped instantly as thoughts came clashing against each other in his mind.

“Hello Dara, good morning” he greeted with a nervous feeling.

Silence saluted the atmosphere, accompanied by sobs. She uttered nothing. A sort of heavy fear gripped Dayo, he went numb immediately.

“Dara, what’s wrong? Are you crying? Please, say something” he inquired while he quavered.

“I have been calling Pelumi since morning and…” She wailed and still paused.

“And what? What happened to Pelumi? Darasimi, please talk to me, why are you crying? You are freaking me out” he pressed further as he trembled.

With fear and trembling in her voice, she announced whilst she broke down in tears “I have been calling Pelumi since morning and she hasn’t been taking her calls. I just lost my dad this morning in a car accident.”

Tales by Marvy