“When you feel like giving up, just remember the reason why you held on for so long.”
                                   —Unknown.
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C H A P T E R 27:

"Wake up." a familiar voice whispered. "Please.. Wake up May."

She tried to open her eyes as she held unto the green bed sheets tightly with both hands on her sides as if it was stopping her to.

"I beg you, May. Please.. I need you. Maryam also needs you." The voice, from a low whisper, began to echo louder. The owner of the voice sounded desperate.

She squeezed the bed sheets tighter whilst trying hard to ignore the excruciating pain coming from her injured wrist.

"Please.. Stay. Stay with me."

She forcefully flew her eyes open on hearing that. Everything was blurry including the figure who was towering above her, looking at her with a sad expression. It took her some time to notice the figure was Iby.

When his face became clearer for her to see, a small knowing smile crept to his lips. "Thank you." he whispered. "I'm so happy you're awake now. I thought I had lost you. I was scared. Scared of losing you. You don't want to know how that felt. You have so many reason to live for. Even if not for me, at least for Maryam that's why I'm asking you to please.. Stay."

She was baffled and speechless. A tear slipped from his eyes as he watched her and landed on her cheek. Her eyes widened out of shock and she could feel herself hyperventilating. She was breathing faster than normal and jerking on the bed. Meanwhile, Iby's voice became distant. She could barely hear his echoing words.

"May. May!!" a much louder voice screamed her name, over taking the one that was previously talking to her. This voice owner, was obviously worried.

She moved her head left and right continuously with her hands still clutching the bedsheets tightly. Her facial features morphed into a confused one as — even in her present troubled state— she wonders why this new voice sounded just like Iby's. It was louder and closer.

"Wake up!" The speaker shouted and she did.

May steadied her breathing. She was confused at first. Where did Iby go? The sharp headache she was having didn't help her to think straight immediately. She knew that she was lying down on an hospital bed which had white bedsheet instead of the blue one she had seen. That even got her more confused.

She tried to hold the bed sheet just like she had done previously to support her in sitting up on the bed, but the pain she felt on her left hand stopped her. She looked at her bandaged wrist which reminded her of what she had done.

She managed a sigh and cursed the headache quietly.

The room had white walls with cardboards plastered on the wall. "Get well soon." "We love you." and so many other words were written on it. Including few funny looking drawings.

"Finally you've woken up." That familiar voice spoke again, startling her. "I've being trying to wake you up."

She turned to her side to see Iby was sitting on a white plastic chair close to her bed, watching her. Although he had the worried look etched on his face for a brief second. She had thought she was alone in the room which looked like a private ward. She hadn't noticed him earlier which was shocking.

"Sorry," He apologized for shocking her like that. "Just relax.  You don't want to stress yourself."

"I was dreaming?" She asked instead.

"With the way you were moving on the bed like you weren't comfortable, then yes, you were. So I tried to wake you."
He told her, shifting a bit on his seat. "The Doctor would attend to you soon."

May nodded slowly in reply, closing her eyes and resting her head back on the small soft pillow with many thoughts on her mind. She had survived death. Why? Was it that hard to die? Tears formed in her eyes. She tried to hold it in other for Iby to not see that she was shedding tears.

"Is she awake?" She heard a male voice ask.

"Uhm, yes." Iby gave the reply.

"For how long now?" asked the newcomer who had just walked in. She could hear his steps moving closer to her bed.

"Four minutes now." Iby replied.

She opened her eyes just in time to see the doctor staring down at her with a warm smile. "Hello beautiful young lady. How are you?" he asked.

"I don't know." was her reply.

"You don't?" Doctor asked, touching her neck to feel her temperature. "Why?"

"Because I don't know how to feel about waking up after trying to kill myself. How long have I been unconscious?"

"For eight hours." The doctor informed. "You had lost alot of blood before you were carried here. We had to put drips on you and your husband bought a pound of blood for you. You're so lucky the hospital already had a blood that matched with yours."

The doctor kept talking but she was lost in her thoughts. My husband? Edric? Used his money to buy blood for me? Is this a miracle or am I still dreaming?

She wanted to ask the whereabout of her husband when the doctor turned to Iby and said, "Mr. Iby, the results carried out on your wife shows that she was ill before carrying out such ungodly act such as suicide. She has malaria and typhoid. The nurse will give you a list of medications you need to buy for her. Make sure she eats well and takes the drugs according to the way it'll be prescribed."

Iby nodded. "Yes, doctor Ovie."

Doctor Ovie turned back to May. "Don't worry Mrs. Iby, you'll be fine if you cooperate with your husband and do as I said."

She nodded her head slowly, still trying to process the whole husband and wife thing.

"Before I leave you two, I just want you to know that, life doesn't have duplicate. Your life might be rough or tough along the way and it feels like its getting worse every single day but it doesn't mean you should try to kill yourself. The truth is that, you don't want to die, you just want the pain to go away. Well.. I'm not criticizing you cause it's normal to feel that way.   But I want you to also know that suicide doesn't end the chances of life getting worse, it eliminates the possibility of it ever getting better."

She listened the doctor with a new found interest.

"Richard bach once said that, anyone desperate enough for suicide should be desperate enough to go to creative extremes to solve problems: elope at midnight, stow away on a boat to New Zealand and start over, do what they always wanted to do but were afraid to try. Do you get what I'm saying?" Doctor Ovie asked.

"Yes." She answered.

He shook his head sideways. "I don't think so. Place your right hand over your heart." he ordered.

She gave Iby a questioning look. He nodded giving her a "go ahead."

She did.

"Good. Can you feel it?" he didn't let her to respond. "That's called purpose. You're alive for a reason so don't ever give up. Don't ever try to commit suicide again because if you kill your self, you're also killing the people that loves you. You aren't alone. Yes, we all feel this way sometimes. No, you won't always feel like this. Yes, the world is a better place with you in it." He smiled, giving her a small pat on her shoulder.

He shook hands with Iby.

"Thanks doc." Iby said.

"You're welcome." said doctor Ovie before walking out, still with that gorgeous smile on his face.

"Wife?" May asked her thoughts.

Iby sighed. "I'm sorry but yes. When I rushed you here, the doctors needed the attention of your husband. I called your husband so many times but he refused to pick his calls. I called your mother in-law, who also tried to reach him but to no avail. So I had to pretend to be your husband."

"You went through my phone?" She asked like she couldn't believe him.

"Yes, is that a problem?"

"There's so many things wrong with it."

"Don't just give me that. You're the one who came to my house uninvited. You are the one who tried to commit suicide in my house! What were you thinking?" He asked, his voice raising. "What if you had died? What would have happened to me when they find a dead corpse in my house? Do you know the trouble I'll be in because of you? And you lay there, telling me I shouldn't have informed people."

"Were you only thinking about what others would think?" She asked.

He ran his hand through his locks with an exasperate sigh. "It's not only about that and you know it. When you fell unconscious in my kitchen, I thought you had died. I was scared. Not only scared of what people might think but scared of losing you, May. Did you even think of that? Did you think about how much I care about you? Did you?"

"I'm sorry." She apologized, realizing her mistake. She had no right to question his actions.

He waved his hand dismissively. "That's what you always say, sorry. Yet you'll still end up hurting me."

"I truly I'm sorry." She apologized even more trying to touch him but he pulled her hand away.

As they were busy trying to settle their differences, they didn't notice two figure walk into the hospital room.

"Oh my God! Look at my big sister!" One of the voice exclaims rushing to the bed.

Iby and May stopped. Looked from Efua who wiggled her finger saying, "Hi" and to the other lady who had spoken first.

It was Esther. May's biological sister.

******

And I updated again. Hurray!

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