It was raining.

I can’t remember the exact time it was, but I knew it was midnight.

I felt something on my face, and tried to pull it off, before realizing it was an oxygen tube. Lizzy held my hands to make sure I don’t make further movements.

“You will be fine.” she whispered.

Then I noticed that I wasn’t lying on my bed, the mattress was softer.

There were lots of people in the room, I tried to open my eyes forcefully.

“she is opening her eyes.”

A tiny loud voice said. My stomach dropped, and I could hear my heartbeat come to an abrupt halt on the monitor.

Then my eyes caught up with David, he was carrying Mfon in his arms, he had bandage tied around his neck.

I stared at him in complete utter and disbelief as my heart picked again.

Lizzy’s eyes were wet with anger and tears. I knew she wanted to tell me something, a lot of things.

“you will be fine bestie.” she said soothingly. I was surprised that Lizzy would refer to me as her bestie.

She pulls out the oxygen tube gently from my nose.

“can you breath?” she asked. I nodded my head slowly.

“you passed out.” She whispered.

David ran out of the room immediately he saw my mouth moving.

“he doesn’t know that you are pregnant. I told the doctors not to inform him.” she whispered again, this time very slow.

Not long, David walked in with doctors and nurses. A doctor whose name tag reads ‘Dr Alphonsus’ gave me an apologetic smile and placed the stethoscope on my chest.

“if she is now well, prepare her for cell tomorrow morning, I want her to be beaten up mercilessly by those police men, just like they did to my son!” Georgina yelled.

“Mom, you are so heartless, even in her pains you still hate her? what sort of a human being are you?” David asked looking amazed.

“What is it that you see in this barren woman!”

“She is not barren, but you are .” Lizzy retorted, her face changed to the real face of terror and anger. she continued.

“have you ever put to birth in your life? oh, you think I don’t know that it’s only you and my late mother who was your best friend that knows that you bought David from her just because she couldn’t afford paying her school fees at medical school, and my father who was your late husband’s driver could not also afford sending his young wife to her dream medical school….” Georgina’s face crumbles as she looked around blankly.

“What are you insinuating Lizzy?” David asked looking confused and terrified.

Madness coated the air that night, secrets were unveiled, and the rain kept falling uncontrollably.

It felt like I was watching a movie, there was tension in the air. I had never seen Georgina with such countenance; She was dry faced and tensed.

“I gave birth to you my son” she said in a shaky voice.

“Is the holy bishop still in denial?” Lizzy asked sarcastically.

Everyone was in shock, we all placed a gaze on Georgina.

“This was meant to be a secret I was gonna die with. I promised my mother not to reveal it to anyone. My mother believed that bishop Georgina did her a huge favor by sending her to school and taking adoption of her son.”

“Jesus Christ!” David exaggerated.

“Georgina was afraid that my mother was going to come back for her son afterwards. when you were 2years old David, she took you to a place in India called Hussan Takri’s shrine in India and casted a spell on you. She lied to her husband that she was going for an international christian women’s conference. She told my mom this out of anger. She never wanted you to believe this. she told my mother this because my mother wanted to pay her all the money she spent on her in Medical school and get you back.”

“And why did she cast a spell?”

” So that you will do whatever she ask you to do. And never believe our mother.”

”Oh my God!” David exclaimed, tears prickled at the top of his nose.

“you now see why I never wanted to date you while we were teenagers? When I told our mother that I was in love with you, she said to me that I can’t be in love with my blood brother.”

Everything inside of Georgina Froze except her heart. An explosion of heat detonated inside her chest, shooting out in sharp edged pins. The thumb of her heart pounded with a force against her ribcage.

At this moment, Georgina was looking as disgruntled as she felt.

“And you call yourself a woman of God. I am not sure the holy spirit leads you to minister to your congregation mom.” David said, panting. He stood there, his legs throbbing. He glanced up to find me staring at him. His face firmed. The glance we shared was strangely intimate.

“I am sorry.” he whispered.

Georgina stood up immediately and walked out of the ward. David walked down to Lizzy.

“I have seen how your mom….” he paused and then continued. ” our mom loved me so much, I felt it wasn’t ordinary, there was this bond between us. Why didn’t you tell me this a long time ago?”

“I didn’t want to break mom’s heart, I swore to her that I won’t let anyone know of this.”

“You’ve been my sister all the while?” His scowl deepened, and now he looked quite fierce. Lizzy nodded.

The kids were deeply asleep, Mfon on David’s arms, while Teye was on the couch. Looking at them, my spirit became lifted.

“I will be here with you till you get better.” David whispered calmly.

I felt my eyebrows put together in a frown as he stared at me desperately……..To be continued.