ME: hmmmm. Segun!!!, you and this your bad mouth
on bimpe.
SEGE: I no lie now. Thank God say you use condom, I
for congratulate you on hiv/aids acquisition.
ME: aids kee??** my heart began to beat fast***
SEGE: yes na. I’m very sure say that girl na carrier.
ME: hmmmmmmm
SEGE: do you have her number, so that I can call her
to thank her.
ME: she didn’t give me her number.
SEGE: why na?
ME: I don’t know the reason why oo.
SEGE: then I’m suspecting she has a hidden mission
and agenda.
ME: yeah that reminds me. She issued a threat.
SEGE: that what?
ME: that she only forgives, but never forgot. She said
I would pay in a hard way. But not today.
SEGE: hmmmmm, I dey suspect that babe sha. But
no worry, na mouth she get. She no fit do anything.
Since she no inject you with poison, nothing fit
happen to you.
Segun and I had gist until he left for his house.
Two months went by, I had retrieved my line, I
resumed my delivery job in akure and I haven’t gotten
any single call from adebimpe. At a time, I couldn’t
hold it any longer , I had to inform segun to ask if he
saved the doctor’s number I used in calling him when
I was hospitalised. I was glad he did. I dialled the
doctor’s number.
ME: hello doctor.
DOC: hi, who am I speaking with please?
ME: onihaxy
DOC: from where?
ME: I was the one who was admitted at your hospital
in abuja 2 months ago when I was hit by a car and a
passer by brought me to your clinic.
DOC: well, we used to have many similar patient,
can’t really remember, and how may I help you by
the way?.
ME: I was the guy who used your phone to call a
friend to send money to me. And your nurse helped
me to withdraw it.
DOC: ooook, now I remember. The guy whose phone
was also smashed right?
ME: yes sir
DOC: How are you?
ME: I’m fine sir. I just want to thank you for the
other day. I should have called you all this while, but
its not long that I retrieved my line.
DOC: its ok. Hope you are good?
ME: I’m fine sir. How about this nurse that was so
nice to me, remind me of her name sir.
DOC: you mean nurse bimpe?.
ME: yes.
DOC: well, she had resigned two weeks after you
were discharged. I guess she got another offer in
another hospital outside abuja.
ME: ****shocked!!!!, resign ?**** ok sir, do you have
her contacts sir, I would like to greet her personally.
DOC: well, her number which I used to have had been
unreachable for close to 3 weeks now. I guess she
had changed her line.
ME: ok sir, thanks. ****hanged up****.
I sat down at my office and worried. What could be
going on?.
“Bimpe resigned?”
“Her number isn’t reachable?”
“And she hasn’t called me?”
“Or is she a ghost?”
“Or na akudaya she be?”.
***Chaiii, onihaxy!!!, you don enter am ooooo. Na
ghost I Bleep oooooo, I don die******* I became
uncomfortable and restless.
I was so scared and worried about adebimpe’s
silence and sudden disappearance. I couldn’t hold it
anymore and I have no choice than to open up to the
only best friend I have on the following weekend
when we met at his house.
ME: sege, fear dey catch me oooo
SEGE: wetin happen?
ME: na bimpe matter
SEGE: you and this bimpe!!, haba onihaxy??, abi na
blood covenant dey between the two of you?,
ME: you won’t understand jaree.
SEGE: all the time “you won’t understand”. Then
when exactly will I understand?
ME: *** serious look*** ok, this is why I’m worried
SEGE: **re-adjusted sitting position**. Ok I’m
listening.
ME: at first, she had disappeared for like over 2
years, now we met at the hospital and she acted so
nice to me.
SEGE: so?
ME: but she refused to give me her number, she
refused to call me, she didn’t let me know her house
address, and now I was told that she had resigned
from the hospital 2 weeks after I left abuja.
SEGE: how did you know she resigned.
ME: I asked the doctor when I called him.
SEGE: so you still dey ask of bimpe from the doctor?.
You no well ooo.
ME: you won’t understand sha.
SEGE: so why are you really worried?
ME: bimpe might be a ghost or “akudaya”. Who
knows, maybe she was dead before.
SEGE: chaiiii, onihaxy, you too funny sha.
ME: and you know we had s£x.
SEGE: and so?, sebi you used condom?, see, as long
as sperm no enter her punny, nothing go happen. If
anything wan happen spiritually, na through sperm e
dey take happen.
ME: ***deep breath***, segun, let me be sincere, I
didn’t use condom.
SEGE: haaaaa!!!!!!!, onihaxy!!!!!, you sha wan kill
yourself ontop 5minutes enjoyment?.
ME: segun, I’m scared.
SEGE: sebi clinic dey down the street?
ME: yes,
SEGE: oya stand up, we dey go do test.
Segun cajoled me and forced me to follow him to the
clinic. I was so scared because it was my first time
of doing HIV test.
We got to the hospital and we were directed to the
right center within the clinic. I paid 1,000 at the
reception, I met a lot of people there, pretty looking
ladies in various complexions. some were doing
meeting, some were queueing for drug, some were
been counselled. I got scared the more and my heart
almost burst out of my chest as I began to imagine
what would happen when these same girls get out of
the clinic to have raw s£x with guys.
The doctor who wanted to attend to me counselled
me first about hiv. She told me that it is not the end
of the world incase I come out positive, she
continued the sweet talk but my mind wasn’t in all
her talks. She proceeded in taking my blood samples
after I filled a form. I was with her in the room and
segun was sitting at the reception. After obtaining
the samples, she told me to return in the evening of
the second day. We left the hospital with my heart so
burdened.** Chai!!, HIV itself isn’t the killer, but the
fear of having it***.
On the evening of the second day. I stopped at
segun’s house and we went together to the hospital
for the result. Segun waited for me again at the
reception while I went to meet the doctor myself. I
told her my name and she began to search through
the envelope and after a moment of searching. She
brought out the envelope but refused to give it to
me, instead, she started counselling me again. And
this time, my heart was beating faster as the sermon
was more lengthy than that of the previous day
***********************************