‘Sainabou Bittaye!!!,’ the doctor yelled.
‘Naam!,’ Sai responded while pulling herself off the long wooden bench she sat on and rushed inside of the room.
Sit down please; the doctor began while pointing at a white plastic chair adjacent to the desk filled with files and papers.
Mr.Jallow is the only qualified doctor in the entire Fajikunda hospital and his square-like office is usually busy throughout the week. The corridor of his office had a long queue of patients who have different complaints.
‘Your results are out and the news is not pleasant,’ the doctor bluntly stated.
‘AllahuAkbar,’ she shouted at the top of her voice with her hands right on her head, above the ears.
‘See, you are suffering from Polycystic Ovary Syndrome…,’ the doctor said.
‘Doctor please speak English,’ Sai Interrupted with no iota of patience whatsoever.
‘Okay, this is a hormonal disorder which has the tendency to cause infertility among women. And your case has become so serious that it has become certain that you won’t bear any children for the rest of your life,’ the doctor postulated in rather straightforward manner.
Instantly, she froze. She broke out in a sweat despite being under añ AC. She went into shock as the consequences of her sickness began to tabulate themselves in her brain.
Sainabou was a young Wolof lady who had gained prominence in the fashion business. She was tall and slim with indescribable beauty. A level of beauty that wasn’t common any longer, well, except in the Fula community, the custodians of beauty lol.
She is 35 years old and resides at Latrikunda Sabiji, few hundred meters from GTBank. She has a shop at Tabokoto opposite the ‘NICE’ building. Her shop is a very spacious one where she displays modern female wears of different types and sizes. She was operating the shop with her younger sister, Maimuna, who later got lucky to go for her Master’s Program in Italy.
Sai lives with both her parents and five siblings. Knowing full well that she is the eldest child and for the fact that her parents were aging, she was compelled to go out there and find something profitable to do. She managed to garner some capital which she used to start up a small retail business. By God’s grace, she was able to make reasonable profit which she used wisely in her expansion strategy.
After receiving the bad news from the doctor, Sainabou felt completely drowned in depression because she has a fiancé, whom she loves so much; is so much fond of, and promised to dedicate all her life to him, for better or for worse. In fact, they already had marriage plans. So, the question running into her mind is obvious.
Badou is a young lawyer who made his name at the bar. He is quite smart and ambitious and thus has promising future. His planned marriage with Sainabou truly excited him as he looked forward to making a family and having a happy life thereafter. He was quite content with Sai and her attitude. To him, Sai was the deal and if anyone wants to get his smile pretty fast, then make mention of Sai.
After she regained her consciousness, she sluggishly left the doctor’s office and headed home to think of the next step. Until at this point, her readiness and willingness to marry Badou was unshaken. To her, confessing this bad news to him meant losing him at once, and she couldn’t rap that around her head. Also, hiding this crucial information from him meant shear betrayal of trust, and sooner or later the truth will come to light and then only God knows what happens next.
‘What Should I do?’ She asked herself while heading home sandwiched in a green taxi.
‘Driver, meyma next junction’, Sai uttered.
‘Hana yow doo fay pass? Ni ngen dee def rek di sacha,’ the driver provoked.
‘Driver, baayil togn, I am sure she just forgot due to the scorching sun,’ a young male passenger quelled the already brewing tension.
Sai lives just right on the highway, and didn’t have to walk any further to get into her house. Her home is a spacious one with a lot of trees around, ranging from mangoes, cashews, coconuts etc. It has beautiful structures too, well-built and adequately furnished. The father must have invested a lot in getting that place, but more so improving it to such a standard. Well, enough of perambulations lol.
The heat was immense; Sai dropped herself in the sofa and quickly picked up the small remote from the table and switched on the fan to the last level. The rest of the family members were all at the backyard having their lunch, but lunch was indeed the least of her problems. Everything that happened during the week was all like a dream to her.
Sai had a serious stomachache exactly a week ago which forced her to get to the hospital for a quick checkup. She is not the medicine-taking type of lady thus never walks to the hospital, at least not so easily. After she got to the hospital that dawn, the test couldn’t be done that day due to the breakdown of the only functioning scanning machine.
She had to be given a fresh appointment and also some remedial tablets to administer before the test would be carried out.
During the week, she went from hospital to hospital in search of this scanning machine because of the persistence of the pain. The only place this machine was available though was in private hospitals, and the cost there was exorbitantly high, thus she couldn’t afford it and ended up waiting for the appointment from Fajikunda Hospital.
The time was now 16:23 and Sai had just finished her bath and sprawled on her bed ready to think the issue through. She was now calmer than she initially was and was ready for a serious conversation with herself. To start with, Sai was truly disgusted by the manner in which the doctor divulged the information to her, as sensitive as it is.
What type of a crazy doctor will be this brutal to his patient? How could he be this ruthless and pitiless to me? Couldn’t he sugarcoat the information at least? Is he even a doctor? Can I even trust anything that comes out from the mouth of a man who conducts himself in this manner? Sai susurrated as her array of thoughts poured in bits and pieces.
She adjusted herself on the bed, dragged a pillow, and then instantly began to have a counter thought. Well, he is a doctor anyway, and it could just be a bad attitude he has and that got nothing to do with his knowledge.
Besides being worried about how to relate this news to Badou – if she was going to relate it at all – Sai was now getting a bit more confused with these thoughts of the credibility of the information rocking her mind left right and center. Instantly, she felt a drop of tear on her lap. She was getting emotional as her thinking muddled. She became sad, angry, confused and sullen all at the same time. She underwent a plethora of emotions, avalanching with such intensity.
It’s 16:35 and there was bumper-bumper traffic between Senegambia and the Brusubi turntable, and Badou was behind the wheel witnessing all the brake lights of almost a hundred of vehicles with so much boredom. He quickly pulled his Samsung S10 and hurriedly dialed a number.
‘Just the guy I missed,’ Sai crooned romantically on the other side of the line.
‘You know you are the most awesome person I have known; the more reason I’ve never lost taste for you.’
‘You have started again right?’
‘Well, you know I would certainly be remiss if I did not give credit where cre…’
‘My dear spare us the beautiful flow of your grammar, and tell me what you up to, seeing that you have called earlier than expected?’ She quickly interrupted, changing the subject.
‘Okay Boss, whatever you say,’ he teased. ‘Please tell me about your appointment with the doctor? With this traffic congestion, I think we can discuss anything, even national issues,’ Badou asked, throwing along a joke.
This is it, she thought in panic.
She didn’t expect that at all, and it came as a complete shock.
She was standing in front of her large mirror when the question hit, and she instantly took a step back and gingerly patched herself on the edge of the bed.
Should I tell him the truth? If I do, then I automatically stand a big chance of losing him forever.
But also honesty is the best policy. Maybe if I tell him he will take it in good faith and will stick to me if he truly loves me.
I think I should not tell him, because then I can have a chance to figure out a way to get cured, maybe through marabouts or other more professional doctors.
Her unarranged thoughts poured, her eyes flashing with fear, her body trembling from head to toe.
‘Hmmm, I thought you would forget to ask sah. Well I did my tests and later met the doctor,’ Sai began to narrate with a pretentious voice.
‘Uhu, and what did the results show?’ Badou was becoming impatient.
