Tears Of Summayah - Episode 22

 

The d-day drew near and soon Jamiu had to make the trip to Abuja for his exams and Sumayyah was left at home. She missed Jamiu every day and made sure to call him at least thrice in a day. At night, Sumayyah was always afraid to go to sleep so she made sure to call Jamiu so that his voice would lull her to sleep

“Hello, how was your day today? Did you write the exams? I hope the weather is treating you well?”

“Hmm, Sumayyah which of your questions should I answer first.?”

Sumayyah laughed. “All of them.”

“Okay, let me start with the first one . My day was splendid. I did my exam today and the weather was awesome.”

“Alhamdulillah. But you didn't even bother to call me since morning.” Sumayyah whined.

“I wanted to call you but you beat me to it.”

“Hmm, I don’t believe you, because that is what you say everytime I call you.”

“Okay, you’ve caught me. I am really sorry, Is my apology accepted.?”

Sumayyah thought for a moment before she replied. “Apology accepted.”

“I will be back tomorrow in shaa Allah, so you will have to prepare a delicious welcome home meal for me.” Jamiu teased.

“Oh, don’t worry, I will.” Sumayyah laughed, thoroughly enjoying their conversation.

Jamiu laughed as well before he swiftly changed the subject. “So how was your promotional exam?”

“It was fine, my precious teacher taught me everything and the questions came out in the exam

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. I am sure I am going to come out in flying colours.”

“Who is that ‘precious teacher’ of yours?”.

Sumayyah feigned surprise. “You don't know?”

“No, I don't.”

“I will not tell you because you already know who it is”.

“Please now.” Jamiu pleaded

Sumayyah sighed. “Alright, I will tell you. My precious teacher is the person I am speaking with right now.”

Jamiu laughed when he heard that. “You are so funny.”

“I am, aren’t I?” Sumayyah replied and yawned loudly, a sound Jamiu noticed immediately.

“Wait don’t tell me you are falling asleep on me?”

“I am actually. It’s been a long day and I am very tired. Talk to you tomorrow?” Sumayyah replied
 

Although Jamiu was disappointed he didn’t show it. “Okay. Good night then. Dream about me.”

They ended the call and Sumayyah promptly fell asleep.

…..

The next morning, she woke up early and in high spirits because her husband would be returning later in the day. She promptly did her house chores and afterward visited the nearby market to purchase the ingredients for Jamiu’s ‘welcome home meal’

While preparing the meal, Sumayyah began to feel an ache in her tummy, but she brushed it aside, attributing it to the fact that she hadn’t eaten all day. “I will hold on until I finish Jamiu’s meal.” She thought to herself. The meal was completed a few hours later but the tummy ache had already intensified, so much so that she had to crawl from the kitchen to her bedroom. Sumayyah managed to crawl into her bed and pull the blanket over herself as she was also feeling cold.

After a few minutes, Sumayyah heard her phone ring from the bedside table, and she guessed that it was Jamiu calling, but she couldn’t summon the strength to pick the call. “Help me God” She prayed.

……..

Jamiu was really worried after calling Sumayyah for the umpteenth time without receiving a response. “What could have happened to her?” He thought. He quickly stepped out of the airport and hailed a cab to take him home. In a matter of minutes, Jamiu was home and he rushed straight inside without waiting to knock. He had a spare key after all.

“Sumayyah!” He called desperately but received no response. “Where could she be?” He proceeded to check the entire house and finally found his wife, sprawled on the floor in her bedroom. She was clutching her stomach and groaning in pain. He immediately rushed to her side, picked her up and gently placed her on the bed.

“Sumayyah! What is the problem?”

“I- I don't know.” Sumayyah managed to say through her tears. “I just started feeling this ache in my tummy and instead of abating, it only got worse.”

“My God!” Jamiu exclaimed. He was really scared but he tried his best to remain calm. “Have you had anything to eat today?”

Sumayyah shook her head.

Jamiu knew then what he had to do. “Sumayyah, I am going to get you something to eat now and after that, I will take you to the hospital.” He gently stroked her cheek. “I will be right back”

Jamiu rushed to the kitchen to get his wife some food and medications as well. Sumayyah managed to eat a few bites of the food after which Jamiu prepared to take her to the hospital.

……..

“Doctor please, what do we do now? The nurse told us that the tests show that Sumayyah’s blood is not compatible with our blood.” Mallam Yusuf asked the doctor, with a worried look on his face. When Jamiu brought Sumayyah to the hospital, he was informed by the doctor that she needed to undergo a blood transfusion. Jamiu had no choice but to go ahead and call her parents to come over, so they could donate some for her. Now they were both in the doctor’s office, trying to a find a solution to the new problem that had just presented itself.

The doctor sighed and shook his head. “Are you sure Sumayyah is your biological daughter?”

Hajia Fatima looked at Mallam Yusuf as if asking for permission to tell the doctor the truth. Her husband nodded, and she took that as a yes. “Sumayyah is not our biological daughter.”

“That explains the anomaly. Anyway, you will have to go and get her some blood from the blood bank. She needs two pints… and fast.”

“Alright, we will do just that.” Mallam Yusuf, Hajia Fatima, and the doctor all filed out of the office to get the blood. On the way, they ran into Jamiu, who had been staying by Sumayyah’s bedside. Unbeknownst to them Jamiu had actually heard their conversation with the doctor, but he quickly ran in the opposite direction when he heard them leaving.

“Jamiu is anything wrong? Why are you out here?” Hajia Fatima asked.

“Nothing is wrong, ma. I was on my way to inform the doctor that Sumayyah is awake.”

On hearing the news, all of them, with the exception of Mallam Yusuf, rushed in the direction of Sumayyah’s room. Mallam Yusuf wanted to get the blood as soon as possible. Hajia Fatima rushed to her daughter’s side immediately she entered her room.

“How are you doing, my daughter?” She asked, putting her hand on her forehead. “Please get well soon.”

Sumayyah could only nod her head while tears rolled down her cheeks. She was in so much pain that she couldn’t speak.

The doctor took Sumayyah’s hand and tried to reassure her. “Stop crying, it is just for a while. You are going to be alright.”

Just then, Mallam Yusuf entered the room looking agitated. “Doctor, I was informed at the blood bank that her blood type is unavailable. Please, what do we do now?”.

The doctor sighed. He really felt sorry for the family. “There really is nothing we can do to help Sumayyah except to get her the much-needed blood. Her PCV is quite low, although I have administered some painkillers for the time being.” He paused and took out a pen and piece of paper from his pocket. He scribbled some words on it and handed it to Mallam Yusuf. “Go to address I wrote there. It is a blood bank owned by one of my friends. It is bigger than the one we have here, so I am sure they will have Sumayyah’s blood type available.” He took out his phone. “I will call to let them know you are coming.”

“Thank you so much, doctor.” Mallam Yusuf immediately rushed out of the hospital.

The doctor left the room as well to check on his other patients, while Hajia Fatima and Jamiu stayed behind with Sumayyah. She had fallen asleep before but now her eyes were slowly starting to open once again.  

“Sumayyah how are you feeling right now.?” Hajia Fatima asked when she saw her stirring.

“Mummy, this pain is unbearable for me. I am so uncomfortable. I just want to die!” Sumayyah cried.

Her mother started to weep as well. “Don't talk like that, please. This is just a trial from your Lord, you will be fine In Sha Allah. You know you have a lot of things you promised to do for me, we just need to pray to Allah to give you Shifa.”

“This is too much for me to bear. I can’t bear it anymore, I hate being a burden on you and daddy.”

“Have we ever complained to you? You are our daughter, and we love you very much. Please stop all this negative talk.”

Sumayyah cried harder when she realised that her words had hurt her mother’s feelings. “Mother, I am very sorry.”

Jamiu was also moved to tears by the pathetic scene unfolding before his eyes. He held Sumayyah’s hand and tried to reassure her. “Everything will be alright, In Sha Allah.”

“In Sha Allah.”
………


Sometime in the middle of the night, Sumayyah took a turn for the worse and the doctors battled to stabilise her to no avail. Fortunately, Mallam Yusuf returned just in time with the blood and she was immediately transfused. The doctor assured her family that the worst was over and that she would be fine now since she had received the blood.

……..

The next day,  Jamiu went home to freshen up and bring some of Sumayyah’s stuff over to the hospital. He had refused to leave Sumyyah’s bedside, but Hajia Fatima had convinced him to go while she looked after her daughter. Jamiu quickly freshened up and packed some stuff for Sumayyah. He also warmed up the food Sumayyah had made for him the day before and ate some of it for breakfast, then he packed the rest into a food flask for Sumayyah. Once he was done, he locked up and made his way back to the hospital.

“Assalamu alaykum ma’am. I am back.” Jamiu greeted Hajia Fatima, who was still seated by her daughter’s bedside.

“Waalaykumsalam warahmatullahi Jamiu.” She sighed. “Jamiu I want to thank you for taking care of my daughter and standing by her during this trying time. May Allah reward you.”

“You don’t have to thank me, ma’am. I am only doing my duty by her.”

Hajia Fatima smiled and she gasped just as she noticed that Sumayyah had woken up. Jamiu also rushed to her side and took her hand in his.

“Sumayyah how are you today? Would you like anything to eat?”

Sumayyah shook her head. “No, I don’t want anything.” Her voice was so low that Jamiu had to bend his head to hear her.

“You have to eat something, please.”

“No, I want to go home”

“But you are still ill”.

“I don’t want to take another injection, it is too painful.”

Jamiu smiled. “You just have to endure, you know it is for your own good.”

“It is not that easy,” Sumayyah said and burst into tears again-

“I know but to get better you have to take those injections. So stop crying and smile for me”. Jamiu tickled her until she smiled reluctantly

“Okay, I will just endure it for a few days.”

“That’s my girl”.

Three days later, Sumayyah was discharged from the hospital with instructions from the doctor to take her prescribed medications as at when due. She was also to report back at the hospital after a few weeks for more tests. After a month and a half, Jamiu gained admission into the university and he was ecstatic. Sumayyah on the other hand now in SS3, was busy preparing for her SSCE and UTME because Jamiu wanted her to join him in Abuja. The both of them were living happily until a problem occurred, that made Sumayyah a laughing stock in the society.