White walls. She hated white walls, the all-too-familiar smell of hospitals, and that feeling of not being in control. She loathed hospitals, so when Titi opened her eyes to see the pool of eyes staring at her, she knew something terrible had happened.
She looked around and noted the people she could identify: her mum, Tinuke, her two siblings and Bola. Titi sighed when she saw Bola. She hoped she had not messed things up for good. She knew how much Bola hated the silent treatment, yet she did it anyway. If only her best friend knew what had been wrong all along. She was still shocked by the news, so she had stormed off angrily and grabbed the keys to her father’s Toyota RAV4. Even though she knew she wasn’t ready to fly solo with it. Sigh, ‘Dad,’ Titi muttered under her breath. Then she remembered she had not seen him. Why wasn’t he there? Had he left already? Was he ever coming back? These were the thoughts that gripped her mind when she suddenly snapped back to reality; as Bola approached her bed and held her hand, her eyes were swollen.
‘Titi, please come back to us… come back to me. I am sorry about what happened. I need you. You are my best friend’. Bola was weeping.
‘Bola, what are you talking about? I am right here. Please stop crying. Titi touched her best friend’s hand.
‘Bola’ Titi’s mum, Mrs Williams, called her. ‘Come, let us go downstairs for some air. The nurse mentioned that they wanted to change the bedding. Come, it is well. This cannot be the end. My daughter has a lot to do in this world for God, so she can’t die yet.’
‘Okay, ma. Ma, I am sorry I wasn’t at your place in time. Maybe if I had been there early, I might have prevented —’
‘No, it’s not your fault, my dear.’ Mrs Williams said softly, ‘If anyone were to take the blame, then it would be me. I thought she was ready.’
‘Ready for what ma?’
‘Never mind, let’s go.’
Gazing around, Titi was confused. They were having an entire conversation like she wasn’t right there. She waved to her mum and Tinuke, but they continued speaking like she wasn’t there. Then, it dawned on her that they couldn’t see her. She became quite scared and tried getting out of bed but couldn’t move. It was as though her legs and arms were strapped to the bed with an invisible rope.
‘Bola!’ she called again. If they couldn’t see her, perhaps they could hear her.
Bola walked away from the bed in tears.
Titi realised they could neither see nor hear her. Going into full panic mode, she closed her eyes and tried to open them back. But she couldn’t. Then, the memories came flooding.
