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LSD

Update 1

Preface

Doctor Rukewe placed his stethoscope on Maria’s chest to feel her pulse; her heart was beating fast, too fast, as if it was struggling to burst out of her chest. If nothing was done to relieve this now, he knew Maria would begin to convulse. He had expected this reaction from her a long time ago; he was surprised that she was exhibiting it now – this showed how incredibly strong this woman was. Obviously, she was a lot stronger than he had initially given her credit for; and he felt ashamed of himself – not only for doubting her strength but also for all that had happened to her. In a way, he felt responsible for what had happened. In trying to help Maria, he had caused her even worse pain. He believed that if he had not called the police on them, Maria would not have been shot in the neck, her condition would not have become suddenly critical. No matter from what angle he chose to look at it, the truth remained that he brought this on Maria. He might decide to blame it on her husband’s stubbornness but he knew that would only be an excuse, for Maria herself had clearly told him that she was not going to do the surgery if her husband didn’t endorse it. He should have respected their decision; he should have left them alone. Surely Maria would live a little bit longer than this if he had not chosen to interfere in their lives. He thought he was doing what he believed to be the best but clearly he was wrong. If Maria died now, her death would be on him.

But he had to try. He must do everything he could to save her. Perhaps saving her would be enough to make up for the mistakes he had committed. But it was clear that her chances were extremely slim. She looked very weak now – almost lifeless; anyone who didn’t know better would think she was dead, except for the occasional wheezes and gasps; it was clearly the image of someone who had already died but the nervous systems were only doing one last job before they finally retired.

Doctor Rukewe had recorded a lot of deaths in the course of his profession – the deaths had been many, too many in fact, and he mourned every life that got lost under his care. Sometimes he would plunge into an abyss of depression so strong that he would even contemplate killing himself. At times he would see the dead eyes of his latest patients pleading to him in his dreams – some of them would beg him to save them, and others would blame him for allowing them to die; some few would even question his professionalism. Sleep was sometimes a luxury he could not afford himself because he was scared of encountering those ghosts.

Thankfully, he discovered drugs that helped him cope with all the mental pressure. If not for the drugs he would have lost his mind a long time ago – and instinctively, he knew that if he lost Maria too, then there was no drug that would keep his sanity intact. He would either run insane or simply end it all. The suicide thoughts that the drugs had kept suppressed for so long would come to the surface and overwhelm him.

Saving Maria would be the highlight of his career.

But in this case he was not a surgeon. Maria’s condition was beyond his professional capability. All he could do at this moment was try to induce her into a stable condition, then he would call on the right professional to work on her. However, everything must be kept in the strictest confidence. He intended to save Maria totally – it would not be enough to only save her life, he must save her totally too. The only way he could do that was to deceive the police officer into thinking Maria was dead. He knew this was a dangerous game, and if he was caught his license might not only be revoked, he could also be prosecuted. Well, at this point he didn’t care about all that. If going to jail was going to be the payment for all his mistakes, if that would keep all the ghosts from haunting him, then he would gladly go to jail. Besides, after Maria, he intended to retire from this profession anyway. He had always known from the beginning that the medical field was not for him. Even though people praised him for his skills Doctor Rukewe knew within himself that he was not good enough. He had been doing this profession for the past thirty years but he had no love for it. He had attended medical school because his father had insisted on it, all he wanted to become was an engineer – but that dream had been crushed now. Well, this was obviously the right moment for him to retire from this cursed profession. He would decide on the next thing to do with his life after Maria had been saved, provided he didn’t end up in jail.

After giving Maria the proper injections and her breathing was stable, he also injected her with an adequate dose of Diazepam – an injection used for causing drowsiness; and in a few seconds Maria was asleep.

“You will be fine, Maria,” he said to her, “I won’t let you die. I promise you.”

At this point whatever happened, he would not allow anyone to see her, most especially the police officer. He was doing something dangerous, he knew it, but he felt he had no choice. It might be dangerous, but it was the right thing – at least as long as he was concerned. But the truth remained that he could not do this alone. He would have to bring in someone he could trust – a nurse he could rely on who would help ensure that the secret remained a secret. The only person he felt he could trust at the moment was Nurse Muyiwa.

Now that Maria had been put under, he drew the white sheet over her and walked out of the room, not forgetting to lock the door of the ER after him. He saw the police officer talking to Maria’s husband who was still in handcuffs. He walked towards the two men, making sure he kept his facial expression as morosely as he could. He could see Peter Black staring at him with eyes filled with fear; it seemed like the young man already sensed what he was going to say, and Rukewe felt sorry for him. He wished he could talk to him alone privately, but the police officer would never allow that. Rukewe had no choice but to make Peter Black a victim of his deception too.

The words were heavy to say now but he knew he had to say them anyway. He hesitated a bit, knowing that whatever he said now would never be unsaid; he would be committing himself to something risky when the words escaped from his mouth. He felt the urge to inform the men that Maria was stable, but that was not going to help anyone, most especially Maria.

“I’m so sorry, young men,” he finally spoke out as he reached them, “She’s gone.”

There, he finally said it. This was one of the parts he hated most about this job – delivering bad news; telling friends and families that their loved ones had died; that they would never see them alive again. While some of the people received the bad news well, the reactions of those who didn’t always put his soul in great terror. Oftentimes, Rukewe would feel that he was responsible for the deaths, that if he had done his job well enough those people would still be alive. And the stares some of them rewarded him could be so accusing that Rukewe would have to walk away from them as fast as he could. In fact some of the grieving relatives had questioned his professionalism – it was indeed hurtful.

Now that he had said the words out, he had to brace himself for the impact of the reactions. Would Peter accept it as the truth? Would the policeman believe him? Their reactions would tell.

“Who is gone?” It was Peter Black that spoke; the voice of the young dark-skinned man was so loud that it jarred Doctor Rukewe.

He was scared of saying the next words but he had to say them anyway. He had already crossed to the other side, there was no point trying to swim back – damage control was futile at this point. He had to go all in now.

“It’s Maria. She’s dead. I’m so sorry. I did all I could.”

The first thing Doctor Rukewe noticed was the gasps from the mouths of the nurses around. It seemed like even they had been praying for Maria’s recovery. Everyone loved Maria, it was clear. Well, maybe except the policeman who didn’t even seem moved by the news. Rather than feeling sad, his angry expression remained constant; Rukewe wasn’t sure whether the man’s anger stemmed from the news or from whatever discussion he and Peter Black had been having. However, the saddest part of everything was Peter Black’s reaction.

“Oh no! No! It can’t be! Not Maria! Oh! Not my Maria!”

Rukewe tried to remain aloof but he could not. This was too much on him. He could not help the tears that were starting to flood his eyes. He tried his best to look away. He had not cried for a long time but now he could not control it. He felt a strong attachment to this couple; they were different from all the other patients he had been having, or any other people he might be associated with for that matter. Although both husband and wife might be criminals, he still felt an endearment towards them. As Peter Black tore up so badly, Rukewe was more determined to save Maria now. He would give everything he could to make sure she never died.

As he looked away, he noticed the nurses walking away; they were all crying, dabbing tears from their eyes with their handkerchief. They couldn’t bear to see Peter in that state. It was electric – this was not their first time of witnessing relatives react to the news about the passing of their loved ones. In fact, some had even reacted a lot more sadly than Peter and they had always remained dry-eyed. But here they were crying with Peter Black. It was incredible and mildly eerie. Both Peter and Maria had left great impressions on people they encountered.

When he turned to look at Peter, the young man was sprawled on the floor, weeping sadly and calling on his wife’s name. Rukewe wanted to kneel down before him and tell him the truth; he wanted to inform him that he had lied, that his wife was still alive, but he could not. If only the policeman could just leave for a few seconds. Just ten seconds would be enough for him to bring Peter Black into his confidence, and he had absolute faith in Peter to keep the secret to himself, but the policeman was not going anywhere.

Then sadly, he watched the police officer lift Peter to his feet and lead him out of the hospital. Rukewe followed slowly behind and watched as the officer put Peter Black in the police van and drive away.

As Rukewe watched the car travel down the road, he wondered if Peter would ever find out the truth about his wife. There was no doubt that the young man would be going to jail for a long time.

Even with everything, one truth stood erect in Doctor Rukewe’s mind – he would be responsible for Peter Black’s imprisonment; he would be responsible for keeping a husband away from his wife.

He vowed to find a way to tell Peter Black the truth after finally saving Maria. What he didn’t know, however, was that it would take him ten years to finally be able to talk to Peter Black.

LarrySun:
The next update shall be posted next Sunday. Thanks for following.

Kanshi1:
When will this book be available on okadabooks?

Abdulreheem:
in flavour voice .finally oh is about to go down. hey who is that on my sit ! op thanks so much. am already on the front raw. may God embarize u with blessing

Olaoluwa122:
Keep it up brr

Abosede512:
Thanks for the update, more and more blessings.

Vulcanheph:
I can't believe I've been following a particular story since 2018 (it's been over four years now).

Kudos larrysun.

Damidave1124:
Lemme pitch my tent here

mrdoye:
nice to finally see the best story again. keep up

do4luv14:
make una clear front make I see, Oga Larrysun is back mehn

Kaycee9242:
Nice one Larry well done

Bukolaberry:
Thanks for the update

sparta191:
Am glued to my phone as usual whenever larry is cooking