Ann2012:
I don pitch my tent here ooooo

nkemdave:


The book will definitely teach you that not everyone is an evil person... there is good in every soul you meet.

Thank you Larry

Teco2:
Thank you for the nice update, Mr. Larry.

LarrySun:
You're welcome, Bukky. Nice to have you here, too.

LarrySun:
Bro, it's been a while since I last saw your comment. Welcome back here.

Lordfave98:
Thanks for the update

do4luv14:




yes, from the starting,

things are hard, but I refuse to give up

Nmezor:
Thanks for the update oga Larry

LarrySun:
Nmezor! Awesome to have you here! Been searching for you.

Update 2

***

While Peter Black was remanded in jail and awaiting trial, surgeons were working on Maria in the operation theatre of Fortress Hospital. Doctor Rukewe had paid a huge sum of money to bring the surgeons to try to save Maria’s life. They were the best surgeons he knew in the country and it had cost him an arm and a leg; he didn’t mind the cost though; all he wanted was Maria to be saved.

The surgery took longer than he had expected; he had thought within an hour or two the surgeons would be done, but that was not to be – it took the surgeons twelve hours. Even the professionals confessed that performing the surgery was the most challenging experience of their careers. And even after the surgery, it was unclear whether Maria was going to survive or not.

“She’s a very strong woman,” one of the surgeons had told Rukewe, “Only very few people can survive what she experienced. Now that the surgery has been done and the anomalies in her brain have been corrected, the rest is left to God. This is a very critical moment, Doctor Rukewe; there’s nothing more we can do for her at this point but to pray. It’s left to God and her; she has to fight to survive – like they say, she must resist the urge to cross the river to the other side. My professionalism rests on her shoulders; if she dies I swear to never hold the knife again – so she’s not only fighting for her own life, she’s also fighting for my profession, if you know what I mean.”

The doctor continued to watch her and care after her. He had moved her from the theatre to a special ward that only he and his trusted subordinate had access to. They would clean her up and tend to her wound, changing her bandages and giving her the necessary injections. But after a day, Maria was still unconscious; Doctor Rukewe was scared that she might have gone into a coma, which would even be very bad. It would simply mean she was not dead and yet not alive. In some cases, it would be better for a patient to die rather than being in coma. Rukewe found himself praying to God to spare her life. He had spent a lot of money on her; he didn’t want all his effort to go to waste. Besides, Maria was his salvation; if she lived he would become whole again; her death would only put him deeper into that dark place he had been struggling to get out of.

Forty-eight hours passed and yet Maria didn’t wake up. Even the surgeons were surprised that she was still unconscious; they were afraid that she might never wake up again.
On the third day, Doctor Rukewe had to process a fake corpse to release to the police for burial. He had to visit the mortuary and pay a heavy sum for the keeper to find a fair skinned girl of Maria’s stature, someone that could pass for the famous Maria. Finding a fair-skinned girl was not the issue but to find someone that was even half as beautiful as Maria, for obviously there was no way they would find anyone remotely as beautiful as the woman. Eventually they found one that had the same complexion and hair colour and length as Maria’s but her face didn’t come any close. Then Doctor Rukewe devised a plan of tying a huge bandage across her head, the bandage would cover half of her face. If anyone asked, it would be explained that the head wound was bad that it would be wrong to expose it – and they were going to insist on keeping the coffin closed. If the coffin remained close, only few people would know the truth. Rukewe prayed that the police officer would not detect any foulplay; if the corpse could go past the scrutiny of Officer John Balewa, then it could fool any other person. Doctor Rukewe even went further by puncturing a hole into the corpse’s neck to give the impression of the gunshot wound Maria had sustained – perhaps that alone would convince anyone that viewed the corpse; that attention to details might be what could save him.

Fortunately for him, Officer John Balewa did not show any interest in viewing the corpse; all he wanted was to get the burial done as soon as possible. He was too preoccupied with setting up a befitting burial for his father-in-law to care about whether the second corpse was truly Maria or not. And so the wrong body was moved from the mortuary down to the cemetery. Rukewe followed the procession in order to make sure that nobody attempted to open the coffin. The crowd that turned out to pay their last respect for Maria was massive. Even the doctor wondered how Maria was able to gain such a large followership; no other female in the history of the country had ever been given such a great deal of respect. As he followed the procession, staying close to the hearse, Rukewe wondered how the world would take it if Maria eventually woke up and it was revealed that she was alive. It was going to be crazy.

They finally arrived at the cemetery just at the same time the corpse of Mr Gold also arrived; those who had come to pay their last respect to the man had been policemen from the station he controlled. His wife had been buried just the day before and so his grave had been dug just beside his wife’s. Maria’s grave, however, had been dug a few yards away. About ninety percent of all the people had circled around to watch Maria’s interment. It seemed like a historical moment of the nation.

Then a short while later, Doctor Rukewe started hearing an excited buzz around him. It seemed like something was happening but he was not seeing it immediately; then the name ‘Peter Black’ began to escape from the mouths of everyone around him.

Is Peter here?

He looked carefully around until his eyes travelled across to the other side of the cemetery and noticed the police van that had just pulled up and Peter, shackled in chains in his legs and hands, was being led out of the vehicle.

It’s really Peter Black!

He couldn’t believe that Peter had been granted the permission to attend his wife’s funeral; the government wasn’t always this considerate, this humane. It must have been the work of the police officer: the formidable Officer John Balewa must have pulled some strings.

It suddenly occurred to Doctor Rukewe that this might be his moment to finally be able to tell Peter Black the truth about his wife. He was struggling to reach Peter but there were so many people blocking his path. He moved in a snail’s pace; it was frustrating. The moment was now; he could see that Officer John Balewa was not the one guarding Peter; he would easily go past the police officers and whisper the truth into Peter’s ears. He needed just a few seconds – less than five seconds with Peter Black.

As he continued struggling among the crowd, he saw Peter collapse on the casket that contained the fake corpse. He was weeping so sadly. Everyone’s attention was now focused on him as he wept helplessly, calling on his wife’s name. It was so painful to watch Peter break apart in his presence when he knew the truth. A man shouldn’t have to suffer this way, especially when the suffering was unnecessary. He continued trying to make his way away from the crowd to reach Peter but the crowd was thick. He tried to call Peter’s name but his voice was carried away by the noise and the wind.

By the time he finally freed himself from the throng, the casket had been lowered into the soil and Peter was now being returned to the van. Doctor Rukewe ran and tried to catch up before the car would move but it was futile; Peter Black was now being transported to the prison where he would spend the next ten years of his life.

***

While the wrong Maria was being buried at the cemetery, the right one stirred in the ward she was kept in. She stirred again for the second time but her eyes were still shut. Then at the third stir she opened her eyes wide. Someone had been calling on her. It was like she had been hearing her name from a distance; and she recognised the voice – it was her husband calling on her. Peter had been calling on her repeatedly and she heard everything. The voice had been filled with so much sadness that when Maria woke up tears ran down her cheeks.

She tried to speak but no word emerged at the first attempted. She coughed the oral cobweb out and tried again. The first word she said when she woke up was her husband’s name – Peter!

She remained supine on the bed but she was very much alert, taking note of her surroundings. She tried to remember what had happened but her head was blank now; she couldn’t really recall much. It seemed like the damaged part of her brain had been cut out and with it some very important memory. What she had left at the moment was the memory of her husband, every other detail seemed foggy – that was even if she could remember anything else. In fact, the details she had of Peter Black were merely tidbits. And for the next couple of hours she remained there just staring at the ceiling, her mind barely containing anything significant.

Nurse Muyiwa unlocked the door and stepped in only to meet the shock of her life – Maria was staring at her as she entered the ward. She had come in to change her drip and give her a dose of injection.

“Maria!” she whispered, apparently blown away by shock. “You-you-you are awake.”

Rather than responding, Maria was simply staring at her, studying her, observing her expression. She didn’t understand what was going on.

“What’s happening?” she finally asked; her eyes helpless and sincere.

“Wel-welcome back to earth.”

“Did I die?”

The nurse nodded vigorously. “Yes, you died. In fact, everyone knows you are dead – except me and Doctor Rukewe,” she explained and quickly added, “And-and the surgeons who operated you.”

“I don’t understand what you are saying.”

The nurse frowned. She didn’t know what to tell her. Perhaps she would have rehearsed her statement if she knew Maria had woken up before she stepped into the ward. Now she wasn’t sure if what she was going to say would be giving out too much information. She wanted to tell Maria that her funeral was currently being performed in a faraway cemetery but she felt it would be the wrong thing to say.

She knew she wasn’t supposed to be here right now. She was supposed to rush out of the ward to inform Doctor Rukewe about the good news, but Doctor was not in the hospital, he was attending Maria’s funeral. She wished she could find a way to get a message across to him fast but there was not – she would have to wait for the doctor’s return.

When Doctor Rukewe returned he would know how to handle the situation; he would have the right words to tell Maria; he might understand why Maria could not recall anything.

And so with this knowledge, Nurse Muyiwa politely said to Maria, “Just stay there. The doctor will be with you shortly. Please don’t attempt to leave your bed. The doctor will be here very soon.”

She slowly stepped out of the ward and gently locked the door behind her.

Kanshi1:
LarrySun can i purchase Retribution on okadabooks?

I've been waiting for it to be out

Nmezor:
Really?

Khaleel04:
This is a masterpiece, big kudos to the writer.

do4luv14:
Wow nice one Oga larrysun, you had me wishing next week Sunday is tomorrow already

dankorode:
you too like better things