FINESSE

√ TWENTY THREE √

Ike ran up the stairs of the hospital with excitement. It was probably the first time she walked up those staircase with happiness on her place.

Pushing the door open without knocking, she stepped into Doctor's John office and dropped her bag on the sofa.

"Heyyyyy, is there something happening? That smile is way too huge" John said as Ike froze.

"I'm smiling?" Ike asked wearing an innocent face while Doctor John laughed and nodded.

"You were smiling and now you are not. What's up? How are you?" John asked as Ike shrugged.

"I'm fine. Days been going well" Ike replied as she sprawled on the sota.

"Anything on your bucket list accomplished?" John asked.

"No..... " Ike replied as she suddenly trailed off. She hadn't done anything on her bucket list and then she remembered the last number.

John grinned as he folded his arms, "So, you've done number five isn't it?" John asked as Ike swallowed her saliva and pouted.

"You sound so sure" Ike murmured and John laughed again.

"Its the Juola guy, isn't it?" John asked again as Ike coughed awkwardly and John burst into laughter.

Ike coughed again as she played with her fingers before she turned to John.

"I like him. Very much" Ike said as John nodded.

"I know you do" John replied as Ike stared at her sneakers again.

"After this week I have two weeks left" Ike said as John hummed.

"So?" John asked as Ike sighed.

"I won't tell him I like him. I just want to spend the days I have left around him. I want to at least be really happy during my last days" Ike replied as John nodded.

"Nice plan Ikeoluwa. But have you thought about how he would feel when you die?" John asked as Ike froze.

The question had been badgering her for a long time but she refused to acknowledge it. Ike swallowed her saliva as she turned to John.

"I'm the only one who likes him. He might not even be bothered when I'm gone" Ike replied as John chuckled.

"One, you sound so unsure with your reply. Two, how do you know that he doesn't like you? Three, not bothered? Let's say you are just a friend to him. If he  loses a friend, what do you think he's going to do?" John asked as Ike tried to push back the tears welling up in her eyes as she turned to John again.

"What do you want me to do? I can't tell him that I have leukamia and that I have just a little over two weeks left to live can I?" Ike asked as she quickly wiped the lone tear that slid down her cheeks.

"I just want to spend time with him. Can't I have  that as well?" Ike asked as John stared at her without a word.

"Do I really have to tell him the truth?" Ike asked as John sighed.

"You only have to tell him if you think he deserves to know" John replied as Ike bit on her lower lip. She laid on the sofa and turned her back to John who sighed.

Mrs Adeniyi sat down in the doctor's office waiting for the test results. Her flu and malaria seemed to have gotten worst and the medications didn't seem to be working.

While her husband and daughter wanted her to go to the hospital; she would rather visit a pharmacy and get more effective drugs. But remembering her daughter's words that morning as she dropped off at school, she decided to go for some tests.

While the doctor worked on his computer, Mrs Adeniyi brought out her phone and unlocked it. Her hand pressed on an app and tears rushed up to her eyes.

Her daughter had less than three weeks left to live. The feeling that very soon, she wouldn't see her daughter again quickly spread all through her body.

Since about fifteen years ago, she and her husband had known that they probably wouldn't watch their daughter graduate secondary school, not to talk of entering a university or even convocating and even getting married.

None of that was going to happen because she was going to die before all that could happen. No parents in the world, no mother in the world could remain sane after hearing such a thing.

The used all their resources to find a cure or a way to make her live longer but after a while they soon realized that they could only spend more time with their daughter and make more memories.

It even pained her more as her daughter lived without any expectations. Life was almost meaningless to her. She stopped praying, she stopped believing in God.

If anything she wanted was for Ikeoluwa to believe and trust in God again. Even if it was before she died. Even as a mother, she had a lot of questions for God. Why? Just why? But after spending a lot of years and time with God, she realized that they were lots of Whys' in this world that didn't have an answer.

Ikeoluwa needed grace to see that there was a reason for everything. But how would she explain to a seventeen year old that there was reason she was going to die?

Mrs Adeniyi bowed her head and she muttered quiet prayers to God. She prayed for grace for her daughter. Just grace, that was all she needed.

The Doctor's office door opened cutting short Mrs Adeniyi's prayer and the nurse flashed her a smile while Mrs Adeniyi stared at her wondering where she had seen her before.

She dropped the file in front of the doctor and walked out of the office. The doctor quickly grabbed the file and as he looked through it, he smiled and turned to Mrs Adeniyi.

"Mrs Adeniyi, how can you mistake you been pregnant for having flu and malaria?" The doctor asked as Mrs Adeniyi froze.

"Excuse me?" Mrs Adeniyi asked as the doctor smiled.

"Congratulations Mrs Adeniyi. You are six weeks pregnant"