Ice Cream

Chapter Eighteen

CHIKÉ

I recovered consciousness and groaned as my eyes readjusted to the light emanating from its new environment. I studied the place all at once, noting that I was in a hospital. How I came to be here, I had entirely no idea, nonetheless, I felt much lighter and less frailer than I could remember in the past fee days

How long have I been here?

I observed the monitor thingy, it seemed to read my heartbeat was normal. There were a ton of balloons with the words 'Get well soon sir' and I could only guess they were from my employees. Wow, news sure spread like wildfire around here! Anyways, they were bound to find out one way or another. My heart warmed at their gestures of concern. I was just about to shut my eyes again, when the door at the end of the room flew open although gingerly, and a gold dyed hair sprang in with the rest of its body. It was Samira, she exuded an exhausted appearance but she had never looked more beautiful.

"Oh my, I thought you were asleep. It's my turn to visit and uh, though the Doctor said we shouldn't wake you up, I thought I could come in and play you something soothing because music is food for the soul and I believe you would still hear me though asleep. Gosh I'm rambling! I should probably stop talking now." she pressed her lips together to stop her speech and it worked.

Her rambling caused a small smile on my face. I patted the bed and called her over. She walked dutifully yet cautiously as if afraid that I'd be discomfited by the merest nudge. As soon as she got to me, she searched for a chair she'd sit on rather than the bed I had requested.

"Hey, I'm fine and I want you here. Sit, please." I pleaded, patting the side of my bed again. She nodded and sat conscientiously and brought to view, the property she had unconsciously concealed. I stared in awe at the ukulele, instanly remembering my mother.

"How long have I been out?" I questioned, hoping she'd give an answer that bordered on the lines of 1 hour or so. However, she double tapped the screen of her phone to turn it on and checked the time displayed.

"Seventeen hours, more or less!" What??? I wasn't sure I heard her correctly. Seventeen hours? What the hell happened to me? I racked my brain fervently, trying to remember what happened to me but the only thing I could remember was coughing and blood everywhere. Darn!

"Are you all right?" she sat straight immediately, worried that I wasn't feeling good. "Do you want me to call the doctor?" I shook my head, not acceding to her question.

"No, please." I beseeched. The last thing I wanted was anything that would distract us. "Can you play instead?" I requested, touching the musical instrument. My favourite.

"Okay then. This is a piece my great grandmother composed and then taught my grandmother who passed it down to my mother who finally passed it on to me. I hope you enjoy it." She strummed the ukulele, introducing a serene atmosphere into the room.

"Tu me rends heureux comme la pensée de l'été ..." she began to sing about how happy a person feels especially from the thought of Summer's arrival. I watched her sing with adoration in my eyes, my mind, my heart and in my entire being. The way she closed her eyes when she sang a particular lyric and the way she catched me starring and smiled. The process felt so novel and romantic and the harmonization of her voice and the ukulele brought the sweetest melody.

A sudden flashback; I remembered the train station, how desperate and organised I was to give up, how liberating the thought of dying had felt. Then, how captivating her voice had been. Reminiscing, I came to the realization that this was the same song she had sung and how strange it was that I had heard my mother's favourite song instead. A rush of emotion channelled into my body, making me experience the need to weep but I controlled myself by breathing in and out.