When The Light Dims

Chapter 23: SOPURU

"And these three remain: Faith, Hope and love. But the greatest of these is love"
-1 Corinthians 13:13.

I opened my eyes to find a woman in a white coat reading my heartbeat on the monitor. I sat up, causing the stethoscope on the bed to fall. It clicked on the tiles.

"You're up!" She smiled at me before bending to pick it. She was a doctor. "How are you feeling?" She looked like she was in her early thirties with her soft brown eyes protected by her glasses and dark rich skin.

"I'm good."

I remembered I met someone after I regained my consciousness for a few minutes at the waterbank.

"Where is the man that brought me here?"

The doctor stared at me in confusion. "Which man? We found you alone, drenched and unconscious at the foot step of the hospital."

"The man who had..." I tried to remember what he looked like but I couldn't recollect his face. "He had on a blue cap."

"Sorry, but I didn't see anyone wearing that in the parking lot."

"I'm sure of what I saw," I retorted.

She didn't look entirely convinced but made no attempt to challenge me further.

"What's your name?"

"Sopuru Ezigbo." In a heartbeat, I realized what that meant.

She repeated my name. "Such a lovely name. I'm Dr Fejiro. My daughter looks just like you."

"Hold on, wait. It's Donyen."

She scrunched her brows. "Which one is it?"

"Both. I would prefer if you called me Donyen."

"Okay, Donyen. Is there anyone we can contact your parents or a relative?"

I had two set of parents but was confused on the one to call. Only one phone number came to mind. I called it out for her.

She took the seat beside the bed. "If I may ask, what happened to you?"

"I jumped into Eko lagoon." I expected to see her shock as I spoke but she remained calm.

She gently took off her glasses as though trying to comprehend the whole situation. "You are a  strong and a very lucky lady. When I learnt of your situation, I thought you would be in a coma right now but every organ in your body is functioning properly. It's a miracle. Whoever that man you mentioned earlier was, he found you in the nick of time. But if you need to talk about anything, I'm right here."

She gave me a reassuring smile which I returned.

When she left, I continued to think about the man who found me. I found myself being carried in the arms of this stranger. He told me everything would be alright as long as he was with me. He said he would take me to somewhere safe. Now, I'm here alone. It made no sense to me but then, there was the light which spoke to me in the lagoon.

A miracle, the doctor called it.

A tear dropped. I had gone through hell yet God spared my life. He kept me alive all through these years even when I remembered nothing. Last night seemed like a dream, still difficult to understand. There was just one thing I needed to do right now like I did seven years ago. I got down on my knees, my hands rested on the bed and my eyes fixed on the ceiling. I still felt like I could see the heavens if I concentrated upwards, with the imagination that he was just above me.

"Father, thank you for keeping your promises. You truly preserved me through everything. I don't know why. I don't deserve it but you saved me. I can't thank you enough for what you have done. Thank you for everything."