THE SCEPTICAL BOND

Juliet's pov

I gained consciousness a few hours later. I looked around. The place was familiar. There was a single bed on which I lay. The IV stand next to the bed made me to realize that I was in the hospital. I did not remember anything. I remembered feeling biting hunger. I had walked to get some tea. I had tried to steady myself as I had started to lose balance. I had bumped into someone. After that I didn't know what happened next.

I hated hospitals. My whole life I had been in the hospital twice, both with terrible illnesses that nearly ended my life. I was snapped out of the thoughts of my mind, when the door flew open. In walked a youthful nurse in her early twenties. She smiled benignly," good evening dear. I am glad you are awake." She said in a thick Langi accent.

I studied myself. I was still in the school uniform. A navy blue skirt with a white shirt. I cleared my throat." What happened to me?" I asked," and how did I get here?"

She checked the IV tube. The water had drained to half. I had an instant liking of her. She was so kind. She lightly squeezed my free hand. I could tell that she fidgeted, fumbling for the right words to tell me.

She cleared her throat." You fainted near the kitchen this morning. Someone came running here with you in his arms."

" Dear, you are so lucky to have a friend who cares for you that much."

My eyes widened in shock." A boy.....?"

She smiled as if nothing was wrong with a boy carrying me to the hospital. More also running with me in his arms like I was some precious jewel he feared losing." He is such a good friend. He has not left this place since he brought you here." She added
" He kept on pestering the nurses to see to it that you get quality care, no matter the cost."

I was baffled. I did not know any boys in the school except those in my class. I wondered who the boy was. Who was he that helped me? I asked myself as the nurse scribbled some notes into the clip board she held in her hands.

I asked," what did the doctor say was wrong with me?"

She heaved a sigh." You have ulcers, and you have not been eating well of late."

" If you don't start eating well, you will get complications that may be hard to manage over time."

I buried my face in my hands. How could I eat well without money? We were in school. It was hard to survive without money in a school, especially one like this one. How could I?

I was buried in such thought that I did not realize the nurse had left the room. My mum was sick, and I was getting sick as well. Who was more important than the other? Who would be treated first? Definitely my mother.

She had sacrificed a lot to see me alive till now. I would give anything to see her live a happy life. I sniffed back tears that were stinging my throat." I promise you, mummy. I will not let anything happen to you. You deserve better than you are going through now." I told myself.

" If we are to choose between your treatment and mine, I would rather die from ulcers than watch you miss your medication."

A sympathetic hand lightly pulled away my hands from my face. I blinked back tears as I tried to look at the person. A scent of male perfume filled the atmosphere. I had picked up that scent from else where before. My eyes snapped open." Franklyn, is that you?"

" You brought me to the hospital, didn't you?"

He sat at the edge of the bed. He smiled showing white teeth I had not noticed before. He took my hands into his, looking straight into my eyes." Yes I did. You fainted in my arms and you scared me so bad."

" I thought you were going to die. Without thinking twice to ask for any help, I ran here."

I smiled at the thought of him carrying me a cross the two hostels- both the girls' and the boys'. I laughed." For chrissake I am sixty two kilograms." I said playfully," how did you manage all that weight?