Under the Crimson Sunset (a Nigerian Romance story)

Nancy got out of Dave's estate. Dave was at the hospital where he started his residency; she came to his house to pick her house key. She slept over at his house the previous day: she had gotten to her apartment before she realized she had forgotten her key at his place. Out of frustration, she turned around and took a bike to his estate. She wasn't aware of a hardcore devilish stare trailing her. She took her key and left the Dave's compound. She had gotten the key already and was coming back outside. When she got to the main entrance that led to the estate, she noticed a bright light behind her. She turned sharply and her heart sank as she met with a cold stare of Dorcas.

"God! What's she doing here? How did she know this place?" She whispered under her breath.

She moved away from her a bit but Dorcas approached her bit by bit. Nancy stopped moving away: why should she fear her? Why should she be the one to run out of fear? She wasn't going to give Dorcas the avenue to see herself as a winner.

"What do you want?" She faced her, without flinching. Dorcas had covered up the distance between them and now standing a couple of inches away from Nancy. She looked at her succinctly; how could an albino be walking under this scorching sun without her umbrella? She wondered. Then she saw the hat on her head.

"I don't want anything much." Her face was straight and cold.

"How did you know this place?"

"I've been busy since the day you were introduced as the fiance." She gave a cold smile that sent shivers down Nancy's spine. She seemed creepy and it freaked Nancy.

"Wait, you've been tailing us?"

Dorcas shrugged. "If you interpret it like that."

"Are you crazy?! Why would you do that?"

"Well, it's because I felt cheated. Nancy, do you know how it feels to be emotionally stabbed in the heart?"

"I know where this is going. Don't play victim here, Dave already explained to me what you did to him." She folded her arms on her chest and tilted her body to one side.

"You don't get it." Dorcas walked round her, examining her like a predator examining its prey. "He was a ticking bomb. I thought I'd be hurt if he exploded, so I ran for my dear life..."

"Love comes at a price."

"And when the price is the life, I'll run." She looked at her face, "but you've not won. You think you can help him control his emotions, you can't. Imagine you both as lovely couple, lovely home, happy family, and suddenly, at a midnight, he'd wake up and walk up to the kitchen. Pick the glistening knife, walk back to you and sink it into your belly. Then he'd say he's sorry, he didn't know it was you."

Nancy attempted to speak but couldn't find word. She imagined such scenario and hated herself for doing such.

"What if you're unable to help him calm down during any of his crisis and you get to pay with your life?"

Nancy was breathing heavily, her chest was palpitating.

"Why are you doing this? Are you still hurt that you can't have him?"

"Hurt? Not at all. I'm telling you what the outcome will be if you're unable to calm him someday. You'll then see why I ran away."

Nancy, with her eyes laced with tears, moved to Dorcas and struck her right cheek like a lightning. Her cheek went from pale yellow to pink. "You're despicable! You're not worth Dave, you don't even deserve to be in his entire existence at all. Not even your shadow. You're nothing but a low hag with devilish thoughts. You might have a skin like an angel, you're nothing compared to that! You are really looking for a way to separate us. You're going down, but you don't want to do that alone. For all I care, go to hell where you initially belong. Next time you try this nonsense with me, you'll regret your existence." She turned to leave but Dorcas held her hand.

"You think you can strike my cheek, insult me and leave just like that? I've warned you enough to leave Dave alone."

"Leave me alone and don't cause a scene here. Are you nuts? Even if I leave Dave, you think you have a chance with him?" She struggled to free herself from her grip. "Not sorry, but your reign is over."

Dorcas's hat fell during the process of pulling Nancy into a fight. Without prior warning, she let go of Nancy to pick her hat. Nancy, who didn't know she was about to let go of her hand, continued to free herself and when Dorcas let go, she stumbled and struggled to maintain her feet. Where they both stood was beside the road. Although, the road wasn't the busy type, it had few vehicles and motorcycles moving seldomly. The force of the grip propelled her body to stagger few feet into the road.

Bang!

Nancy wondered what the sound was. Before she could check, she found herself flying. Her arms were in the air, her body felt so light. She had always wanted to fly since she was young. She wished she could grow wings like birds and fly away. She had always envied the birds because of their wings. She closed her eyes to enjoy her moments in the air. She landed with a thud.

'what? Is that all the wings could do? What a short flight. Why can't I feel anything? Is that Dorcas running towards me? Why is she far away? Someone else is running towards me too. There's another person. Why are they running? Why do I feel sleepy? Can I really sleep?' Her sight became blurry and she closed them.

***

The ambulance zoomed into the hospital premises. The stretcher was wheeled like flash into the ER. Nancy was on the stretcher, oxygen mask attached to her nose and mouth. Few nurses, a doctor and Dorcas raced alongside the stretcher. Blood trailed after them as she was rushed in. Dorcas's cloth, hands, and skin were filled with blood stains. She was sobbing profusely. One of the nurses instructed her to wait at the lobby while they attend to Nancy. She reluctantly let go of the rail of the stretcher and watched as the lifeless body of Nancy was wheeled in.

"Dorcas?"

She turned around and saw Dave in a white coat. Her heart did a triple flip. She wondered if she'd make it out alive. She shuddered.

"What are you doing here?" He examined her and noticed the blood. "What happened?" He moved closer to her but she moved back. She was trembling, sobbing, attempting to say something. "Hope it's not your mother?" He moved closer again. "Answer me, I'm scared already."

"Em...em...I'm sorry. I swear, I didn't know there was a truck."

Dave looked at her closely. "Which truck? Dorcas, be explicit. I still have things to do around." Dorcas shook her hand, she was speechless. Then Dave looked at her shoulder and saw a bag. He looked closely, "isn't this Nancy's bag? Why is there blood on it?"

Dorcas cried a bit louder. "I'm sorry, please. I didn't know. Please, save her."

At this sentence, Dave's soul moved without waiting for his body. Like lightning, he zoomed past everyone on the way, searched frantically for the room which Nancy was brought into. He found it but the sight almost made him black out.

"Bring the defibrillator, now!" The doctor with her yelled.

"Check her pulse again"

Dave watched from the entrance as they tried to regain the motionless body of his lover.

"200 joules.....Clear!"

No one seemed to notice his presence, he was oblivious to them as well. He watched as her chest jolted up and down under the shock of the defibrillator, yet she her heart beat didn't budge. His body raced towards them, he climbed the bed and did CPR. At each moment of his crossed hands on her chest, he wailed,

"Nancy, please, don't leave me. Please, come back. Nancy!" He leant closer and gave her mouth-to-mouth respiration. Other nurses pulled him down when they realized he was crying.

"That's my wife-to-be. She mustn't die."

"We've heard you. You're crying and it's not helping." One of the nurses calmed him. The defibrillator was used again and CPR by another doctor. A male nurse held Dave down as he struggled to reach out for her.

Beep. Beep.

Her pulse came back.