She grabbed her phone, turned, and rushed out—leaving the paper bag and suit jacket behind. She is trying to catch a bus to the hospital.

“Hey!” the bartender called, jogging after her. “You didn’t pay!”

“I’ll come back!” she shouted over her shoulder, already halfway down the street.

“ bitch we don’t do that here, you took several expensive shots of vodka man”

He screams at the edge of his voice. “ Fuck you bitch!”

But she didn’t hear. The bus doors hissed open, she jumped in, and it pulled away before he reached the curb.

He stood there, breathless, watching the taillights fade.

He went back to the bar, glancing down at the bar counter,the bag and her jacket.

~~~

Nyomi burst through the hospital doors, her breath ragged, her heart pounding so fast. The air-conditioning in the reception barely touched her—her skin was slick with sweat, her blouse clinging to her back. Her eyes scanned the room,darting from nurse to nurse, patient to patient, desperate for someone who could tell her something. Anything.

“Excuse me,” she gasped, rushing to the front desk. “How’s my mum?, I got a call, Cardiac arrest, Please, How is she now?” She was desperate to get an answer.

The receptionist looked up, startled by the urgency in Nyomi’s voice. “One moment, ma’am”

“No, please,I’m sure you saw me this morning and you know me,you don’t need to tell me to wait ” Nyomi interrupted, her voice cracking. “I need to see her. I need to know if she’s okay.”

“ just calm down miss”

“ please don’t tell me to calm, just tell me what I need to hear” she snapped

Just then, a tall woman in a white coat stepped into the reception area. Her eyes locked onto Nyomi’s frantic expression.

“Nyomi?” She asked gently.

She turned sharply. “Yes, Doctor, how is my mum?”

“Come with me,” she said, motioning toward a hallway. “Let’s talk in my office.”

Nyomi followed her, her legs trembling beneath her. The doctor gestured to a chair, but Nyomi remained standing.

“I can’t sit. Just tell me. Is she alive?”

The doctor sighed, folding her hands on the desk. “Your mother went into cardiac arrest about forty-five minutes ago. Myself and other nurses did everything we could, as we were expecting you to be here earlier. We managed to stabilize her. For now.”

She breathes “ Oh my, thank you doctor”

“ You don’t have to say thank you or whatever, that won’t help anything. Where did you go? You even left your brother to stay with her alone, when you know your brother can’t do this alone ” the doctor cuts in.

“ You don- you don’t know what I went through today,I’m trying my fucking best doctor” she said her eyes teary and voice shaky

“ your best is not enough Nyomi”

“ I’M TRYING “ she brushed her teary eyes with the back of her palm

“ Well, I don’t think I’d be able to stand in for you anymore concerning your impending and growing medical bills , you have 6 months of medical debts to pay to the hospital”

“I’ll pay doctor , but please I don’t wanna loose my mum”

“ Nyomi? We are running this hospital with money. You have to clear your mother’s previous bills if you want us to proceed with her treatment .

~~~

She entered the hospital ward with a heavy chest, eyes red.

Her mum was lying on the bed helplessly.When she spotted her brother Jackson she smiled. Even if it was a pretense.

“ Hey Jackson, how are you doing?” She placed her hands softly on his shoulder

“ Mum's not good, I’m not good too. Obviously” he placed his head over his folded arms.

“ Hey man, mum’s gonna be fine. Don’t think about it too much, you need to concentrate and focus on your education”

she paused. Her brows lifted, eyes narrowing with surprise.

“Wait—aren’t you supposed to be in school, bro?”

Her head tilted slightly, lips parted like she was confused. The curiosity was boldly written all over her face.

“ I got a suspension”

“ suspension? Jackson I told you to be a good boy in the lecture room” her eye raised in disappointment.

“ I was a being a good boy”

“ You was being a good boy, and you got suspended huh? Really Jackson?”

“ Have you seen Sammy?” He asked her when she was about to sit beside their mother .

“ Sammy? Is she here?”

“ yeah she came to check up on mum”

“ Oh really? Where is she”

“ she told me she wanted to use the female toilet at the second floor down the hospital hall”

Nyomi picked her phone to reach Sammy, then realized that she left her phone in the ward.

“ oh she left her phone behind , i want to use the restroom too. I’d catch up with her there”

~~~

Nyomi stepped into the hallway leading to the female restroom. The hum of the hospital lights buzzed overhead, and the faint scent of antiseptic clung to the air. As she approached the door, she heard it—soft, breathy sounds. Someone was Moaning.

She paused.

Her brows knit together.

“ who is making that sound?” It was a hospital, after all. Someone could be in pain.

She walked closer, listening. The moans came in waves, muffled but unmistakable. She knocked gently.

“Hello? Is someone in there? Are you okay?”

No response.

She knocked again, a little firmer. “Hey, do you need help? Should I call a nurse?”

A pause. Then a voice—strained, almost breathless.

“Nyomi? It’s me… Sammy.”

Relief washed over her. “Sammy? Oh, thank God. Are you okay? I heard you moaning.”

Another pause. Then Sammy’s voice, shaky and unsure. “I… I just got my period. It’s really painful. Can you help me grab a pad from the nursing station?”

Nyomi softened instantly. “Oh baby, I know how bad that can be. I’ll be right back. Nyomi loves you.”

She turned and walked away, her footsteps fading down the corridor.

Inside the toilet , Sammy leaned against the wall, breath catching. Nyomi’s boyfriend, Richard —shirt rumpled, eyes wide—whispered, “Did she buy it?”

Sammy nodded, heart pounding. “I don’t think She suspect a thing. She’s gone”

But just as they exhaled, a voice echoed faintly from the hallway.

“Oh wait—I forgot my phone.”

Footsteps returning.

Sammy’s eyes widened.

“ Richard, I think she’s coming back”.