PAINS OF A LONELY HEART.

Episode 4
We did all we could”, the
Doctor said. “What do you mean, Doctor?
Juliet asked. “I’m afraid, we just lost him”
the Doctor declared.
“What!!!!!!!!! Juliet shouted “I’m afraid, we
just lost him” the Doctor declared.
“What!!!!!!!!! Juliet shouted “Doctor, please
tell me it’s a lie. How? She continued as Ben
held her by the shoulder to console her. “We
tried all we could. I’m really sorry for your
loss” the Doctor confirmed and left
Ben with her at the OPD. Juliet cried her heart
out… She couldn’t help herself… She was
inconsolable. There was nothing Ben could do
to comfort her. He waited patiently till
she was ready to go and drove her home.
James and his mother were
already home. Despite the mischief they had
been up to earlier, they were reading and
sharing from the bible together. Ben and
Juliet met them in the living room. Juliet who
was still crying ran into her room leaving Ben
behind and locked herself up.
That got the attention of James and
his mother. “What is wrong with that girl, has
she lost her manners or what? How could
she walk pass me without greeting”, Mrs.
Johnson complained. “Mum, please don’t
blame her. She is in pain, she just lost her
friend Mike, the one we saw at church the
other day” Ben intervened.
“Oh so sorry for her, but it still does
not justify her actions. I am the one
taking care of her. Even the bible says ”let
the dead burry their dead’ ” Mrs.
Johnson responded. “What! Mum, did you just
say that? Come on, the girl is really hurt!”
Ben said and walked away, leaving his mother
with James who refused to utter a word.
Juliet stayed in her room all day weeping.
Ben brought her food to her but she refused
to eat. Somehow, she blamed herself for
Mike’s death. She figured that if Mike
hadn’t driven her home, he’d still be alive. It
was out of his kind gesture that this tragedy
had happened. Maybe her foster mother was
right, she thought. She should have stayed
away from Mike. At least, he’d still be alive.
Juliet blamed herself. She knelt down beside
her bed at that moment, looked up to her
roof and began praying with tears in her
eyes. “God, why am I going through
this. Forgive my sins, I beg of you. I pray
that you grant Mike rest with you. Forgive
me father for I know I’m the cause of
this, forgive me.” She prayed.
Time ran fast and soon it was 6:30PM. Juliet
had forgotten she had a prayer meeting that
evening. As head of the prayer group,
her presence was required in church. It had
completely skipped Juliet due to the current
situation she was in. Grace called her to ask
if she was going to make it. On phone:
Grace: “Hello Juliet, where are you? We are
here waiting for you.”
Juliet: “I’m sorry Grace, I can’t make
it. Please let someone stand in for me”
Grace: “Why? What’s wrong? This is
very unusual of you.
Juliet: “We’ll talk about it later. Just kindly
do me that favor, ok. Let someone take over”.
Grace: “You really surprise me but
fair enough, will do just that. You take care
now, I’ll call you later.”
Grace hung up and immediately called
Mrs. Johnson to tell her about
the conversation with Juliet.
Mrs. Johnson got upset. She stormed
into Juliet’s room. “Young lady, what are you
still doing here when you are supposed to be
at church? She aggressively asked.
“Mum, I’m sorry but I can’t make it today”
Juliet answered. “Look, you better dress up
and get ready for church before I pounce on
you. Have you lost it? What do you think I
have been bringing you up for?” she said.
Juliet quickly got up and began dressing. Mrs.
Johnson was leaving Juliet’s room when she
remembered that she had left her purse in
her room. She asked Juliet to fetch it for her
while she left and waited in the living
room. Juliet brought the purse to her
and returned to her room to finish
dressing up. Mrs. Johnson opened her purse
and her facial expression changed. It
appeared that she had lost her money. She
immediately called Juliet back to ask her.
“Hey! Where is the N5,000 I kept in
the purse?” she asked. Juliet was clueless
“Mum, I …” she started saying, but before
she could finish speaking, Mrs. Johnson
landed a heavy slap on her face. “Where is
the money?” she asked again, looking furious.
To be continued…