‘Nurse.’ Karl jumped up from the floor and landed next to Abu, hugging him, laughing, crying, then careful, then scared.
‘Nurse!’
A tired, round lady came in. Her uniform was immaculate, if you wanted to use such a heavy word. Some ironed shit right there. Her eyes looked sleepy, overworked. Karl had seen her around a lot. Her eyes looked at him – what? – then at Abu, then back.
‘He’s … look! He’s awake. His eyes …’
The dragging feet almost leaped forward and in one coordinated swoosh the nurse took Abu’s arm into her hands, felt his pulse, asked him if he knew where he was, placed the cold end of the stethoscope on Abu’s thin hospital gown. She listened to something Karl couldn’t hear, then shuffled out to get the consultant on duty. Abu’s eyes closed again, face scrunched as if in pain, head tilted to the side.
‘That light man, you can kill someone with that.’
‘Of course,’ Karl replied. ‘I can fix that, just a sec bruv, won’t be a second.’ And hurried to the switch by the door. Then it was gone. The light and the spark that had ignited Abu out of Nirvana. By the time the doc came he was out again: nothing at all, nothing bloody at all.
‘He was awake. I spoke to him—’
‘He was, he seemed to respond well and understood that he was in here. Of course he didn’t know why,’ the nurse reported to the doctor.
And it started again: the testing and looking at Abu closely. Karl shushed out of the room but returned as soon as the doctor let him, like a lover on the rebound. There was nowhere else to go. He had to stay. The doctor apologised but said it was a good sign nevertheless. That there was more hope; he had been waiting for some improvement.
‘All developments are promising at this point. Be patient. Your friend is fighting.’
And Karl took his position by the bed again, impatiently settling in.
but where wd I stay?
mine of course where else
& ur mother?
ill speak 2 her
before I get there, pls! don’t want 2 turn up & left standing in that british rain of urs :-p
haha. u wont
check
ok
u still there?
I am
i miss you
miss u 2. will ur father let u come ???
He will have to say yes. It’s good for my studies
Will he?
Yes.
Maybe he’ll think ur running away
says mr. running just to get a life
it’s different
how?
have nowhere to be still
‘What’s wrong with this place? Some sort of light torture?’
And something fell again. Karl was dropping the phone. He looked up and reached for Abu.
‘Can you like make up your mind? Stay this time, bruv.’
Abu looked at him, puzzled.
‘Please.’
Abu’s eyes focused. He turned towards Karl, less pain in his face, more real action in his movement.
‘I’m sorry man. I’m sorry.’
And tears fell. The guilt that made Karl’s chest an abandoned warehouse. Heavy and empty at the same time.
In the end, Abu remained on the conscious side of reality.