Dr. Aishat gave the go-ahead to try taking my first steps that night.

I walked around the room only once, one hand clutching the wheeled IV stand, the other clasping Abdulrauf’s forearm, while Zarat watched from behind. It took me ten minutes to make it back to bed, and by then, the incision on my stomach throbbed, and I had broken out in a drenching sweat. I lay in bed, gasping, my heart hammering in my ears. I felt extreme pain, though I didn’t want to show it, but I felt it.

** ***************

It was a rainy Sunday. I listened to the sound of rain drumming on the roof; it was my 7th day in the hospital. I was getting weaker every day and barely had the energy to talk. Dr. Aisha was trying everything she could, running all sorts of tests, but they couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong.

Everyone was here – my mom, dad, Uncle Jafar, and my sisters. They had arrived yesterday to spend the weekend with me. Abdulrauf, Zaidat, and, of course, Zarat. She sat on my bed while I rested my head on her lap, her scent filling my nostrils. She looked so beautiful. It’s funny how you don’t realize what you have until you about to lose it.

I watched as they all conversed, laughing out loud. It was really soothing. My mother was telling them about her younger years, how some women in polygamy in those days often named their goats and chickens after their co-wives just to spite them and insult them indirectly. That way, the co-wife couldn’t fight her directly. The latter also responded by buying her own animal and naming it after the first wife. Fights often broke out when either of them couldn’t withstand it anymore, and the elders had to help them settle it.

The story was hilarious, and I managed to laugh through the pain I was feeling. Slowly, the pain got worse. I started losing track of their conversation; their voices felt distant. More and more, I felt like I was solely in the room, watching them from a distance. I couldn’t hear any voices anymore. I was fading away, and I wondered who would notice first as I closed my eyes.

I faded out.