SITA
My father's mansion was quiet when I arrived in the jeep the charity house had been ferrying me around with for the past four weeks, mostly during the rest of the outreach which came fort after the bandit attack. The gate was usually manned by two men, but this time, it was one, and the maids I met on my way to my father's hall were a couple of sad ones.
"Dad," I called as I walked into his hall. He was sitting on his favorite couch, sipping tea from his teacup. "Dad, I'm home."
He turned to me and offered me just a grin, then, he returned his view to the bible he was studying while he sipped tea.
"Dad." I came close to him.
"We've been sending you messages and calling your line for the past two months just to have you come home and you've done nothing other than ignore us."
For god's sake, he was mad at me, but I've always known he was not the big issue here. He didn't take things so seriously, but Mom would shun me for being nonchalant to their call.
"Dad, I was busy…"
"Go and meet your mom in her chamber, I am having my devotion, you will see why we have been calling you home for the past two months.
***
"Mom!" I called out as soon as I entered her chamber in the big mansion, shutting the door slowly behind me, careful not to make a sound.
The floorboard creaked slightly under my footsteps.
"Shit!" I cursed as I paused, dropping to see if there was any movement, there was none.
"Mom!" I called out again, my voice a little louder this time. I walked further into the chamber, my eyes scanning the dimly lit hallway that broke the rooms in her chamber. our mansion is old-fashioned and massive. My mom had a chamber that has many other rooms where I and my cousins stay when we visit home, while my father had a different chamber for himself and his friends.
I cursed under my breath, my spy instincts kicking in. Something didn't feel right. I knew my mom was usually sick during the dry season, but I had expected to hear some sign of life from her. A cough, a groan, something.
But there was nothing.
I moved swiftly and silently through the chamber, my eyes scanning every corner, every shadow. I knew every inch of this room, every creaky floorboard, every groaning door. I had grown up here, and I knew it like the back of my hand.
But despite my familiarity with the chamber, I couldn't shake off the feeling that something was off.
I reached the last room, and that's when I saw her. My mother, lying on a sick bed provided, maybe by my father, her eyes closed, her chest rising and falling slowly, with a drip wire attached to her right hand.
I breathed a sigh of relief, my spy instincts calming down. But as I approached her, I couldn't help but feel a twinge of frustration at her actions.
"Mom, why do you insist on staying in your chamber?" I asked, my voice soft but exasperated as I slapped my forehead. "Despite all our wealth and status, you still prefer to hide in here and avoid the big hospital and physician."
I knew she loved it here, surrounded by the memories of our past, but I couldn't help but feel that it was unsafe. Vulnerable.
But I knew better than to argue with her. She was stubborn, and she would never change her mind.
I sat down beside her, taking her hand in mine. "I'm home, Mom," I said, my voice soft. "I'm here for you."
"Sita!" my mother suddenly croaked out, her eyes struggling to pop open and look at me. "My love…" she managed to croak out just before she broke into arrays of coughs spree and soon, she was no longer coughing, the only problem with that being she wasn't saying anything either.
"Mom?" I called, tapping her slowly but she remained mute, her eyes shut.
I stretched my hands shakily, I placed a finger below her nose and for the first few seconds, there was nothing, before I felt her shallow breathing.
I quickly pulled out my phone and dialed Alessandro's number, my heart kept climbing heights with each passing second. He answered on the first ring, and I could hear the concern in his voice as I explained the situation.
"I'll send an ambulance immediately," he said, his voice calm and reassuring. "We'll get her to the hospital and then we can figure out what's wrong with her and what to do so we can save her."
I nodded, even though he couldn't see me. "Please, Alessandro, you have to save her," I begged, my voice breaking with emotion as I held onto her hand to the point of squeezing it. "This is very important to me, she is."
Alessandro's voice softened. "Sita, I promise you, we'll do everything in our power to save her. But you have to stay calm and trust me."
I took a deep breath, trying to compose myself. Alessandro wasn't the doctor for the old and elderly, but he could do something along with his friends at the big hospital.
The ambulance arrived pretty quick, and she was rolled in after which I accompanied my mother to the hospital, holding her hand and praying that she would be okay.
I quickly texted my dad on the way but he hadn't replied to me yet.
As we arrived at the hospital, Alessandro was waiting for us, his eyes locked on mine as he gave me a tight reassuring gaze. He had the nurses roll her into the emergency ward.
While I was waiting outside, I received a call from Dad, "You succeeded in taking her out?" he asked immediately I picked up the call.
"She refused to summon a doctor, but I'm glad you succeeded in taking her with you to the big hospital." He said sadly.
"I solely regret not checking up on the two of you in time, now, look what condition Mom is currently in." I sobbed on the phone, with tears trailing down my cheek.