take me back part 2

Chapter 6

I felt bad. 

Even though my physical health was improving. 

I was walking around a little bit in my room. The wire in my jaw had been loosened. 

Instead of 'nil by mouth'  I was on a liquid diet. 

As you can imagine my weight had dropped dramatically.. The last time I could count my ribs was when I was a five year old child running around half naked in the rice paddies of Banten...

I had come a long way. 

I am the classic story of an immigrant who has made good. By sheer force of determination, hard work, education and a bit of what they call luck, I succeeded. I was in the shiniest and highest skyscrapers of the greatest money city on earth- New York. 

I had it all - penthouse apartment in lower Manhattan, overlooking the mouth of the Hudson river. Can you imagine from my window I see the Stature of Liberty. I had financial investments in several big companies and I owned a several houses up state new York and one near by in Battery Park Brooklyn. 

These provided me ample rental income. 

Oh I have not even mentioned that I made sure my parents we looked after. My father had left my mother at when we were young. 

He had a terrible drinking habit. But he was never bad to my mother. He was kind hearted and he knew well enough that this habit would bring poverty to our family. He also had sense enough to realise that mother, though not rich in formal education, had a very sharp business mind. So he knew she could survive.

So one day he walked out and never came back. I can only imagine for him it was the best thing he could do without destroying everyone else with him.

Mother did what mothers have been doing since the beginning of time..They cry a little. Get up on their feet and make ways which they themselves thought not possible. 

She raised chickens and sold eggs. That was not enough. What she could not grow herself she bought and resold at a profit. 

She learnt to ride a motorbike and bought an a three wheeler van so she could deliver far and wide. 

Mother loved it when she saw how she could make money easily. Well that is how it seemed to others...it must be the Arab blood in her she thought. 

She would scheme and think for days on end how to turn a profit. 

Then out of nowhere she would jump up scream; 'I have got it! Yes! 

"A prawn and trout farm" 

And so she went about getting our little piece of land dug up and turned into four deep water ponds. 

Next she got the water agitators to generate oxygen in the prawn ponds. 

Yes I told you I became senior at the age of 26. Now 28 and lying in a hospital bed, my confidence shattered, my thoughts deeply introspective and brooding, I wondered where I would go from here? 

I knew I didn't look the same anymore, there is some things plastic surgery can't fix. Several if my teeth were knocked out and it will be a while yet before I could see a dentist and my broken jaw needed to heal before anything else could happen. I looked in the mirror. .

I did not like what I saw. I was a mess, sure the bruising and swelling had gone down. I still had scars, my eyes, particularly the left one was bloodshot but I thought in time the capillaries would heal. 

My jaw with a few missing teeth..Gingerly, I walked back to my bed. I wanted to cry and suddenly there was a loud knock at the door.

One of the junior nurses poked her head in and said,

"Hello Zaria. Some people are here to see you. Is it OK for me to let them in?"

"Please do." I said as I wondered who it might be. My friends from work had ceased visiting me, but kept sending messages. Joseph never stopped passing, at night leaving flowers at the desk but he never came in to see me....

"Good afternoon Zaria. I am inspector Tom Anscombe and this is my colleague  Detective Rachel Sears." 

"Hello" I said and beckoned them to come in, " I wish I was in a better state to offer you a cup of tea, you'll have to understand " as I tried to smile at my attempted Joke.

I knew what they were here for; they wanted my witness statement as to what happened that night and get me to press charges so that they would give Kevin the maximum possible sentence of attempted murder, aggravated battery and intent to cause grievous bodily harm. 

Detective Rachel Sears looked like a tough women. Short and well built, blonde hair and grey piercing eyes. She pulled out a noted book and took a few moments to write something.. Flicked through some pages and began:

"Zaria just so you know; currently Kevin Roberts is in custody. We set a bail bond of $3million dollars, seized his passport and froze his assets in case he thought of running away. 

His first hearing is in three weeks time and we do not expect he will post bail, so you are safe. 

But we need a statement from you as to what happened that night and why he attacked you this viciously."

It was still hazy trying to recall everything that night. I tried to tell the police everything. 

At times I cried as I remembered how much Kevin had wanted to harm me. 

Rachel comforted me as best as she could but you could see affection didn't come easy for her. 

Inspector Tom had a recorder, while Rachel took had written notes. 

By the time I had completed giving my statement I was emotionally drained. 

"Thank you for your assistance Zaria, we will prosecute him to the full extent of the law. No doubt about," inspector Tom Anscombe said as they stood up to leave.

'Lucky that Joseph was there and alert to help you or it would be a different story altogether?"

'Yes..Yes I totally agree with you Inspector. Bye."

I rang the call bell and the nurse came. I gave her a letter to give to Joseph whenever he passed by. 

I wanted to thank him.

More than that I was hoping he would want to see me.

Chapter 7

My letter to Joseph:

Dear Joseph,

If you are reading this letter, then I am glad for one think, that you have received. 

I cannot tell you how much the flowers make a difference to me. They smell lovely and they look beautiful. I can see you have an eye for beautiful things. 

I thank you so much that you faithfully do this. In my loneliness, I realise I am not as lonely and as wretched as I think I am when I see your gifts. 

Why you do this, after the way I treated you, I cannot understand. It breaks my heart because in know I don't deserve any kindness from you. 

I was mean and cold to you. But you are the man who saved my life from the man I thought I loved. 

You have checked on me everyday you work.. While all my colleagues, the ones I worked with, socialised with, seem to have forgotten me. I thought I meant something to them. 

Joseph, I have one more favour to ask of you; when you do pass by, please to come into my room and see me. 

It would fill me with happiness. Even if I am sleeping please ask the nurse to wake me.

Thank you again

Kindly

Zaria