4 Chapter Four (1/2)
Trying to cross the ever-busy road to see his only brother, the worst happened. Kamsi was knocked down by a hit-and-run driver. Within seconds, the entire place was crowded with people. It was unfortunate that the ident.i.ty of the driver was untraceable, so he could at least compensate Kamsi for his injuries. As of that moment, the level of injuries Kamsi sustained were unknown. He could possibly have internal bleeding.
It was not Kamsi's fault. There was no bridge for pedestrian crossing, which made it a death trap. If the government had been able to build one there, many lives could have been saved. The motorist who use that road, don't have the patience to allow pedestrians the needed time to cross over to the other side. Looking both ways before crossing may not be the best solution, as a vehicle could appear within a split second and hit anyone crossing during that time.
People were confused and unsure of what to do. Even those that wanted to help were afraid the case could turn against them. In situations like these, the police have been known to accuse anyone they see of the crime. Some of the pa.s.sersby were trying to render first aid before taking him to the hospital. Some women were shouting, ”Take her to the hospital,” but who would do it? Even if they take her to the hospital, who would pay the bill?
The person who hit Kamsi, drove away. The hospital would place the responsibility of the bill on the person who brought Kamsi in. No one wanted to pay for injuries he was not guilty of causing. However, no one wanted the poor guy to die ether. No Good Samaritan came forward. The injuries looked severe enough to require medical attention. It was not as though someone could just take him into a nearby pharmacy for a pain reliever.
The accident had attracted the attention of everyone pa.s.sing by. Initially, Sam did not want to go, but when he saw people crying, he was forced to go. The crowd surrounded Kamsi and Sam was not able to see her face. He tried standing on his toes, hoping to catch a glimpse of the injured person, but the more he tried to see, the more forcefully the crowd pushed him away. He was not tall enough to see the person lying on the ground, encircled by the crowd. He decided instead to step aside, mindful of the ripe plantain he held and protected, knowing if it were to be smashed by the crowd, it would be a loss to him. What would he tell his mother? Would he say he was trying to see the injured person at the scene of an accident and the plantain was crushed?
The accident created a traffic gridlock and the ever-busy road was a bit easier for pedestrians to cross for the moment.
No one derives joy from hawking. When a child who is supposed to be in school is on the road hawking, it does not mean he hates school. It does not give parents joy seeing their children hawking in the street and road. Every parent would like their children to go to school but when poverty knocks at their door and they start struggling with it, their children may be forced to drop out of school to hawk. It's not every child that has the privilege to go to school due to poverty.
There are a good number of children who are dying today needlessly. Some are being raped while others are used for rituals. Others are exposed to dangers and all sort of crimes. If life was fair to the parents of Sam and his sister, they would not be sending their children to go and hawk.
The only reason Kamsi still hawked after returning from school was because of the situation of things in their family. Sam later kept what he was hawking in a safer place to enable him to see everything; as he was trying to see the person that had the accident but was still struggling; he was able to maneuver his ways through the little s.p.a.ce available; taken the glimpse of the cloth the victim was wearing, it occurred to him that his sister also had that same type of cloth and that was when he pushed further to have the clear picture of the person.
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Seeing it was his sister lying almost lifeless in the pool of blood he shouted her name. ”Kamsiiiiiiiiiii!”
The noisy place suddenly because quiet like the burial ground and all eyes turned on him. As he shouted his sister's name with all the strength in him, the person sitting next to him hit him and he jumped from sleep.
”Oh, thank G.o.d, it was a dream.” Sam said, ”Hey, boy. Are you alright?” the person asked Sam.
Sam stood still for nearly five minutes speechless thinking, 'what could be the meaning of the dream he had.' Terrified by the dream he went home. The accident seemed too real to him to be just a dream. When he reached home, Sam saw his mother coming out from the shortcut that led to their house as she was returning from the place she went to buy herbal medicine for her sick husband. Kate had never seen Sam coming home early before and when she saw the stainless steel tray he had loaded with both ripe and unripe plantain almost as full as when he had left she knew that something must be wrong. She welcomed him home but she did not ask him the reason for his coming home early.
Kate hurriedly helped Sam to set down the tray because it was a little bit heavy. Sam wasn't looking as cheerful as he used to. His mother allowed him to rest awhile but as a mother, Kate knew all was not well. She took the herbal medicine to her husband whose continuous coughing had interrupted their conversation.
”Who were you talking to?” Joe managed to ask.
”Sam,” Kate replied.
”I thought he had gone? Or did he forget something?” Joe asked.
”Take your medicine first,” Kate said trying to help him sit up. She was pouring the herbal medicine into the cup when Sam came in.
”Papa, Good afternoon.” He greeted his Father.
Joe responded, ”Good afternoon, son. Why are you home so early today?”
Sam wasn't sure what to answer him; he scratched his head, squinted at the ceiling looking for what to say when his father broke the silence by telling his wife to shake the bottle of medicine well before pouring it into the cup. Sam used the opportunity to excuse himself. When Kate finished with her husband, she left to go ask Sam the reason why he had returned home early.