Wild West of the Heart

Mira hadn't closed her eyes to sleep all night.

She was still in that very position, her knees cupped under her chin as her eyes were fixed on the OR door. She hadn't heard a word back from the doctor that had taken Silva.

And suddenly she began to sob again, as if she hadn't already done that all night. She was foolish to think he was invincible, that nothing in the world could ever to her best friend, so much that when something did, she was a wreck. And then she began to think of Obi and anyone that was as close to her. The thing is, we often take things for granted until they aren't ours anymore. And that thought of losing Silva haunted her all this time. Because she knew- -she'd loose a part of her as well.

ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER

"I couldn't go on, mum" He spat out and Bode immediately halted, holding unto the cutlery in her hands. She looked to her son, Silva and the food before him. He was frantic, the truth was he had been all this time.

Mira was next to him, and on her other hand was his father, who almost said words. Bode's eyes lost strength as Silva pulled away. "I'm so sorry if i feel like a failure to you" He turned to his father. "But if i kept on doing something that doesn't align with what i really want then, i'm failing my myself. And i'd rather fail anyone than fail myself" Bode's ring shone as she stretched out her palms.

"You are not a failure" She looked to her husband, holding out for his hands too. "I don't know what you want to be but we would support you. Always and whatever mistake you make along t—"

"It's not a mistake mum, it's over" Silva interrupted and she pushed a lump down her throat. "It's okay. It's okay" She nodded. "We still have your old room, and we can have you around till we find something for you to do" Bode replied and Silva pulled away. There was half a smile on Mira's lips because she began to wish she had parents that were quarter as caring as this. But Silva on the other hand, had a worrisome arch in his brows. "I'm not moving back in"

His father suddenly sat forward. "What?" He asked.

"I would be staying with Mira, till i find myself. I would be staying with my best friend" He then reached for her hands instead. "Now it might just be a tent, but it isn't always going to be that way. I'll figure something out for me. Not you, mum. So let me❞ He smirked, and Bode rested back.

"I'm not asking you. I respect you enough to tell you."

Mira cleared her throat as Silva squeezed her palms. Now, she had no idea how Silva was going to move into a one-man camping tent with her. But she didn't turn down the idea. And as he said, it wasn't always that way. Those were the worst of times before things eventually got better. Until now.

Now when the problem couldn't be solved by getting a job at the local restaurant or as a school teacher. Now where it would only take a miracle for things to go back to the way they used to. And deep down, Mira knew that and it was what shattered her heart, that she began to sob again-

NOW

But that was before Obi showed up, right at the door. Mira couldn't believe her eyes as she jolted up, running to pull him in for a hug. "Where have you been?" She sniffled and Obi let out a heated breath. "Trying to find my way home" "Where is he?" He asked and Mira pulled away from him. "The girls told me back home" He added and she looked in the direction of the ward he'd been since the last night.

"I dont know whats going on. All i know, is whoever called that shot yesterday. Whoever ordered those men, i don't care if it's the government, they're going to pay for it" She had a crack in her voice as Obi made eye contact with Dare behind her. He held her in for yet another hug-

-holding off on the fact that he had met his mother. "Mira" He whispered into her ear. "It wasn't Dare that ordered those men" She took a step back to look at him and Obi pointed across the halls. "Mira, he has info on the people that did Jazz dirty, on the people responsible for all of this. He's not the enemy" Obi said in a convincing tone.

And this time as they made eye contact, she didn't want to murder him. Obi held her hand back, unsure whether she could still take his presence. And consecutively, take the truth. He had seen Dare on his way in, a cigarette between his lips as he paced through the parking lot.

"Hey" He said, recognizing Obi through his delinquent clothing. "Hey" Obi looked to him, through eyes that had happened slept all night. "Where's she?"

"She wouldn't talk to me" He crushed the blunt with the sole of his brogues. "I think i know who killed Jazzlyn. They were also the people that killed the Yvonne, Freya. Dele. All those bodies with the marks" Dare whispered as Obi picked the words carefully through his ears. "They?" He echoed.

"They're a group of people. Aces, they call themselves. I wish i could i call a name but they're more than that. They're doctors, pastors, religious leaders, people, teachers and everyone that blames the gay people for this disease" Dare said and Mira wished she could act as surprised as Obi was, but truth was, she really wasn't.

"Hate" She scoffed instead. "A dozen people and more, all died because of hate?" She let out a shriveling laugh with a tear falling from her eyes. "There are alot of them, but not all. Yesterday's march showed the amount of people willing to fight the good fight" Dare said, pocketing his hands.

"Until it was ruined by your people"

"We shouldn't do that now, Mira. We shouldn't spend our time pointing fingers at people who are on the good side. We should find the aces and bring them to book. At this point, i think everyone wants that" He whispered. "For this once Mira, let's be a team" He suggested.

And it took more than a minute, staring at his open palms and he hissed. "How are we going bring that much people to book?" Obi stepped forward, taking his hands out of sympathy. "By capturing the leader. It's simple science" He looked at both of them. "The only question really is, how❞

"I" Dare stuttered. "I may have an idea"

He said, just before the door opened and out came the doctor that Mira had recognized in a second. She was quick to throw herself at him. "How's he?" She held unto his coat, with just a stain of blood on it. "Can i see him?" "After many hours, he's in stable condition" She clutched her chest, relief washing over his face and she turned to Dare who had a half-hearted smile on his face. "But-"That word suddenly sent a chill up her spine. "But what?" "I'm afraid we have terrible news. He might not have much longer" He locked eyes with her as Mira remembered his exact words. This was it. This was the moment-

-

and in times like this, a diagnosis was more like a death sentence. She'd gone pink, and her eyes still. "What is it?"

Ola cleared his throat, setting his laptop in front of them.

Through the monitor, he could see Mary peeking behind him and he turned around to see both her thumbs up for him. "Goodluck" She mouthed and a smile crept to his lips.

Because in that moment, she chose to forget it all. Forget anything that caused him that much anxieties and focus on what was before him-his future. Mary wiped her eyes, seeing nothing but her little boy of yesterday and how much he had grown all by himself. She wasn't the perfect mother, no matter how much she tried, and that she knew.

His hands waved to her and she pulled away the moment his screen came on. "Olamide Bankole?" Came a voice from the system and he adjusted his clothes. "Yes" He replied, looking into the webcam, unsure if they could see. But that didn't bother him. He just wanted this to be done.

On the other hand, there was Fiyin, finally making her way home. Her hands opened the locks from behind before she pushed the gates open. And there he was, her father. He had a shovel in his hands, clearing out the weeds in the compound. He looked to her, wiping across his forehead.

And instantly, he smiled.

She walked towards him. "How was it?" He asked in a such a way that showed he hadn't seen the news. And she did as she placed her bags away was nod. "It was okay" She lied.

"Alot of people came, and fought. You know?" Tobi tilted his head, noticing she wasn't being entirely sincere but he just let it slide. She picked up the second cutlass on the porch and rolled her sleeves up. "You need help?" She bent forward and Tobi waved his hands.

But she was already cutting. "Too late" She chuckled, marching next to him like it was some sort of farming competition. So much so that even if she didn't later become a farmer, she knew she'd make a damn good one.

"First to reach the gates" She cheered on, and Tobi looked to her, clutching his upper abdomen. "Now, you know i have a bad lung" He rolled his eyes and his jaw dropped so much that he let out a chesty chuckle. "Too soon?" Now, it wasn't essentially a question but Fi rolled her eyes in response. "Too soon-"

"We just have a two-in-one question for you, Ola. The same question that we asked Bade. You know this scholarship is only exclusive to one of you, so i'd advise that you answer with all you have and all you are. Everything you say would be considered "The man on the other end had a distinct accent, perhaps one from the midwest.

"Who is Olamide?"

"And where does he see himself in five years?" He was quick to add and Mide felt a hard lump go through his throat. Because of all the questions, he didn't expect that. "Where do i see myself in five years?" Ola echoed.

"The truth, is i have no idea. If you'd asked me this months ago, or even a decade ago, i'd have very different answers. But looking back, none of it was this. Maybe an architect yes, or a medical doctor or some surgeon, yes" He added. "But writing, nothing came as close to that"

"I don't know what the future holds but right now, it's what i want more than anything in the world. I write when i'm sad, when things are overwhelming and when i'm happy. It's my escape from the real world into the oblivion. Into my innermost fantasies, into safety and away from all this"

"All this chaos"

"And right now, writing is what's keeping me alive" Tears welled up in his eyes. "I uhm-i know where i'm going. Just hold on" He let out a chuckle. "The past few months have been terrifying, anxiety-striken, scary and even all of those seem like understatements. I've come face to face with alot of grim realities, and horrifying truths. So much that i don't want much from the future" Ola continued.

"Except nice. Except that it takes it easy on me. Except peace and happiness and all the joy that i missed growing up. I don't want much, wealth, success, screw all that shit. I want to be happy, i want all of this to be over" He sobbed. And you know who else wanted that.

"Ola is someone imperfect, he is someone that makes a lot of mistakes only to learn from them. He loves and loves hard and uh sometimes he can be confused. He is shy, and timid and sometimes scary. And he loves the people around him even though he barely ever shows it"

"Ola is bisexual" He swallowed a lump down his throat. "And that's just a few things. He doesn't know what the next five years holds for him but he's big on hope. And he prays that it isn't anything like this" He took a pause. "This would change my life, a career doing what i love would"

"And Ola... Ola hopes that is enough reason" He sighed.

-

"Could you maybe want to step aside for this?" The doctor looked to Dare and Obi. Mira looked back, already aware of what she was about to say next. She shook her head. "It's okay. They're okay"

He cleared his throat, holding his hands. "I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this but we ran a couple of tests on Silva's arrival to the hospital. We drew his blood and to " "Can you rip it off?" Mira sobbed, looking away. "What?" His voice came back to her. "Can you rip the bandaid off?"

"It will..." She breathed into her palms. "It'll hurt less"

"Silva's blood test came out positive for HIV. I'm obliged to tell you about the risks and his options and i'd love for you to take a seat" A tear slipped from her eyes as Obi heaved a deep breath. "What?" He softly asked.

"How long?" Mira asked. "It seems like he has had it for a while. Long enough for it to progress into AIDS, which is a more deadly disease. For now, he would be moved to a ward where he would be given the utmost care. And as for you, i advise you take the test alongside anyone that may have been in contact with Silva in the past forty eight hours" He said as Mira's heart sank like the titanic.

There was no coming back from news like that.

"My guess is that he already knew of this" She recalled his exact words as he laid across the roads then, and then she shook her head, whisking herself back into reality. "Can i-Can i see him before he uhm" She couldn't bring herself to say words and Dare took it as his queue to step forward.

Holding her shoulders, Mira began to wail again. "You would eventually but right now, he's still resting from surgery and uh, we don't want an event that would compromise his immune system-" "Compromise his immune system?" She echoed as Obi held unto her hands.

"Mira"

"It's okay" Dare urged. "We would see him, but let's go for now. We have to ensure we're safe as well" He looked to the doctor who nodded back at him. "I promise you, we're going to do the best that we can to save your friend. Just let us do our job" His voice was calm as he pointed down the corridor. "I just uhm-" Mira pulled out her phone.

"I'll be right behind you, i have to make a call" She said, wiping her eyes and turning away from them. She searched for the number before pausing for a little bit, and then she clicked dial-remembering eleven years back.

The moment they were about to walk through it those doors, Bode had backed into a corner, taking her phone. She typed her number into it and handed it back to Mira.

"Call me." She sternly said, watching her son walk down the porch with his father. "It anything happens to my boy, you do not hesitate to call me. And i would leave everything to come save him. I'm not sure of this Mira, i'm not sure of you but my son seems to really like you. So this is me giving the benefit of the doubt. All i ask "

"Is if something ever happens to him, you would call me or i would never forgive you" She pulled away without breaking the eye contact. "Take care of my baby, will you?" Bode said, like it was goodbye.

It felt like it.

Because eleven years had passed before Mira ever saw the need to reach out to her. The moment that the call went through, it was as if her tongue was tied. "Bode" She softly called. "Hello Mira" Came an unhesitating reply. "Something's happened" Mira sobbed.

To be continued...