Stand By Me 3

Chapter 3: Nun In A Condom Factory

Her heart almost came to a full stop at that moment. Sweat trickled down her face and her vision became blurry. The baby had been stucked in for way too long and a massive caput had already formed. Yet she was as light as a feather, as weak as a kitten and was reluctant to push again. The mention of a possible C-section caused her stomach to churn. With an explosive flow of energy, she gave her hardest push. The baby was out.

" Ain't you happy to see your baby?", the nosy midwife asked. She tried her best to smile and nod, but she couldn't  answer. Inwardly, she hoped that the child was born with a defect incompatible with life.

Selena had been in a nonchalant mood since she found out she was pregnant. She always felt like a nun in a condom factory, but her first taste of sex, made her realised that it wasn't great as advertised. Being pregnant at 15 made her a social outcast, an outlier. Her friends had deserted her. Her boyfriend was nowhere to be found.

He cheated on her in Broad day light, yet she was adamant about leaving. She just wished that some karmic wisdom had whisked her out of that relationship. Her fate had turned for the worse; she had become a teen mother with no support. She knew she had to give up the child for adoption.

Her afternon shift at the labour ward was over, but Leila could not get Selena out of her head. What shocked Leila, causing her to shake and quake in her boots was the striking resemblance of Selena to her little sister. She was petrified by the thought!

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Leila's little sister, Mimi, was surprised that her sister was giving her a lecture on abstinence and teen pregnancy. The narration of Selena's story made her aware of where her big sis was coming from, but like a rebellious teeager,  she stormed off.

Little did she know that Mimi already knew Selena. Feelings of guilt engulfed her as she sobbed in her room with a pillow covering her face. She had turned her back on her friend when she needed her the most.

Initially, She helped her conceal the baby bump with corsets and oversized cardigans. But in a strict school like Everton high, such a secret could not be kept for long. When the school's authorities got wind of Selena's pregnancy, all hell broke loose. Soon her ass was on the line and they had to say their goodbyes.

10years of friendship. They've had so many arguments and magically have managed to be together for years. But the pregnancy was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Still smiling in the dreamworld...

BE WHO YOU ARE

How liberating is it to have a pep talk with yourself and finally define who you are! You will come to realise that there are so many things that people say and do that don't need your reaction. So take time to understand yourself and learn who you really are.

It is so easy to get into the trap of letting people define who you are; and this can happen subtly without your even realising it, especially if you try pleasing people. Pleasing people is intoxicating, letting critics dictate the course of your life is toxic.

It is beautiful to have manners and be all ladylike but you got to learn that sometimes you have to just fireback. It is not being mean, it is being assertive. Soon enough you see how those people change their behaviour towards you as the so called power they thought they had over you is deflated.

After knowing who you are, burn out any form of fear- fear of criticism, fear of judgement, you name them. Rather be led by your dreams and your belief in who you are.

Love always,
Liz.

Still smiling in the dream world...

Stand By Me 2

Chapter 2: Ectopic Scare

The medical student syndrome was finally wearing off and out of the 7 billion people in  the world, Leila was feeling like a total princess. She and her beau were enjoying  a morning session of romance when they began to discuss their future.

" I want a large family, so many children about 7." , said leila. "I want what you want.  I can't wait to have you as my wife", said Dave. At that moment Dave was actually  thinking of eloping  with Leila so they settle down in Paris, the city of love and enjoy life without interference from either of their families. Leila was recounting how boring single life was and the numerous valentine days she spent by herself. They then enjoyed their coffee as they watched the sun rise.

Leila was off to her radiology rotation the next morning while Dave was set for a job interview. The plan has always been to gather enough money and marry her dream girl right when she graduates. With about two years to go and a well paying job insight, the plan was soon enough going to materialise.

The room was quite small considering the number of peple suppose to be in it. The lighting had to be turned off to allow greater perception of the scan images. Patients were wheeled in and out almost instantaneously.  It was afterall a busy day.

Among the quazillon patients that tropped in and out that day, Rebecca stood out. She was a stunning 5feet 6 inches model, with hazy eyes, dark brown hair and an eye catching fair complexion. She was six weeks pregnant and recently engaged to her partner of 4 years. The radiologist said her scan was normal. To be honest, Leila was doubting this the whole time. Earlier in the day she had read about the increased risk of ectopic pregnancy in fair coloured African women and so was quick to judge Rebecca as a prime candidate for that. But she kept her opinion  to herself.
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Rebecca collapsed during a lingerie photoshoot and was rushed to back to the hospital a week later. She had been complaining of a severe abdominal pain the day before but kept postponing going to see her physician.  The likelihood of an ectopic pregnancy was out of the question until an emergency scan showed profuse intraperitoneal bleeding indicating a rupture.
A laparatomy surgery was done and she was stabilised yet in moderate pain. She had no relatives passing by and her supposed financee was no where to be found. She had to go through all that alone.

The ectopic scare was over but it got Leila to reconsider a few things. First she was not going to rush to start a family. Second, she cherished Dave even more. He gives his all into loving her.
Still smiling in the dreamworld...

Stand By Me 1

Chapter 1: Where It Began

The thunderous fall of the six feet 4 inch man on the cold hard ground was bone crushing; to add salt to injury, a cutlass ripped right through his forearm carving out a 10 cm deep laceration that torned completely all of his tendons. Pete was in pain and bleeding like hell. Being alone in the farm, he grapped some herbs and applied it on the injured part. Momentarily having some relief, but he needed help.

On the other side is leila, a young, brilliant and feisty med student who believed in fairytales. She admired a mesmerising photo she took with her beau, totally oblivious of the fact that her consultant was staring at her ready to mount an assault.

"Leila, what's the answer to the question I just asked?" Terry, the consultant asked.
She was completely baffadled, but quickly spurred out the answer she heard being whispered, which turned out to be right. Call it a sheer stroke of luck. No messing with Dr. Terry!

"Thanks", said leila to the guy who whispered the answer. He has been crushing on her since day 1, but has never bolted the courage to ask her out. He felt like he suddenly owned a million dollar private jet when leila showed appreciation. Seconds later, she switched her mind back to Dave, her boyfriend and couldn't wait for their dinner date.

Just when the theatre section was about to be dismissed, Pete was rushed in as an emergency. Terry chose Leila to assist. You know what that mean? Dinner plans with beau have to be cancelled.

They prepared the man for surgery. When the forearm was cleaned and examined, it was realised that his median nerve had also been severed.

The surgery was lasting longer than anticipated and the anaesthesia was wearing off. Pete started complaining of pain, but Terry in his usual bellicose state, was not taking any of that. He told him to 'Hold it in'. The anesthetist came to his rescue by topping up the anesthesia.

Terry was bitterly complaining about how tiring his day had been as he expertly sutured the last of the tendons. He then motioned to Leila to compete suturing the skin.

She changed out of her scrubs and looked up her phone to read a text message from beau. " I'm at the lobby waiting for you". She jumped for joy and in a flash, had already descended to there.

There he was, looking breathtaking in his white blazer and a blue pin- striped button- down. He ran to her, held her by the  waist and said the eight letter words: "I love you". The adorable couple intertwined their hands, walking side by side totally in love.

Still smiling in the dreamworld...

LIKE SHOOTING A FLY

Exhausted, drained, worn- out and fatigued could all be used to describe Katty's current state as she was tired to the bone. Even her favourite song playing on the radio gave her no resurrection. She couldn't help but sleep for an entire 3 hours in her car. Her days of hustling and sleep deprivation had finally taken a toll on her. Notwithstanding, her schedule for the day was extremely packed- 3am: preparing case file, 4am: cleaning, 5am: preparing kids for school, 6am- 2pm: work, 3pm: pick kids up from school, 4pm-6pm: work...

Katty is a modern day woman: she is a lawyer and a chaterred accontant, ceo of a leading law firm and mother to two adorable children. Gee, can working mums do it all? Well that is a whole lenthy topic for another day.Clearly, she wasn't able to pick up her kids. The calls from the schools had fallen on deaf ears, oops let me say sleepy ears. The school authorities were able to get- through to her ex- husband who responded and came to pick up the kids.
She woke up at 5:45pm feeling as if she was just  teleported from a different century back to her reality. "Oh my goodness my kids. 25 missed calls!", she exclamed. Just then, her husband called and told her the kids were with him.  But that wasn't a complete relief as Mr. Anderson is not your perfect gentleman.  He is an alcoholic, womaniser and a notorious gambler who keeps flushing fortunes away with his acts. 5 days after his divorce, he went straight ahead to marry an 18 year old model who subsequently divorced him in less than 72hours after their marriage.  Speak of Karma! Basically, Katty doesn't want the kids near him.

The horror of the day was yet to greet her. Her house had been burned to the ground.

She and her two children, Sam and Perry were going to spend the next few weeks or let's say months with Mr. Paul Anderson.
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Do you believe people can change, evolve into completely different human beings? Paul might be the answer we've all been looking for. A change man he had seemingly become- he started treating his wife and kids better; no women, no gambling; apparently he had stopped drinking. Katty was so much endeared by his new attitude that she ached to have him back again in her life.  They even went for couple therapy.

Life was going on perfectly normal until one day. Katty came home to see her precious 5 year old boy drinking a bootle of scotch while holding a bottle of guiness with his other hand. The sight was piercing to the core.
Bombshell time! Paul never changed and he had without remorse employed his own kids to cover up his acts. Thus creating the seemingly perfect husband camouflage. He couldn't curb his addictions and trying to save his marriage was like shooting a fly.