Chapter One: The Hospital Bed

— Gina

I have never told anyone that I suffer from sickle cell anemia. The hospital has become my routine, and receiving blood is what I do. Sometimes, my feet itch, and I feel pain all over my body as if I could die anytime soon. The only person who knows about my health condition is my twin sister, Givia. Whenever I am admitted to the hospital, she takes care of me and ensures that I never lose hope.

"Gina, are you getting better now?" my twin sister asked.

"I'm getting better, sister. Just some pain in my feet."

My twin sister looks exactly like me. We have the same resemblance and beauty. Not to mention our height and skin color. My sister is slightly taller than me, and her eyes are a bit bigger, but they are beautiful. Unless you look closely or know us well enough, you wouldn't be able to differentiate between us. There was a time when my twin sister fought with Mariya, one of our high school mates, and I ended up receiving a beating from Mariya. She mistook me for Givia and teamed up with other students to beat me.

"Givia, I'm scared I might die anytime. My health condition isn't improving anymore. It's always from one hospital to another every two months."

"Don't worry, you will be fine, and you won't die," Givia reassured me. She always gives me hope. She knows that since we were kids, even before the death of our parents, I have been battling this illness.

Even when our mother died, Givia and I cried bitterly. We were six years old then. She was so sick that she couldn't talk or eat. She couldn't even recognize us. Her bone marrow was weak and tired. She could barely see or hear anything. She was already dying. She had been a sickle cell anemia patient even before my father married her.

I cried, and Givia did too. "I don't think mother will make it this time. Her body is so cold and weak. She might not even make it to tomorrow. Mother couldn't see or hear us. This is the worst condition I have ever seen her in. A condition that doesn't allow her to talk or even recognize those around her."

My father never cared about my mother's condition. In fact, he wasn't around when my mother was battling sickle cell anemia. He was always with Carolina, a woman he met during a peacekeeping mission in Liberia. He married her and brought her back to Nigeria. Since then, she has been after my mother's life, trying to turn my father's eyes away from my mother and take his properties and wealth.

My father was a captain in the Nigerian Army. He went on several peacekeeping missions around the world. He was dedicated and hardworking, which earned him a lot of respect. However, I was never close to him. Givia doesn't even want our father near her. She hates him for abandoning our mother for Carolina. Even before he joined the army, my mother had been with him through all the struggles and hardships.

"The doctor has arrived to check on you, Gina," my sister informed me. Doctor Loveth was on duty in the afternoon. She looked closely at me and my twin sister, surprised by our beauty and resemblance. She checked my blood pressure, gave me injections, and I dozed off. While I was sleeping, Doctor Loveth had a discussion with my twin sister.

"What about your parents?" Doctor Loveth asked.

"Our parents are deceased, and it's just the two of us left," Givia told her.

Doctor Loveth was inquiring because my condition was becoming critical, and she believed that having a conversation with my parents would be beneficial. She thought they would be mature enough to understand the severity of my health. Deep down, I felt that I might not make it. I might die anytime, and that would be the end of me. I don't have any property or wealth to inherit. My sister and I come from a poor background.

Doctor Loveth left, and Givia returned to check on me. Sometimes I wonder why my twin sister loves me so much. She ensures that I eat my food and takes care of me in every way. She even goes to the market herself to buy groceries and cook for me. She knows I love rice and stew, so she prepares it for me. She is incredibly loving.

"Gina, you're awake? Please sit up properly, and let's eat the rice and stew I specially prepared for you." I smiled, even though deep down my bones ache, making me want to give up on life.

In a few weeks, I was discharged from the hospital. I looked thin but still beautiful. I could barely walk properly without the support of Givia. She left her small business to take care of me at home. She never stops taking care of me. If I had a chance to come back to this world, I wouldn't want to be a sickle cell anemia patient again. But because my mother was a sickle cell anemia patient who died from it, I inherited the illness from her. My mother told my father about her condition even before they got married. My father insisted that he loved her and married her despite her illness. However, my father was already in love with my mother before Carolina came into his life and snatched his heart away from my mother.

Nevertheless, what happened to my mother made me unable to love. I hated love with all my heart. I believed that all men were the same.