3. DYING

Zara was restless.

She kept pacing to and fro as she waited for news from the doctors who had all gone in to save him. Each time she peered into the room from where she stood, she could see them trying to stabilize him. All their hands were on him and the only time he moved, was when he was forced to by their machines.

She was scared of losing her best and only friend. Kelvin had become more than a friend to her. He had become the man she loved. He was everything to her. She could not imagine a world where he did not exist.

Other Nurses and doctors hurried down the corridor as they tried to reach their patients. Zara kept hoping that one of the doctors inside the room with Kelvin would stop and give her the news she was waiting for. Or maybe Kelvin would just walk out of the ICU and tell her that he was perfectly fine.

Images of him coughing up blood started coming to her again. That moment had been the scariest moment of her life. She wondered what could have caused it. Had he perhaps been hiding it the entire time? Had he known what was happening to him? She remembered he kept telling her that he was fine. She understood he did not want her to worry. This meant that he knew exactly what was happening to him.

The question was, what was wrong with him?

Zara felt like she would die faster than any of the patients at the hospital if her questions were not answered any time soon. The unknown was eating at her. The anxiousness was making her heart beat in crazy ways. Soon enough, even Zara was going to have to be admitted into the hospital.

Just when Zara thought she was finally going to die, a doctor came out of the room Kelvin was in and walked towards her. She was dressed in blue overalls with a long white jacket. Her hair was tied up in a curly and messy bun. Her brown skin emitted the worry in her eyes. Zara immediately rushed to her.

"Doctor! What is happening? Is going to be okay?" Zara demanded the moment she got close enough to be heard.

The doctor sighed. "Why have you not started his treatment? It would have been easier then. Now his chances of survival have decreased by fifty percent," the doctor began.

Zara froze on the spot. The doctor's words resonated in her head over and over again. She could hear the echoes of her words and her brain refused to make sense out of it. If it did, then she would have to accept the next phase. And the next phase would probably be that her Kelvin was dying.

"Hello? I asked you a question?" The doctor called.

This broke Zara out of her thoughts. "Treatment? Chances of survival? Doctor what are you talking about? What's wrong with him?" Zara demanded the moment she got her voice back.

The doctor stopped and stared at her strangely. "You don't know. That isn't possible. He could not have gotten to this stage without having visited a doctor consecutively," the doctor finally said.

Zara felt like the doctor was speaking a language that she did not understand. She even wondered how the doctor got her license. Who broke the news about a dying patient like she was doing to her? Besides she was not supposed to just assume things.

"Doctor, tell me what is wrong with him. I need you to tell me the entire truth," Zara requested.

The doctor stared at Zara for a long time. She was probably contemplating telling her. She needed to be sure that Zara could handle the entire truth. Then again, she had no choice. It was not as if the young man had someone else, or did he?

"Where are his parents or are you his relative?" the doctor asked.

At this point, Zara felt like bashing the doctor with the club used  by the ancient cavemen. Too bad, she could not find any club around. The nearest one would be in a museum and she could not throw her life away by committing such an act. But, the thought was tempting. The doctor was toying with her feelings. Her heart was hardly alive and if she did not get the information she needed then it was going to stop.

"Doctor, he's an orphan. I'm all he has. Please tell me what is wrong with him," Zara spoke with an almost breaking voice.

The doctor saw that she had no choice but to break it to the woman who seemed very weak. The last thing she wanted was for her to collapse due to the news. The doctor was already in enough probation for always telling patients the blunt truth and putting their lives in danger but what could she do? She had to break the news to her. There was no other way around it. She just hoped that the woman would take the news well.

"What is his name again?" The doctor asked.

"Kelvin! Kelvin Raker," Zara answered just as fast. She felt her heart beginning to race again. The craziness in her heart was getting out of hand.

"Mr Raker has Cancer. Lung Cancer," the doctor finally broke the news.

As the news reached Zara's ears and her brain processed it, her heart suddenly stopped. Tears filled her eyes. Sounds echoed. Her breathing became heavier than it had already become before. The words Lung Cancer replayed in her head over and over again.

When the doctor saw that Zara was not moving again, she got worried. She got scared that she had done it again and the doctor started thinking that she would surely lose her license this time.

"Are you okay? Miss?" the doctor asked.

"Zara, call me Zara. I think I need to sit," Zara said in a breathless voice.

The doctor nodded and led her to a chair that was to the wall. Zara sat on it and she knew that it would not be long before her tears started rolling freely down her eyes.

"Lung Cancer. He has Lung Cancer," Zara repeated after the doctor.

"Yes, Miss Zara and as it is, he has missed a lot of treatment which has only made his condition worse," the doctor continued.

Yet Zara was still stuck at the part where the doctor said he had Lung Cancer. She thought of the time she had noticed him looking pale and he had told her that he had gone down with a cold. That must have been when he realised he was sick.

"Why didn't he tell me?" Zara murmured to herself.

"Sorry?" the doctor asked.

Zara shook her head to dismiss the doctor away from that thought. "What treatment is it?"

"Chemotherapy," the doctor answered.

"And you're sure it would save him?" Zara asked.

"If he starts it now, yes. But if he delays it any longer, then it would be too late," she answered her.

Zara shook her head. "Then we must start it right away. How much does it cost?" Zara asked.

"It costs two thousand US dollars for each month. We will have to continue the treatment steadily for six months with close observation then if he's clear and his body accepts the treatment, we can go on," the doctor explained.

Except, Zara was stuck where she said they needed two thousand US dollars monthly for six months. This meant that she needed twelve thousand US dollars for his treatment. This was money none of them had at the moment. Was this why Kelvin could not bring himself to tell her?

"Wow, you also say that we have to start his treatment as soon as possible or Kelvin would die?" Zara asked again.

"Unfortunately, yes. He's running out of time," the doctor confirmed.

Zara exhaled sharply. In other to save the man she loved, she needed money that she did not possess.

"Is he awake now? Is he stabilized? Can I see him?" Zara asked as her tears finally broke out of her eyes and flowed freely down her cheeks.

"He has been stabilized. When he wakes up, he'll be fine but he might have another seizure if the treatment does not begin," the doctor warned.

"Can I go see him?" Zara requested as more tears ran down her cheeks.

"Yes, yes you can," the doctor replied.

"Thank you," Zara said and got on her feet immediately.

The doctor watched her in pity as she headed for the room. She had not been completely honest with her. The cancer had done so much damage already that she was not even sure the treatment would work. There was a very high chance of his body rejecting it. Yet she could not bring herself to destroy the little spark of hope that had come alive in Zara's eyes. That little hope was all she needed to keep living and if she destroyed it, then she would be killing Zara too.

Zara pushed the door open and found Kelvin lying on the bed. His skin had gotten paler than she remembered him. He suddenly looked as if he had lost weight.

She found a chair and placed it beside the bed and she sat on it. Then she stared down at Kelvin. Her heart ached and burned with pain. She could not bear to see Kelvin in this condition. She found his hand and placed hers in it. Then she slowly lifted it and planted a kiss on it. His fingers were cold and there was a bandage where the needle had been placed to send a transparent fluid into his body.

"Your tears are too precious to me. Don't waste it," Kelvin whispered.

This caused Zara's heart to skip a beat as she turned her gaze to him. His eyes were half open as he tried to stare at her.

"Kelvin!" Zara exclaimed.

"Hey Zara," Kelvin whispered.

"Are you in pain?" Zara asked.

"I can bear that pain but I can not bear the pain of watching you cry," Kelvin whispered back.

More tears flowed down her cheeks. "Why did you not tell me? Why did you hide it all this while? You've only worsened your situation and if we do not start your treatment then I would lose you," Zara cried.

"How could I tell you, Zara? You already have a lot to deal with. How could I make you suffer because of me?" Kelvin lamented. "I cannot bear to see you hurt. I cannot bear to see you in pain."

"If you told me, then we would have worked something out by now. We would not have gotten to this," Zara continued.

"How Zara? The money cost two thousand dollars. You family hardly feeds itself and this is only because of your support. How can we arrange this money? How Zara?" Kelvin demanded.

"We can, I can," Zara pressed on.

"Zara it's okay. I have already accepted my fate—"

"Don't talk like that! This is no fate for you," Zara interrupted.

"It's okay. I have accepted death. My only wish is to spend my last moments with you everyday until I die," Kelvin whispered.

"No! You're not dying Kelvin. You're not going anywhere. I'm not going to rest until I get the money we need to save you. If I work hard, I can arrange the money. I know I can save you. I just need you to trust me. I can do this. I promise you that I will save you," Zara stated.

Kelvin wanted to protest but he knew it would be to no avail. She had made up her mind and no one could change her decision.

Zara did not know how she was going to arrange the money she needed for his treatment but she knew that she was going to try and she was going to get the money for his treatment. She did not care what she had to do. If she had to get herself killed to save him then she was ready to do it.

Zara was going to save Kelvin no matter what.