Chapter Fifteen
Marie stayed at Vincent’s bedside in the hospital at Addis Ababa, where he lay in a semi-coma for six days.
Late one night, he awoke.
“Raji!” he croaked.
Marie ran to get Dr. Pompeii and a nurse. The nurse brought him some orange juice. His throat was raw, but he had to talk. He gripped Marie’s hand with his bony, claw-like fingers. She leaned over him, crying.
“Mom…where is...Raji?” he asked. “She was...” he had to stop to catch his breath, “in that place...too.”
Marie cried and hugged his neck, unable to speak.
“Vincent,” Dr. Pompeii’s voice came from the other side of the bed. “She’s here.” She wiped her cheeks and took Fuse’s hand. “Raji is in the next room.”
“Thank God,” he whispered, gripping both their hands. “Thank God…she’s alive.”
After Vincent had been l
