Niko’s Eye

Chapter 24.

"Loss&Gain."

Alejandro.

Alejandro had watched the number of people lessen in the waiting room.

He stared at the huge clock hung up in front of him.

It reminded him of the golden clock in his study.

It had been 4 hours since Isis had gone into the ICU.

And still, no word from the doctors.

No doctor had been to see him and no nurse was able to give him valid information.

He kept on standing up now and then, to pace the waiting room, his head filled with crazy thoughts.

She definitely slipped while she was running after me. Which then caused the blow to her head.

He stood up against one of the walls of the waiting room and let his mind wander deeper.

Love heals us. Love heals our brains, it develops the prefrontal cortex and enables us to make wise choices, without such we are like permanent partial-drunks thinking ourselves fully sober. Just a little over a moth ago, I was an arrogant, ruthless and lust-filled brute who had no regards for women or any acknowledgement of there being a God. God seems to be proving that he is present. Every time I try to pray, or rather think that I’m praying, he answers. With the tiniest of things, but he still answers. Or maybe it’s just my brain with that part. But, I feel his presence. Like, an omnipotent aura around me, ever since I met Isis. It’s like a ray of light, of truth, of purity and justice. I mean, isn’t that what God is all about? I’ve just been unable to do any harm to anyone. But justice means that he deals with those who aren’t righteous. I’m utterly unrighteous, and if he had to take Isis away as a punishment, then..."

Alejandro was lightly tapped on the shoulder, bringing him back to earth.

"Mr?"

He cleared his throat and straightened up. "Dominic."

"Are you here with the patient who was recently brought into the ICU?" the little woman dressed in a nurse’s attire, had asked.

He nodded his head hopefully. "Please tell me she’s okay."

"Please wait a few minutes Sir. The doctors will be with you to deliver the news."

She didn’t even wait for him to digest her last words as she turned on her heel and left.

He stood in the hallway of the hospital, brain diluted, heart in a frenzy.

News? What news? Good or bad?

Aisha.

Aisha had gotten back into her hotel room, with Sergio’s words still ringing through her body.

She squinted her eyes at the memory and tried to make sense of what he meant.

"Arg, the poor pig is pathetic. He’s just trying to say that I might just get caught this time."

She fanned off Sergio’s words and put on a sermon that she had been listening to before she had gone out to meet him.

She plopped herself onto the hotel couch and looked at the photographs in front of her.

They were photographs of herself in the bodybag they had placed her in that night and one headshot photo of herself.

Her connect had sent them to her, stating that someone had asked for them.

She wondered who.

Her connect had not been able to find out who. But she had made it her personal mission to find out who else was keeping tabs on her.

The only man that she could think of who had the sort of connections that she had, was...Sergio.

Aha.

She had cracked the code.

So he indeed wanted to see me go down? This explains why he was behaving the way he was today. It seems like he knew all along that I was not dead.

"Wait a minute, this must mean that one of my connects is a snitch. Why send my photographs through without consulting me? Especially knowing that they’re fakes. And along with an ID photo to really make sure that it was me? What is the missing puzzle? Sergio, what are you playing at? I will catch you."

She stood up and walked over to the fruit salad that was brought to her room by room service.

"...Luke 10:19, The Lord said behold I give unto you the power over all the powers of the enemies. God has given us the power to neutralize our enemies..., " the sermon blasted in the background.

"Amen. Sergio, you’re a dead man."

Picking up a slice of an apple with her pocket knife, she raised it to her red-painted lips and flung the pocket knife towards the door.

Bulls-eye.

Alejandro.

As Alejandro stood there, trying to figure out what the nurse meant, the grey-haired doctor showed up.

He walked languidly towards Alejandro.

Yeah, he’s really old.

Alejandro steered his mind back to seriousness.

He walked up to the doctor to make his walk shorter for him, and asked, "Is she okay? Doctor, please tell me she’s okay."

The doctor sighed and took off his spectacles.

"I’m sorry, but we lost her. Unfortunately there was nothing more we could’ve done for her."

Alejandro’s heart dropped.

And then, he started laughing, hysterically.

He clapped his hands and walked to one of the seats in the waiting room.

"You’re not being serious. That was funny but you’re going to have to do better old man."

The doctor shook his head.

"I know you’re in shock. I’ll advise you to sit down and grieve properly. If you’d like to see her, she’s in..."

"Shut up man! Just shut it!" Alejandro blurted out.

He walked up to the old man and pointed a finger at him.

"If you know what’s good for you, get your arthritic self back into that ward and do what you’re being payed for!" he spat at the old man.

At this point, Alejandro was hysteric.

He had lost it.

He was uncontrollable.

The beast in him had been awakened.

He glared at the old man, a wanton look in his eyes, glossy with tears, red and puffy from the crying he had done earlier on.

His nostrils flared and his hair wild.

And then suddenly, he burst into tears.

A loud wail, and then sobs in between the intervals.

He started to rip off his shirt, as he went on yelling and shouting.

"Where is she?! I want to see her now!"

He started to run into the hospital hallways, causing the hospital security guards to go after him.

"Sir! Please, this is a hospital. We have patients here. You can’t just cause such a massive disruption."

He stopped running and turned around to face the guard.

"b***h I’m a god, and I can shut this whole place down with a snap of my finger. Take me to Isis now or I will burn this b***h down."

The security guard stepped back in fear and reverence.

"This way Sir," his voice wobbling with fear.

Alejandro pushed in front of the guard and let his spirit guide him.

He walked in the hospital corridors, looking from left to right and right again, until...

There she was.

He stopped.

He clutched his bare chest and started sobbing.

He slowly walked into the room and shook his head uncontrollably.

"No. No, no. Not you. Not now. You can’t do this to me Isis. Wake up. Please, " his vision blurry from the tears.

He went on his knees and bowed in front of her bed.

He stopped crying and focused.

He took a deep breath and opened his mouth, "Isis, you taught me how to seek for a higher divine power in times of need. I don’t know who God is but if he is as mighty as they say, then he knows who I am. And he knows you."

He closed his eyes.

"God, I know that I’ve never spoken to you and it’s quite unfair that I only do that now that I find myself in s**t. I’m sorry, I mean, now that I find myself in a time of desperate need. I’ve never known you. But, I think that you’ve always known me. And I have to say that I recognize your grace in this matter, I was once a lost case. But you placed this woman in my life, and her love transformed my emotions into a healthy perspective and the kind of good thoughts that build my better self. She made my cocoon break and now I am ready to fly on beautiful wings. But how will I do that if you want to take her from me? Yes, I confess that I’ve done some atrocious things and I’m ready to pay for them but at the price of Isis’ life back. I promise to give my life to you and to try to know you. I know that you’re empathetic and compassionate and you also listen to the sinners who call upon your name. I don’t know any bible verses or beautiful prayers but I’m speaking from the heart and I think that that’s enough. The power of love has given me hope and faith and has somewhat drawn me closer to you. Wherever you are, please hear me dear God. I’m like a child who’s just learning to pray. Please don’t be mad at my choice of words. I just need you to bring Isis back to me. She’s all I have. She’s my saving grace. Oh, and I’m sorry about what just happened in the hallway, my demons were playing with my brain again. I’m terribly sorry. Prove to me that you are alive dear God. Show me your power. Amen?"

He exhaled heavily and kept his eyes closed.

He stood up and went to go and stand in the corner of the room, with his head in between his hands.

2 hours had passed by.

The nurses had been in to try to convince him to leave the room so they could take Isis’ body to the morgue but he had refused.

With his head still held in between his hands, he suddenly heard the beeps of the machines.

He quickly looked up at them and saw that her heart rate was beginning to increase, meaning that her heart had began to beat again.

She’s alive.

And God is alive.

"Thank you God, thank you so much. I will honor my promises to you, thank you so much."

He walked up to Isis’ bed and stood by her left side.

He took her hand in his and kissed it.

He smiled down at her.

"Thank you for coming back to me babygirl."

He called out for a doctor and closed his eyes, thanking God once again.