Signs

" is there sumuh weh yuh nah tell mi?" Mrs.Tomlinson asked her husband the moment they had left the hospital and was driving home .

" no why yah ask mi that?" , he asked his tone flat .

" because mi did a call yuh how much time and yuh neva did a ansa and look how yuh look ", she said as she looked him over and his grip on the stearing wheel tightened.

" how mi look Sashana? and mi done tell yuh a ready seh mi phone did off babz ".

Mrs.Tomlinson sighed ,

" weh wi aguh do concerning Celine Mark? God si and know mi cah tek nuh more . Mi already loose one daughter an it a kill mi suh much , if mi loose Celine mi cah guh manage it Mark and yuh cah donate fi yuh kidney cause a one yuh have because a eh accident weh yuh did have when yuh younga and wah if fi mi own nuh match?"

Mr.Tomlinson exhaled as he focused on the road . His mind was occupied with other matters , matters that if not dealt with soon could possibly cost him his life or everything he had gained throughout his life .

" wi nuh loose Bria , wi aguh find har and nuhun nah happen to Celine. Mi aguh mek sure a that ", he replied assuringly. At home that night while she heated up some leftover cornbeef and rice for their dinner and her husband was upstairs in their bathroom showering, Mrs.Tomlinson decided to check her husband's office .

She had never really poked around in there unless he had asked her to get something for him from inside or she was cleaning but, she couldn't shake the feeling that something wasn't quite right.

She opened the door and entered, leaving it half cracked so that she could hear his footsteps coming down the stairs just in case . She started searching by opening drawers but, she didn't find anything. She searched through the files on his computer desk , nothing , well at least nothing that was suspicious or caused for concerned . He was a bank teller so most of his files was pertaining to money and accounts and even if something was there she would need more time to go through them carefully.

She was about to give up when she remembered the safe that they kept their most valuable items in as well as his gun because he was a license firearm holder but, the key wasn't in it's usual place underneath his mouse pad on his computer desk nor was it in any of the drawers.

So that only meant one thing, he had the key with him or he had hidden it but why? He never had before. She heard his footsteps coming down the stairs and so she hurriedly straighten up the office the way it had been before she entered and came out, softly locking the door behind her .

" yuh ready fi yuh dinna ?" , she asked him as he stepped down off the last step and he shook his head .

" nuh yet babz , gi mi a mintue affi mek a call", he said as he walked passed her and entered into the office locking the door behind him and she frowned as she heard the click , signifying he hadn't just pushed it closed , he had actually locked it so she couldn't enter.

She decided to put her ears to the door and listened just for a minute or two because there was no reason as to why he had to be making a business call at 8pm in the night, the bank he worked was long closed.

" mi a tell yuh dem  already deh a the warehouse and mi already do eh transfer", he said and she frowned wondering what transfer he was talking about and what or who was at which wear house? She was about to continue to listened when her phone rang and had to go for it in the living room where she had left it to charge .

Seeing it was Lenisha,  she answered.

"Yes?"

" yuh busy now Sash ? Mi did a wondah if..." Lenisha started but, Mrs.Tomlinson cut her off .

" yes Mark deh here and mi nuh think mi inna eh mood but talk right now Lenisha.  Celine inna eh hospital wid kidney failure.  She drop dung this evening afta she come from school and mi did affi rush wid har guh a hospital and eh doctor dem diagnosed har wid kidney failure".

Lenisha was silent for a momentas if digesting the news then she replied,

" oh gosh, Sash mi sorry fi hear. Suh weh eh doctor dem seh dem aguh do ? How bad it be? Mi cah even imagine how yuh feel right now , fus a Bria and now a poor Celine, bwoy this nuh right a tall ".

Mrs.Tomlinson sighed ,

" eh doctor seh she aguh need wah kidney transplant and Mark cah guh do dweet because him only have one and mi nuh sure if fi mi aguh match when dem run eh test,  mi just a hope and pray because mi cah loose mi only daughta weh mi have lef" .

" yuh nah guh loose har Sash and yuh nuh loose Bria either.  Mi know eh police aguh find har , Bria determine and she a fighta, she aguh come back home", Lenisha said firmly and with conviction.

" alright,  mi aguh eat some food wid Mark now suh mi will talk to yuh tomorrow", Mrs.Tomlinson said .

" alright mi a come ova tomorrow afta work and eh two a wi aguh guh dung a eh hospital alright?"

" yeh man, alright" and with that Mrs.Tomlinson ended the call. After dinner Mark stayed in the living room to watch something on the TV while Mrs Tomlinson went upstairs to their bedroom.  She figured that he kept the key in his pants pocket or somewhere in his car so she started by searching the pockets of his pants that he had worn that day but,  nothing turned up.

She then spotted his wallet on the bedside table and on instinct she took it up and searched it and found the key in one of the inside pockets.  At that exact moment he entered the room and Mrs.Tomlinson froze for a moment before pushing the wallet inside one of the drawers on the bedside table and closing it.

" you alright babz? Ready fi bed?" , he asked as he looked at her and she smiled trying not to mask how nervous she was .

" mi soon come babz, mi head a hurt mi suh mi aguh back dungstairs guh tek two pill " , she said as he climb onto the bed and she left the bedroom drawing the door up close behind her. Knowing she had to be quick she went downstairs and to his office and to the safe .

She pushed the key into the keyhole and turned it and put in the code that they had always used and exhaled a breath of relief when it clicked signifying it was opened,  so he hadn't changed the code  but, what she found inside made her eyes widen in shock and disbelief.

There was stacks of cash , neatly bundled together with rubber bands ,one of his shirts that appeared ro had been stained with something crimson red and upon closer inspection she realised to her horror that it was dried blood and she also found three different banger phones .

Questions raced through her mind as she thought about all the possible scenarios that her husband was involved in . Was he a scammer? Money laundering? Drugs ? No , he was a man of God,  this wasn't possible.  He was the one who had helped her found God and she had joined him in ministry,  it just wasn't possible but, the evidence infront of her eyes couldn't be erased,  the man waiting for her upstairs in their bedroom wasn't the man she knew .

She locked the safe and went back up to their bedroom on weak legs . That night she didn't slept and in the morning when her husband left for work , she debated with herself whether to notify the police or not but, then decided against it because though the evidence in the safe was definitely a caused for concern she didn't have any proof to actually link him to something illegal and with the life of her daughter on the line, dealing with another matter onto of Bria's disappearance would be too much for her to handle so she decided to wait until she had more concert evidence and went to thr hospital with Lenisha to see her daughter and to get tested to see if she was a match for the kidney transplant.

2days later....

The air in the hospital room was thick with tension and worry. The rhythmic beeping of machines filled the silence, a cruel reminder of Celine's fragile state. Mrs. Tomlinson sat on the edge of the chair beside her daughter's hospital bed, her hands clasped tightly in her lap. She hadn’t slept, hadn’t eaten since she took the test two days ago . She couldn’t, not while Celine’s life was hanging in the balance.

The door creaked open, and Dr. Bennett stepped inside, a clipboard in hand. His expression was carefully neutral, but Mrs. Tomlinson could see past it. She had seen that look before, the look doctors wore when they had to deliver news no parent wanted to hear.

She rose to her feet, heart pounding.

"Doctor? Did the results come back? Am I a match?"

Dr. Bennett inhaled deeply, closing the folder in his hands.

"I’m so sorry, Mrs. Tomlinson… but you are not a match for Celine’s transplant".

For a moment, the world seemed to stop. The walls of the hospital room closed in around her, and her knees felt weak.

"No… no, that can’t be right," she whispered, shaking her head.

"She’s my daughter. We have the same blood type. How is this possible?"

Dr. Bennett softened his tone.

"Blood type is only one factor. There are other genetic markers we have to consider for a successful transplant. Unfortunately, your results show a high risk of rejection."

Mrs. Tomlinson clutched her chest, her breath coming in short, shallow gasp and Dr.Bennett continued his tone sympathetic.

"we’ll have to rely on the hospital’s transplant registry to try and find a donor for Celine , since you aren't a match and your husband is unfortunately unable to donate due to his condition so you stated".

She grabbed onto his arm, her fingers trembling.

"And how long will that take?"

Dr. Bennett’s silence was enough of an answer.

There were no guarantees.

Mrs. Tomlinson swallowed the tears rising in her throat.

"Doctor, please," she pleaded, her voice breaking. "There has to be another way. She a only 15 , she have har whole life fi live and she nuh deserve this."

Dr. Bennett sighed, his features etched with sympathy.

"We’re doing everything we can, Mrs. Tomlinson. But until a viable kidney is found… we just have to hope."

Hope.

Mrs. Tomlinson sank back into the chair, gripping Celine’s cold, fragile hand.

Hope wasn’t enough.

She needed a miracle.