Wild West of the Heart
SIXTY SEVEN

The murmurs filled their eyes, as well as the incessant chattering around them. Silva looked at all the numerous men that laid sickly over their beds. And the only thing that prevented tears from falling were the large glasses he wore. He was in a full scrub suit, and white gloves. And plastic shoes. Masks over his nose and his lips. Plus he had to stay five feet apart at all times.

There was one guard at the door whose eyes hovered over the entire room and Mira looked from him to Reginald, whose eyes almost closed.

"You found me" He whispered as Mira turned away from him, he'd gone lean and pale blue like he hadn't eaten in a while or had a good bath. And so were the other men around him. It was a gruesome sight and the stench of feces filled the air-

-luckily the mask put off most of it. Silva's lips quivered as tears stung his eyes. He nodded firmly. "Yes we did" He couldn't fathom how someone that looked so healthy weeks ago, was like this. He couldn't fathom life anymore.

"What happened?" He just had to ask, pretending not to have a clue. He was one one single bed, barely the size of half a twin bed- the kind that you could barely turn over in.

And he just heaved a deep breath till he choked, letting out a chesty cough. "I've known for a while, and the doctor said it might have been there for even longer. They call it rare cancer, others call it a virus but no one really knows what it is" Ojo said.

"A cancer?" Silva echoed. "A gay cancer" He pushed a lump down his throat, turning his face over to where he had scars and spots all over. Blemishes that looked like skin mould and Mira had to resist the urge to throw up. She shook her head, her own tears soaking her masks.

"And everyone here has it?" Silva whispered and Reginald nodded. "We used to more than this, and if you're here, you'll probably get used to people dying everyday" "Why-" DaSilva interrupted and he laughed at his naivety. "Because there is no cure"

"It's a death sentence. A very slow, painful death sentence. I don't have much time anymore" He coughed into his hands and he rolled his eyes. "And i had a book signing next month" He chuckled.

"Life is so funny, don't you think? How it can just spit in your face and all of your plans- it is" His voice went low, almost as if it couldn't get louder than a particular threshold. "I think it's unfair" Silva replied, refraining himself to reaching out for his hands, because of the death glare by the guard.

"I won't say i didn't see it coming" Reggie said. "But you were so- you were so healthy. And laughing and happy. You seemed so happy. Why would you even keep this from us that day?" Mira blurted out.

"Mira" He called her in a manner like he'd known her all his life. "What i don't understand is why i'm like this and you're just there" Silva whispered.

"Barely any protection" His voice cracked. "It is for you, protection for you" He replied as Mira scoffed from his lips. "Why isn't everyone seeing this on the outside? Why isn't it in the fucking news and why did it take so long for us to get contact with you" She wailed, alittle louder than the murmurs.

And when she got a few eyes on her, she quieted.

"They don't want people to be afraid. They hear a deadly virus that's killing everyone, they're going to want to be afraid. And bad things happen when people are afraid" Reginald said. "So the propaganda is to tell everyone it only affects the homosexuals?" Mira asked and he chuckled slightly.

Unbelievably.

"Look around you" He pointed fraily. "Isn't it just the homosexuals-" He tilted his neck as Silva's eyes scanned the entire room. "It's killing us, and no one's doing anything. Self purge they say" He smiled.

"Why are you smiling Reginald? This is " Mira paused, freaking out in her chair and it just made him laugh more. "I think i've cried enough, Mira" Her name always sounded funny on his lips.

"I think i've been in denial enough, i think i've hated myself enough. Now, it's close. Now, i've done it. You don't get it and i hope you never have to because it's terrible. This feeling is terrible and all that crying and self-loathe makes it even hurt more. It's very unbelievable even till now" He started.

"The ideas of an epidemic that just kills gay men, i mean it's what the world wants so don't act as if they're going to care. Because it isn't mothers, it isn't breadwinning fathers or innocent kids. It's the demonic gays, the skittle colors. That's all we ever were to them" He scoffed. "Except it isn't just the disease killing people like us" Silva interrupted.

"Six deaths over the past week, strikingly familiar murder cases of stabbing. And when you dig deep enough, three are trans, one is openly gay and the rest i assume is the same. And that's apart from Jazzlyn and the scores more of people i don't even know. It's not just one epidemic, it's two" He said.

Reginald looked to him..

"I thought you'd have given up on Jazz by now" He whispered. "It's nice to hear her name. You're such good people in a terrible world" He continued as Mira looked down her light printed scrubs. She opened her goggles to wipe beneath her eyes. She needed to leave, but she couldn't.

"People need to see this. They need to know the truth" Silva said as if he didn't surrender the two phones he had by the door. And it all pieced together like the perfect puzzle, making sense now.

"What happens-" Mira whispered. "What happens to the ones that don't make it?"

Slowly, he pointed across the room to a man that laid still across the bed. And then to another by the far right. "Oh my God" She gasped. "They come by midnight with this large metal casket and they put them in to be incinerated. They foam their beds and turn it over and clean the heads for new patients"

"And it's like a routine now, it's barely anything. I've been here long enough to see people come and go. We even have ranks and place bets, because that's the sort of thing you can do to make sure you dont feel as terrible. That's the sort of thing that sounds fun when you're bedridden with a death sentence"

"You can't leave. You can't live. There's no coming out of this"Reginald was fond of saying the words he wanted to hear but when it got too much for Mira, she had to stand to leave. Walking towards the door, she tore off the scrubs from her body and pushed through. Once she was out, she heaved in a deep breath as tears rolled down her eyes.

"Fuck" She cussed, running her fingers through her hair. Silva looked to her and then to him. "You can't leave?" He whispered back to him. "In hindsight, this is more of a detained situation. So we don't infect the world" He sniffled through his nose and Silva scoffed, not exactly surprised at how the healthcare had crumbled before him.

"Reginald" He whispered, again refraining himself from reaching out to him. "I'm sorry" It wasn't alot but it would go a long way, for Jazzlyn. For this, for the country and the state that he was in.

"It's okay" He nodded before Silva stood. "Please, be careful" Reginald said before he turned around and DaSilva looked down on him. "I'll come back"

He scoffed. "I'll try" "Please" Silva whispered, as if that could do much. Fuming, he stormed out his way through the door, tossing his scrubs alongside his gloves and every piece of clothing they gave him on the ground. And he brushed past the hands of the receptionist that were stretched to collect it.

"I" She tied her tongue as Silva made his way down the stairs and out through the only exit, only to find Mira by the flowers. He heaved in a deep sigh as they made eye contact from across.

"I'm going to stop this" He swore with everything he had and Mira nodded. "We're going to stop this"

-

Drawing towards the end of February meant alot of things, asides the results of the nationwide exams being released, there was also Hillway High's founder's day, there was Spring Fling the week after, and there was that English project being due

-which meant accompanied with their assigned partners, they'd mount the stage to summarize one of the eight books for the term. Now, that would mean Obi and Abdul team up for one last time. But we don't have to worry about that right

now.

Right now, it was career day.

Ola reached for his buttons, bending over the spotlight stand that shone unto the stage that Collins was in. It was an event for just the final year students but somehow the halls were filled.

He took his seat the edge of the back row, navigating through the heads in front for both Obi and Fiyin. Obi, unconsciously, having forgotten of the fight that broke out between them the previous day. But Fiyin, he began to worry about her. It was why when he finally sighted her in the crowd, a breath of relief escaped his lips. She had her hair in a messy bun and her shoulders carried up the arms of her wine blazer. And she had a smile of her face, it were times like this Ola was sure he was bisexual because these longtime feelings he had for this girl were real. And even though he was not even sure what was up with her and Deb, he couldn't just control these emotions-

it was not like there was a knob to just completely turn off. God, he wished. His shoulders deflated as he saw that smile again. He unconsciously began to smile as well, but that was until he made out who was beside her. Deborah of course, was by the right but Nathaniel was there as well, telling her some lame jokes that made her smile that wide. He was sure she was just messing with him because she waved the next second but he froze, out of shock and rage. Rage, because he had his knuckles against that guy's face.

The moment however, Collins stepped on that stage, that smile was sure to disappear off her cheeks like it had never existed to begin with. Obi, on the other hand was on the far left, by himself.

He'd locked unconscious glances with Ola but never mouthed a word or a reaction. They just assumed perhaps, they were still mad at themselves.

Ola was, but it wasn't as if if Obi walked up to him, he would snub. Like i said, he was decent. The mic echoed a sharp sound to the audience as Collins let out a deep laughter, he hefted it closer to his lips and all three of them just stared, sharing a mutual hatred for the man before them.

"Good morning, grade eleven students of Hillway High" He faked an accent before the entire board of university representatives behind him. "As you may have been told on the assembly earlier, this is your career day. Today" He swung his suit jacket, making his way across the stage.

"Today you would make the decision of who you would be in the future. As one of the most prestigious schools in Lagos, we have welcomed not one, not two but several of the international institutions that have been offering scholarships, grants, incentives and stipends to people like you" His voice echoed over the murmurs in the room.

"And as promised sometime last year, you would individually get to meet some of these schools of your preferred choice, given you've already put down your name earlier" He added. "At the end of the day, one more of you, asides the valedictorian would get a scholarship to study in any university in Nigeria which would be sponsored by me-" He had a sly smirk across his cheek.

"For the rest of you, i wish you the best of luck trying to convince these beautiful faces why you would make an exquisite choice to join their schools abroad" He mounted down the podium, dropping the mic with Marissa who took position at the center of the aisle.

"You may now proceed to locate your university of choice and form a perfect queue right in front of them" Her shrill voiced graced the microphone as students immediately stood to battle for the first in line. Ola gave way, trying to narrow his eyes to find the name he'd put down-

-The Johnsons School of Creative Writing. He found them at the far left with just one person in front of him which so happened to be Bade.

"Hey" Someone reached out to hold his shirt and he turned around. "Abdul" He called with a smile before they held each other for a brief hug. "Here we are again" He ruffled his palms against his thigh.

Ola rolled his eyes, strolling forward. "Here we are" He echoed as he pointed to the crowd in front of them. "Trust you already have located the prestigious Princeton Medical School" He teased in a deep voice and Ab let out a loud chuckle. "Sure sure i have" He pointed to the badge across his breast pocket. "Number three in line" Ola read, looking at the large number on the cardboard. "I just came to say hi" Abdul rubbed his shoulders. "It's been a while"

Ola blew raspberry, slouching his back. "It has been a while" He stretched the has longer than the rest of that sentence and Abdul nodded. "You good?" Ola asked, assuming things weren't the best for he and Obi in the present moment. "We broke up" Ab suddenly said, ripping the bandaid off the wound. Olamide's eyes widened, of all the things, he wouldn't have guessed that.

"What happened?" He heaved a deep sigh and Ab just shrugged his shoulders like it didn't bother him. "Right person, wrong time" He whispered. "Right person, wrong place" He corrected with a scoff. Truth was, as Obi struggled with the break-up, Abu went through twice the pain because not only did he blame himself for how things turned out or how irrational he might have been- -he also went through the whole process, completely sober. And crying in his bed all of Valentine's day. He didn't eat because, i don't know, food doesn't exactly cure a broken heart. He missed him, all of him.

And the thoughts of the past few months with him made it somewhat worse and somehow, the good memories turned to a punishment. So much that he had to delete some of their old photos and convos. "How do you know a person is the one?" He'd asked his sister, the one time she called from Ekiti. She still managed to keep in touch and Obi thought she was the right person to ask because she'd found Jamie

-amidst everything and at a very young age, she found her one true love and they were thriving, all on their own. "You just know" She replied. "From the moment you set eyes on each other" "Touche" Was all he said back but deep down, he went back to the time Obi had seen him across the bathroom floor, beaten.

Now, that wasn't a good memory, and it was definitely not love at first sight. Little did he know, that was the moment for him, but it wasn't for Obi. Little did he know that ever since kindergarten and before he traveled to Abuja, Obi had the biggest crush on him.

But you're oblivious to things like this when you're just five years. Obi wasn't. It was why he felt so mature for his age, or maybe because he was just gay.

"How do you do it?" He settled on his question. "Jamie, and how do you stay together?" "I try" She simply said as Abdul rested back in his seat.

Deep down, he thought of second chances even though he didn't get alot, but that was only if Obi came up to him which he never did. So as he stood there, he was sure more than ever than they were over. The thing about heartbreak, is that slowly your heart mends-pieces back together.

Until you're fine.

To be continued...