Resolution

As Esther stepped outside, she discovered Rita seated alone on a bench, lost in a flashback to her early childhood, nervously sucking her thumb while waiting. She exuded an air of worry, clearly overwhelmed by the day's events, which seemed far too demanding for someone of her age.

Esther quickly halted in her tracks as Rita's worried expression caught her eye. Without hesitation, she moved in closer and affectionately reassured her, "Rita, my dear, I won't be long. Just hang tight for a moment as I quickly check on the clinical rooms."

Rita's heart raced as she absorbed the words, and a wave of relief washed over her. "It's fine," she replied, her voice tinged with cautious hope. She had been anxiously awaiting feedback for what felt like an eternity.

Recalling the strong bond she had formed with Esther in their previous interactions, she dared to believe that her long-awaited relief was finally within reach. Come hell or high water, she was determined not to leave her book behind, whether for love or money.

Esther proceeded directly to clinical room 1 to check on Mike. Upon arrival, she found the office door closed, and a man looking troubled stood before it.

"Where is the person who was working here?" she inquired, meeting the man's gaze. The man remained silent and composed, seemingly oblivious to her question.

"He has returned to his residence, citing fatigue as a hindrance to effective patient care," came a response from a distance.

The perplexed man, who had just arrived at the facility, was clearly at a loss for what to do next; however, Esther saw another option. Ken was inside clinical room 2, fuming like a wild animal. He seemed to be on edge and couldn't stand any kind of noise, whether it was the wind outside, people's laughter, or the rustling of tree branches. Even the sound of a bird singing nearby set him off.

Since examining Rita, Ken had been staying silent in the room, ready to explode at the smallest disturbance. Every time he heard footsteps outside, he let out a furious roar. Meanwhile, Mike had quickly examined Okii and left when he instructed him to go buy medication from a nearby pharmacy, claiming that the hospital's stock was depleted.

As Esther approached the door, Ken's deep voice roared, asking, "Who is that?"

Upon hearing his voice, Esther paused and began tiptoeing to open the door to surprise him and uncover what he was doing. Unfortunately, there was a see-through window through which Ken spotted Esther. He promptly stashed his phone in the drawer and immediately opened the door.

"What is happening here?" Esther's voice fell gratingly on his ears shortly. He just smiled at her question and laughingly, he said, "There is nothing bad here."

"Nothing is bad here! Are you sure?" Esther insisted.

He frowned and replied therefore feverishly as he almost stammered, "Oh… no, there is nothing bad."

Esther became pale-faced subsequently, and asked more violently, "Do you mean nothing is going wrong here? What are those patients doing outside there?"

The reality of the question she asked dawned on him, galvanizing him into a realistic response. "Yes, there is a problem, they refused to be examined."

Mercy became irritated straightaway. She veered in agitation and asked the patients viciously, "So, you refused to be examined?"

"Who refused? Who? Who?" They all turned and faced one another as they asked themselves.

Ken chagrined at their rude behaviors and then returned to the clinical room silently. He confessedly felt humiliated as he moved. Esther stood still with tranquility while studying the patients. Eventually, she ceased observing them and doubled back to the room where Ken was sitting and challenged him.

"The young girl you examined this morning is coming back here. Please recommend a test for her, and send her to the laboratory for confirmation. We shouldn't work out of assumption. A premise-based treatment at the hospital is so dangerous. It is tantamount to the willful rounding down of somebody's life. Have you heard and understood what I said?"

"Yes," he replied, "I will do as you say." On the other hand, he looked at her as a burden. Though he wasn't willing to do as he stated, he accepted just to avoid conflicts.

"Let her come, I have to get something to do for her." He thought as Esther exited the clinical room to retrace her course as she got back to Rita.

Soon enough after seeing Esther return from wherever she was, Rita rose whelming with happiness presupposed to welcome her. She began drawing nearer to the footpath that Esther would take.

Surprisingly, Esther just zipped past Rita without saying anything as she headed to the dispensary. Why? She was infuriated by Ken's refusal to attend to the patients. She thought even if Rita was to go, he would still not help her. But was it proper to display her anguish to the young girl?

Esther reached the door and savagely opened it causing a terrible sharp crunch which instigated Mercy to think there was an attack launched in the place. She was so shaken that she ran into the shelf uncontrollably. Her head hit a tin on the shelf and tablets spread all over the floor.

"Where could this attack be arising from?" A question ran into Mercy's mind like an electric shock. She was at the corner of the room squeezing her head on the wall as if she wanted to penetrate it. "Maybe the patients who had left are now returning here such aggressively." She thought otherwise and covered her face with her palm. She knew someone was being concealed by the door.

Esther tiptoed on banging the door as she advanced to disguise from Rita the fact that she intentionally did it. She had also sensed danger and so stood still. Her actions had also made tablets pour on the floor and yet they were to give the accountability of the drugs in the dispensary at the end of the month.

Of a sudden, an inner spirit spoke to her, "Please, Esther don't reveal your presence because you will be the one to blame. Instead, just go away and return happily and pretend not to know whatever went wrong. You will be on the safer side."

Without thinking any deeper, she turned about and before she could take a single step to move, another spirit uttered to her, "Why should you betray your friend whom you have been working with for so long? Similarly, more often than not, you have been helping one another all right. Just return to her and find ways of putting things right together. Then what will you tell Rita as you walk out, overpowered by this confusion yet you would like to help her effectively?"

Being blithesome, Esther was affected profoundly by this. She remained static where she was, exuding sweat through almost all pores in her body which caused her clothes to wet vilely. Consequently, she became ill at ease. How would she move back and continue working with Mercy? Automatically an odor would be released from her body and raise discomfort in the room.

"Well, everything will be fine." she solaced herself after appraising the situation. Her prediction of a minor consequence, if she were to enter the room, strengthened her to do so.

Mercy had spent nearly five minutes in the same posture. She was already feeling exhausted and needed to relieve herself. She became so anxious to see who the person was.

So, Mercy stretched her neck to peep to see where the person was hiding only to coincide with the entry of Esther into the room. She grimaced at her and her eyes brimmed with tears instantly. The torrent of tears subsequently overpowered her eyes which by then were red and spilled all over her face uncontrollably.

"Drugs, drugs, drugs!" she cried out, "How shall we account for this drug since it has been entered into the system?"

"What of the patients, can't they take the drugs?" Esther asked fearfully, though. She was trembling and her nose was palpitating.

"No, they can't, and shouldn't take them. Look! Look on the ground and see how dirty the floor is. You have been stomping here with the soiled soles of your shoes. Do you think the drugs are still safe for the patients to take?" Mercy refused and challenged Esther.

"No," Esther replied sharply. "I don't think they are still safe for the patients. Let us just dispose of them?"

"Dispose of! Why? I have been thinking and now concluded that collecting all tablets, damaging their tin, and packing the tablets back into the spoilt tin will work. If we are asked to account for it and you say the drugs poured on the ground and we put it in a spoilt tin for our defense, then our time of speaking in freedom will lessen sorely. I hope you know what to say."

"Satisfactorily, come that time, I shall be credible enough, and acting like it happened the way I utter yet lies," Esther assured Mercy, making her feel at ease and appreciate Esther. 

"Smart you are! I hope you will not let me down," said Mercy, and Esther replied, "You too must be able to abide by the proposal you brought forth."

"Well, by the fact that we have been friends for so long, you shouldn't have talked about it. You must just know it, "Esther reassured her. Mercy's heart and mind were again on helping Rita, but at the same time, she needed to get the tablets away from the ground.

"Hmm…" Esther was initiating another talk when Mercy stopped her. "Wait!" Mercy said sharply when saw Esther open her mouth to speak, "Isn't there an unfinished business outside?"

"Oh, Rita!" Esther exclaimed, "Yeah, the child has not yet been attended to."

"What report do you have from your visit?" Esther's voice echoed with concern.

"The report is completely undesirable," Esther answered, "Mike went home claiming he was tired, and the patients are just wandering in the compound, waiting aimlessly for Ken, who is now so hostile to change his mind and start working on them. On the other hand, Ken complains that the patients have refused to be examined. What is the truth of the matter? And if the complaint is true, who is to blame?" 

"It seems like there was a specific triggering event, and it wouldn't be fair to pass judgment without knowing all the details. What steps can we take to assist Rita?" Mercy wondered aloud.

Esther nodded thoughtfully. "Ken is still ready and willing to offer his assistance," she confirmed.

As Mercy picked up the dropped tablets, she suggested, "In that case, let's arrange for Rita to see Ken so he can order a laboratory test for her. It's not ideal for young children to be kept in such a state. It's especially concerning since she's missing school. And what if her teacher comes looking for her? What should we say to them?"

Esther carefully retrieved Rita's book and silently made her way to the door. With her heart pounding, she cautiously opened the door and stepped out, feeling apprehensive about repairing her relationship with Rita in light of the situation she had inadvertently created.