Chapter Eleven

'Everything will be fine someday,' Abinla muttered, assuring herself even more as she hurriedly passed the half-naked mad or rather insane people near the trash dumps. She quickly turned her face away at the sight of some men who casually stopped to unzip their trousers to urinate at the corners. What else could they do? Since there were no toilets or lavatory anywhere around the market, they had no choice but to urinate at the corners. They couldn't pee on their trousers, could they?

Abinla scrunched up her nose at the smell of the urine, and the dirt that had filled up the market aisles. The time will come when toilets and conveniences will be built in market places and none of you would have to urinate at the corners of the markets, Abinla thought hopefully. That day was coming; she could feel it in her heart.

Reaching the pharmacy, she quickly ran inside, not minding her sandy boots and stained uniform. 'Good afternoon, Ma'am,' Abinla greeted smilingly at the nurse who was standing behind the counter, eating corn and ube, her favourite combination.

The nurse glanced at Abinla and smiled. 'Are you here to buy another medicine for your mother?' She was looking smart in her white lab coat. 

Abinla smiled awkwardly. 'Yes...but this time I will buy them on credit...may I ask if you would sell the medicine to me? I promise to pay later.' Though Abinla felt quite embarrassed, for the sake of her adoring mother, she was willing to do anything. 

 'What about the medicine you bought in the morning?' The nurse asked Abinla. 'Did you give it out? I know you are Mother Teresa...' 

'I had no choice than to do what I did,' Abinla said, coughing. 

The nurse turned around to search the glass cabinet but remembering that her boss told her in the morning not to sell on credit anymore, the nurse stopped opening the cabinet, and turned back to Abinla, who was waiting for the medicine. 

 'I'm sorry,' the nurse said. 

Abinla had walked inside the pharmacy, hoping that she would buy medicines on credit for her mother only to hear disappointing words. Was she wrong when she gave her medicine to those sick men and women? 

What's more, having had an empty stomach since morning, her stomach had been growling. Could she have caught an ulcer? Having grabbed a bite of stale bread from Amaoge was still the reason she could walk up to this pharmacy, Abinla thought.

 The nurse couldn't help but blame her for deciding to help others instead of keeping the medicine for her mother who was the main reason she had bought the medicine. 'I know you want to save the world but never forget to save your family first.' The nurse stared at her as if she was giving her some lectures. 

 'I understand,' Abinla sighed, and turned to leave.

The nurse suddenly stopped her and said, 'There is something I would give to you for your mother.'

When Abinla heard that the nurse was going to give her something for her mother, she quickly turned to look at the nurse and said, 'Please, what?' 

The nurse smiled, and said, 'Bamboo leaf tea...' She walked over and retrieved the Bamboo dried leaves from the glass cabinet by the window, putting them in a box. She had dried the leaves when she returned to Imo State with them. 'I brought the leaves when I travelled to Imo State. The leaf tea has astonishing health benefits. All you need to do is to brew the tea leaves in your tea pot...'

 'I know how to make the tea,' Abinla excitedly said, reaching out her hand to take the box. 'My friend Amaoge gave me a handful of them when she visited her village in Imo State.'

Grinning, the nurse said, 'I harvested the fresh bamboo leaves, then I had to allow the leaves to dry. I also enjoy drinking the fresh ones.' The nurse was willing to talk more to her because she could see that Abinla loved her mother very much and was willing to try anything that would keep her mother to her feet. 'Also, when you are about to give the tea to your mother, you could add some honey...'

 'The bees are on the run,' Abinla said and the nurse chuckled. 

Abinla glanced at the clock on the wall and wanted to leave already to prepare the tea for her mother, for she felt that her mother needed to take the tea already. If she didn't leave, the nurse might continue to lecture her. She wanted to leave but didn't know how to do it. The nurse gave her the tea for free, so she didn't want to be rude. 

The nurse saw that she wanted to leave and said, 'I won't stop you from leaving. Your mother needs the tea.'

When Abinla was about to go, she suddenly paused, turned back again, and said to the nurse, 'Thank you so much. I sincerely appreciate it.' 

 'Make sure to give her a cup every day. Sometimes, we don't need tablets, we need tea. Bamboo is one of the world's fastest growing plants. Just like coconut, almost all parts of the bamboo plant can be utilized.'

 'I get it,' Abinla smiled and turned back to leave.