“Julor julor julor...” the loud chant from the mob could be heard over a mile from the market square. Liru run as fast as his legs could carry him. In his hand was a leather suitcase that contained gold belonging to Mr. Ankrah, an oil magnate. Earlier in the day, Liru wondered how he was going to raise the sum of hundred thousand dollars, which the doctor had announced would be the cost of getting a new heart for his sister, Abena, who had a rare heart condition. He gasped at the mention of the amount been called out and fell on his knees.

Liru had just graduated from the University of Cape Coast and was awaiting his National Service posting. “Where am I going to get this money?” he yelled at the doctor, not meaning to, but the surprise of the amount caught him off guard.

“I have nothing, my mother sells pure water. How are we going to afford this?” He cried out. Everyone in Abena’s hospital room could feel his pain. Here in the room, sitting next to Abena on her bed was a descent young man who was full of cheer and made everyone in his sister’s ward happy. He was good with jokes and a great orator.

The doctor looked into his eyes with a stern face trying to hide his teary eyes. “You have until next week to get us the money or we’ll be forced to discharge your sister.” He said, “The earlier you get the money, the quicker it will be for us to get your sister a new heart. I am truly sorry about this.”

Liru looked at his sisters’ bed; she had tubes connected that aided her breathing. He looked at all the wires connected to his sister’s body lying helplessly. He could hear the heart monitor faintly in his troubled head. He didn’t know what to do. He laid out a heavy sigh and walked out of the hospital without uttering another word.

The sun was at its peak as he stepped out into the open yard of the hospital. There he could see bodies being sent to the mortuary behind the hospital. He felt a cold-chill arrest running through his body and blacked out for a second. When he came through, he said to himself, “I am not going to allow my sister to be sent to this mortuary”. He looked at the time and proceeded to call out a trotro heading towards his direction home.

“Mama! Mama!” he called out to his mother who was sleeping on the corridor upon his arrival at home. “I am back,” he said.

“Liru, you came home early today. Is anything the matter?” his mother quizzed.

He couldn’t hide his tears any longer; he had just dried them before entering the house, but he just couldn’t hold them back. As he narrated everything to her, she burst out into tears crying.

“What are we going to do?!! Where are we going to get $100,000!” she asked. “All I have wouldn’t be enough to get 1% of the amount. You must do something Liru; you must find a way to save your sister. You can’t let her die.”

“Don’t you worry Mama, I’ll think of something. I am not going to allow Abena die. I promise you Mama, Abena will live. This I promise you, Mama” he assured his mother.

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