Sands of Redemption

38

'Oh, ouch.' Georgia sucked in a sharp breath as the nurse cleaned her wound.

'You had us very worried,' Erica said, sitting in a chair at the end of Georgia's hospital bed.

Georgia gave her a grim smile. 'Yeah, well, sorry about that. I do my best not to worry people but the choice was kind of out of my hands.'

Erica, a pale-faced woman dressed in a black skirt and a white blouse, gave her a rueful smile, revealing fine clusters of wrinkles around her lips and eyes. She was from the Australian Consulate in Amman and had travelled quickly to the tiny hospital in Yazd the moment she'd heard of Georgia's discovery.

'I can't tell you how glad we all are that you've been found alive. We were fearing the worst. What happened?'

Georgia smiled at the woman's compassion but she didn't feel up to explaining herself just yet. 'It's a long story.'

Erica nodded and smiled. 'Maybe later.' Brushing her dark fringe behind her ear, she asked, 'How are you feeling?'

'I'm okay. Sore. I have two broken ribs, this injury to my shoulder and apparently stress fractures in my shins, so I've been told. But I'm alright. It could have been worse.' Georgia watched as the young nurse carefully re-bandaged her shoulder. 'So what's going to happen now? Can you help me get home?'

'Once the Jordanian authorities are happy for you to leave, we can organise a temporary passport for you. I will organise transport from here to Amman once you are released.'

'That shouldn't be too long, surely? They've already fixed my shoulder.'

'I'm not talking about the hospital,' Erica said, raising an eyebrow. 'You do know you're in custody?'

Georgia glanced towards the doorway where her guard stood waiting outside. Her heart skipped a beat. She'd assumed the man was there for her protection. 'I-I am? Why?'

'I don't know the full details. All I know is that for now you cannot leave.'

'B-but for how long? How long can they keep me for?'

Finished with her wrapping, the nurse left and Georgia gently re-slung her arm.

'Ordinarily you can't be held in detention for any more than 48hrs,' she explained, 'unless of course you are deemed a security risk, then I'm afraid it's a different ball game.'

Georgia slumped back into her pillow. 'I thought it was over.' Frustrated tears swelled in her eyes. Her voice was a croak. 'It's starting to feel like I'm never going home.'

Erica looked at her sympathetically. 'Did you want to ring your family?'

'Please.' Georgia wiped at her face.

'Try not to worry. It's just procedure. I'm sure you will get home soon.' Seeing that she hadn't convinced her, Erica reached out and touched Georgia's hand. 'Look, in the unlikely event you do encounter any problems I'll only be a phone-call away. You are not alone in this.'

*

Georgia was sleeping in the open desert, the pillow of sand beneath her head rough and hard against her cheek. It was unusually dark and misty, a black cloud partly obscuring the sun. A swift wind cast heavy blankets of sand across the landscape.

Looking above, Georgia realised that she was at the bottom of a familiar sand dune, one which she had successfully scaled before in a previous dream. But it had changed. Now, it stood at a fantastic height. Like a tidal wave, it reared up so high that it disappeared into the cloud above, utterly insurmountable.