Lamentations #Wattys2020

3

3

It feels like I'm drowning. A painful tug that pulls at my ankles, wrapping itself around me, pulling me down as the darkness is forced to take over. It's hard to breathe, I can't see anything and nobody is here to help me. And then, air.

My eyes fly open as a searing pain runs up my stomach, forcing me to let out a scream so guttural I'm surprised it's come from me. I can feel the breeze, a cool and swift chill that only irritates my nerves; it seems anything that touches me only makes me more aware of the pain. And then there's shapes beside me, figures, shouting. All I want to know is how to make the pain stop- why won't it stop- and so I look down to my stomach, where a shard of glass has pierced right through me.

'Sada, Sada can you hear me?' It's Rakeem. I look up to face him, to tell him that I need help but no words come out. 'WHERE THE HELL ARE THEY?'

Poor Rakeem, I think. He sounds so scared.

'There's s-so much blood.' Another voice says, this one sounds more distant but I recognise it too. It's Sarafina and she's crying, sobbing through her words. I've never heard Sarafina cry before, which scares me to the bone because she's always been so composed. I try to move my fingers, to wave at her and let her know I can hear and see her but it's like nothing works anymore. I really can't move.

I let out another yelp as a rush of pain flows through me, causing Rakeem to grab a hold of my hand and caress it lightly.

'Rakeem?' I ask, shivering. He looks down at me, an unreadable expression etched onto his face. 'Rakeem, I'm so cold.'

He raises his hand to lightly stroke my cheek. 'Just hold on okay,' his voice breaks, 'Help is coming.'

'I'm scared.'

He bows his head down, and when he looks back up I can see the tears in his eyes. He doesn't have to say the words for me to know he's scared too.

'I'm tired. I'm so tired.' I whisper. My fear and my pain start to seem smaller as the darkness begins to engulf me again. Despite their pleas for me to stay awake, my eyes droop and my heart seems to stop beating so hard against my chest.

I can finally relax as a cloud of black takes over.

#

It's my mum's voice that wakes me. At first it sounds distant and echo-like as if I was listening from underwater; then it becomes clearer, the familiarity of the Ghanaian accent making me feel warm and reminding me of home.

I open my eyes and blink rapidly as the ugly glare of the bright lights stun me. A monitor is beeping steadily and the stark white of the room that I'm in quickly alerts me to the fact that no, I'm not at home but lying on a hospital bed.

'Oh thank God!' My dad notices I'm awake first, and it's then that I notice that it's not just my parents in the room. Rakeem, Guinevere, Sarafina and Ricardo are here too, sat around in chairs that surround my bed. All of a sudden I feel embarrassed; my parents are going to throw an absolute fit and everybody here is going to witness it. But my mum doesn't yell at me, she crouches down and wraps her arms around me loosely, as if I'm such a fragile packet that could break at any moment. She drops her face onto my shoulder and sobs, making me feel absolutely horrible. My dad's left the room to call the doctor in now and so Rakeem and the others silently leave to go wait outside, promising they'll be back in later.

'How long was I out for?' I ask the doctor, a tall pale man with kind eyes and a sweet smile. He sighs before responding.

'It's been just over two weeks. You're a very lucky girl.'