The Secret World of Maya Alexander

Chapter 48

Of course peace sounded very different on the humped bridge where passers by had screamed as cars screeched to a halt. A man had waded through the grey and the rain into the river and pulled out the frail figure of a young woman. He was probably in his 60s, maybe the same age as Maya's dad would have been. But stronger.

This was a drama too big to ignore. Dog-walkers and joggers were soon close by with offers of help. A first aider checked for a pulse before turning the woman on to her side and watching water splutter from her mouth as she took a shallow breath. Her body was a grey blue colour and she was quickly wrapped in coats that were offered without request.

Next came the call of the ambulance choir reaching a crescendo as it was summoned to a halt by the good Samaritans waiting at the roadside.The coats were discarded and the patient was wrapped in a silver foil and a mask was placed upon her face to support her shallow breath. Carefully lifted upon a stretcher, as though picking a delicate flower from the ground and not wanting to spoil or break it, she was carried across the field and into the ambulance.

An awkward silence hung in the air as the woman's saviours admitted that they did not know her.

She was alone again. Except for the paramedic by her side. Maya's only companion attached the face mask to the oxygen tank in the back of the ambulance and let out a little sigh of sadness, as she contemplated the woman's solitude. The door was closed and the sirens bellowed once more.

The crowd dispersed and the river was quiet again. The only memory of the incident was a police car and its two officers, as they investigated the abandoned car for a trace of the woman's identity.