*The following story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to a real person, living or dead, is purely coincidental.*
The shower was on. She was sitting on the stool, with the shower in her hand & hot water running over her body. The water was like a soothing balm to all the small aches in her body. Making her feel calm and serene. A fog had formed around her. She could almost have gone to sleep. There were very few personal moments such as these where she could just relax and be happy in herself. Not caring, not worrying, not wondering about anyone else in the world but herself. No responsibilities, no thoughts about the future. Just living in the moment. But time was running out. Other more important matters were pressing on her mind. There was never a moment of peace. Her time was not her own.
She got up to finish her bath. But something felt very wrong. There was an uneasiness in her mind. She started feeling extremely hot and thirsty. Her legs turned to jelly, beyond her control. The world started spinning. A thought sprang to her mind, it must be dizziness that she was experiencing. She had never experienced it before, so she thought it would pass. She sat down for a few minutes with her head down and eyes closed. Willing herself back to normalcy. A few moments passed, she opened her eyes, the world had stopped spinning. She splashed some cold water on herself. She felt a bit better again. But there was now an urgency to finish her bath and to get out of that place. Solace was not welcome any more. She wanted to be in the refuge of company.
She got up again and turned the shower on. She tried to hurry. But the dizziness returned. This time it was worse. She felt numb. She tried to shout for help, but no words would come out. She felt suffocated. She tried to find some order in her chaos. But none would come. As a last desperate attempt at fighting against her demons she tried to sit, blindly. And finally she lost her consciousness.
A burst of pain in her nose woke her up to the world. All she could see was darkness. A touch to the nose indicated that she was bleeding. She heard people shouting. She realized it must be for her. Out of the many voices she heard her mother's voice very clearly, bringing her a sense of hope. She shouted for her mother. And slipped in to unconsciousness again.
Minutes passed. The next time she woke up, she still couldn't see anything. She felt unreal. She had no sense of time, of anything. She heard her mother again, a beckon of hope. Her mother was telling her to open the door. She had the sense of struggling to open the door. But her memory was playing tricks with her. She did not remember getting up to open the door. But that did not matter. All that mattered was that the door was now open. The next thing she knew, her mother was helping her in to her clothes, and carrying her. She did not know where. Her eyes were open, but she could not see. Her hands were hanging limp. Her body was paralyzed. Her mother, was saying something to her, she could not hear. She felt wet. She felt ice being applied to her nose. She was shivering. Suddenly her vision returned, though she still could not speak. She was bleeding heavily through her nose and forehead. She had taken a knock to her teeth. Her lips were cut and swollen. The pain was unbearable. She could not even try to speak. She felt helpless, scared. She started crying silently. She knew that her mother was scared, but still she was determinedly calm and methodical. That gave her hope. She forgot that she was still crying. Her mother hugged her tenderly. That gave her life. In that moment she felt love and peace. Her nightmare was over.
The shower was on. She was sitting on the stool, with the shower in her hand & hot water running over her body. The water was like a soothing balm to all the small aches in her body. Making her feel calm and serene. A fog had formed around her. She could almost have gone to sleep. There were very few personal moments such as these where she could just relax and be happy in herself. Not caring, not worrying, not wondering about anyone else in the world but herself. No responsibilities, no thoughts about the future. Just living in the moment. But time was running out. Other more important matters were pressing on her mind. There was never a moment of peace. Her time was not her own.
She got up to finish her bath. But something felt very wrong. There was an uneasiness in her mind. She started feeling extremely hot and thirsty. Her legs turned to jelly, beyond her control. The world started spinning. A thought sprang to her mind, it must be dizziness that she was experiencing. She had never experienced it before, so she thought it would pass. She sat down for a few minutes with her head down and eyes closed. Willing herself back to normalcy. A few moments passed, she opened her eyes, the world had stopped spinning. She splashed some cold water on herself. She felt a bit better again. But there was now an urgency to finish her bath and to get out of that place. Solace was not welcome any more. She wanted to be in the refuge of company.
She got up again and turned the shower on. She tried to hurry. But the dizziness returned. This time it was worse. She felt numb. She tried to shout for help, but no words would come out. She felt suffocated. She tried to find some order in her chaos. But none would come. As a last desperate attempt at fighting against her demons she tried to sit, blindly. And finally she lost her consciousness.
A burst of pain in her nose woke her up to the world. All she could see was darkness. A touch to the nose indicated that she was bleeding. She heard people shouting. She realized it must be for her. Out of the many voices she heard her mother's voice very clearly, bringing her a sense of hope. She shouted for her mother. And slipped in to unconsciousness again.Minutes passed. The next time she woke up, she still couldn't see anything. She felt unreal. She had no sense of time, of anything. She heard her mother again, a beckon of hope. Her mother was telling her to open the door. She had the sense of struggling to open the door. But her memory was playing tricks with her. She did not remember getting up to open the door. But that did not matter. All that mattered was that the door was now open. The next thing she knew, her mother was helping her in to her clothes, and carrying her. She did not know where. Her eyes were open, but she could not see. Her hands were hanging limp. Her body was paralyzed. Her mother, was saying something to her, she could not hear. She felt wet. She felt ice being applied to her nose. She was shivering. Suddenly her vision returned, though she still could not speak. She was bleeding heavily through her nose and forehead. She had taken a knock to her teeth. Her lips were cut and swollen. The pain was unbearable. She could not even try to speak. She felt helpless, scared. She started crying silently. She knew that her mother was scared, but still she was determinedly calm and methodical. That gave her hope. She forgot that she was still crying. Her mother hugged her tenderly. That gave her life. In that moment she felt love and peace. Her nightmare was over.
