Her footsteps silenced by the sound of sirens outside in the early hours of the morning, Audrey walked into one of Cape Town's biggest hospitals. Wild thoughts racing in the her mind, before her brisk walk came to a halt as soon as she reached the reception. She felt mentally detached from her body as she introduced herself at the reception. The nurse soon handed her a short form to fill, and this she did with a handwriting that was suddenly void of its beauty. Yet as soon as she was done filling it, the sounds around her were no longer blurred and her heart began pressing against her chest. she could suddenly hear the sounds that had been previously blurred by the sounds of ambulances and their sirens.
"Dr Moliba, here she is... Patient 157's sister' twin sister," said the middle aged woman who seemed to be the matron of Groote Schuur Hospital, just after taking back Audrey's form; the look on her face almost draining the hope out of Audrey.
"Come Quickly, you're Ashleigh's sister right,"expressed the tall doctor, frantically pulling the stethoscope that hung around his neck, "there's no time to waste, we have to..." He was interrupted by a young couple, who had a baby in their hands, gratefully smiling at him with a gaze that held deep admiration, just before the young woman took his hand before tears began running down her cheeks as her partner nestled her in his arms.
"Is he alright though?" asked Audrey, as the couple strolled away; her facial expression now melting with concern.
"He is critical but stable..."
"Sorry to interrupt, but Dr Moliba, your immediate presence is required in the 6th ward, you have to come now," another nurse said, seizing his attention and dismissing the rest of his sentence.
"Okay jaylene, Just give me a few secs." The tall doctor drew a deep breath, and peered down to her, his bushy brows hanging above his strained eyes.
"Sorry 'bout that, but as i was saying... She was brought in by a tall, muscular young man by the name of... Tino i think. He saved her life, if it wasn't for him she would be in a much deeper position, like 6 toes under"
So as they kept talking, they kept their pace as they rushed through the traffic of doctors and patients in the hallway as the doctor took her to her twin sister, Ashleigh...
"..Also, her body is also covered in several bruises, cuts, and rope marks around her wrists and waist. Seems as though she was very lucky to survive... I'll join you too in half an hour when i bring your her analysis report and take her up for further tests"
But before he could even finish his sentence, her brown eyes caught sight of the chubby, suspiciously smiling, sluggishly strolling nurse who had a big red syringe in one hand,and a big needle in the other... As her shady, narrowed eyes peered towards hers, just before she looked to the door; the same door where the tall doctor has just told her she would find her twin sister.
The suspicious nurse, whose unusual expression pulled down her brows, had aroused Audrey's morbid thoughts, and adrenaline was soon rushing within her veins., so she rushed towards the door, hoping that nurse would not get there before her.
"Ashleigh!" the same word that inaudibly slipped out of the nurse's name, so Audrey played ignorant the surrounding, sickly eyes which showered her with unwelcome gazes and began taking quick, short, calculated footsteps towards the door, hoping the nasty nurse would not get there before her.
"Dear Ashleigh!" when her lips inaudibly spelled out that name once more, Audrey began running and soon pushed the door open; only for the darkness of the dimly lit room to embrace her, widening the pupils of her wandering eyes.
"Ashleigh! Ashleigh!" she yelled as her eyes picked up her sister's shadowy silhouette that was illuminated by shafts of the early morning sunrise, whose light was penetrating past the less-curturns, which were wildly dancing to the rhythm of the wind that was briskly barging in through the open windows.
The wind which failed to comfort her as its cold hands caressed her open skin, yet failing to blow away the tears that soon emerged beneath her eyes as she glanced at her twin sister's still silhouette. She couldn't believe what she saw, her body was embroidered in bruises and his neck and cheeks were swollen.
"Please say something!" she said, shaking her sister's motionless body by the shoulders, only for her voice to drown in the wind, which was now whispering morbid thoughts into her ears, sending cold chills down her cheeks and spine; only to leave her knees trembling with fear.
"Cough! Cough!" Ashleigh soon responded. "Audrey you're here", she said trying to lift his hand towards her cheeks, though she stopped her twin's struggles and held it firmly, with her warm hands...Clasping it soft enough to revive the bond which they once shared, all before love came along
"Yes Leigh, I bought the earliest plane ticket I could get as soon as I heard what happened. I didn't sleep a wink during that flight as my thoughts kept revolving around the sad news"
"That my ex boyfriend tried to kill me? If you're here to tell me that you told me so then please just go away," Ashleigh asserted, rolling her eyes to the other side.
"Hence i wonder why, though I once... told you that he was bad news." Audrey couldn't help but blurt out; "I'm sorry sis but I just had to say it."
In that moment Audrey's voice yielded no response, it just sunk into the silence as Ashleigh closed her eyes, perhaps in shame, as the guilt that inhabited her tears escaped through the corners of her eyes, rolled down her cheeks and dived onto her breasts; while she managed to retain the 145 degree angle imposed by her hospital bed
"But didn't the first few slaps, that to you two breaking up for the second time, slap some sense into you?" Audrey boldly exclaimed, in a voice devoid of sympathy. She was now failing to express herself, fury running in her fingers as she tried not to squeeze her sister's hands too much, only to gently press it beneath her bosoms.
"After all that mom and dad have gone through so as to send us to University of Cape Town. Yet, this is how you choose to repay them?" her voice was now heavy. Her many words failing to climb up her throat, past the lump that had suddenly grown inside it. Her heartbeat now pounding against her chest, as morose thoughts bashed against alongside her headache, before barging into her head.
The sunlight soon grew bright enough to expose the gloomy facial expression that was glued to Ashleigh's face, leaving a dry trail of tears down her cheeks. When Audrey walked around the bed, to the side which 'Leigh now faced, she wiped away the trail of tears, only for Ashleigh to lift her gaze towards her and expose the concern and pity that was now dwelling in the teary corners of her green-ish eyes..
"Trust me sis, You really won't understand," 'Leigh mumblingly asserted, whispering loud enough despite the swollen cheeks which overshadowed her beauty. In that instance, her eyes succumbed to the pressure of the sorrowful lake that had now formed beneath her green-ish eyes, just before they began running out again, down to her lips this time.
In that moment, Audrey peered down, deep to her twin sister's eyes, past the tears but deep into her dark pupils. Pupils that were wide and deep enough to expose her vulnerable soul, which she soon saw crying out blood, as it while surrounded by tens of Billabong's of tears.
"...But if you insist, i'll tell you, of the heartbreaks and mental damages I've endured all in the name of love," said Ashleigh in a lukewarm tone, simply as a statement of fact, emotions running down her face, drawing Audrey back to reality from the depth of her sister's eyes. And before she knew it, her contagious smile was soon playing between her lips, inciting her sister's, which slowly but surely emerged between his slightly big, swollen cheeks, making her shriek in excruciating pain, just before she snuffled.
"I'll try to understand for I know I was never there when you needed me, constantly focusing on my Business Studies and Visual Arts degrees... I apologize for that. I'm also sorry if I ever called you childish or slutty.
But please, try to summarise the whole story before the doctor arrives, just don't leave out the essential details though... Though just so you know, he might just be my type; the tall, seemingly fit, healthy handsome doctor who goes by the name of..."
So, in that moment Ashleigh sighed and sunk her back into the comfort of her bed and began speaking, inducing Audrey in nod her head in curiosity. The mint fell out of her lips and she sniffled, causing Audrey to reduce the open window's width. A heartbeat later, Audrey kept her sister hand in the warmth of her palms as pain went zig-zag all over Ashleigh's body, arousing her wounds; while they both inhaled the sweet scents of flowers which Audrey had brought for Ashleigh. 'Leigh's voice inhabiting Ree's ears as she hung on intently to his every word, shortly after she he began talking her down the lane of her hurtful, reflective journey... To where her trail of heartbreaks and abuse first began.