She tossed the outfits to and fro determined to find a worthy one, settling on her long black lacy dress. She picked it up from where it hung and carried it onto the bed. She selected a pair of flat shoes to match and a black furry jacket to combat the early autumn breeze. Their combination would match the occasion at hand. Straightway she left the room for the community shower at the end of her apartment floor hall with a bag of toiletries. She was running late and needed to be as fast as lightning if she were to meet the scheduled time. As she got into the shower area, she observed the common courtesies with the neighbours she came across. There were only three shower taps that served twelve apartments in the entire wing and usually she came back from work in the morning and slept. Only from midday onwards would she bother herself with the business of self-grooming. So she wasn't used to congestion. But not today. She had to wait in line. There were four other ladies ahead of her. The wait took forever to end but when her turn finally arrived she accepted it with grace. She had to look as fresh as she could. Today she would meet his family. She hoped they would have met under better circumstances but life throws our way what it wants and all we can do is accept. She returned to her room and immediately her ringing phone called to her attention. She ran to the table where it lay and when she arrived the ring was somewhere in the very near past. She picked up to see who was calling and confirmed her suspicions. It was Jade. She called her back and when she picked up Jade was boiling on the other end of the line. She was waiting in the place Cindy had asked her to for thirty minutes. She had failed to gather the courage to go on her own and so her friend, fresh from a night shift, would accompany her. She apologized, made a promise and then hung up. In a jiffy she had finished dressing and she darted to the door.
She got to the coffee shop and went in to meet her friend. Jade had ordered a cup of black coffee to go, just how she liked it. A shot of caffeine would perhaps help to calm the nerves. They went outside and as Cindy calmed herself and took a sip of her coffee, Jade looked straight into her eyes and said, "Are you sure about this Cinderella? His family will be there, and so will his wife". Cindy looked away. She wasn't sure of what her answer was. She couldn't stay either. "Nice dress by the way, black has never looked this good before. Must be the heavy occasion". Cindy's eyes still evaded her friend's. Her attention had shifted from her cup to the thoughts that were now ramming into each other inside of her mind. Jade then raised her hand and brushed it up and down Cindy's shoulder. "You are not responsible Cindy. These things just happen", she said. Cindy took a deep breath and then they were off on their journey. Rewind two weeks back.
Cindy coiled into the chair, shaking as a reed on the banks of a fast flowing river. She shivered, but not from the cold. He was gone. It took only an instant. She quizzed herself why everything she touched always turned to ashes. She had been given life, and when she began to live it had been snatched away from her grateful hands. The beep from the cardiograph kept ringing in her head and with it a mental vision of Jake having his seizure and then lying still played over and over in her head. It had been about half an hour and since nurse has ushered her from the room and handed her over to security who in turn brought her into this cold room where she was being held. "The police must be swamped", she thought to herself. She thought murderers took precedence of other petty offences. If that was the case, why wasn't she already a cell? Tears started rolling down her cheeks and she started sniffling. She tried to suppress her voice but some vocal strands escaped as she struggled to contain the overwhelming emotion that plagued her already tormented soul. She longed for the inside of a prison cell or even hell. The hospital was just too much for her to handle.
She remembered her mother lying on the trolley, lifeless. Blood flowing from where the axe had pierced through flesh and bone, running down till it formed a sort of waterfall from the fingers of the right hand that hung by the side. She was pronounced dead as soon as the physician had attended to her. Then the sheet came over her, then the black body bag. The woman that had meant the world to her had been taken away in an instance of pure madness, and she felt she owned all the blame. She was only sixteen. From there, the wolves had presented themselves consistently. They divided all they had amongst themselves and placed her in a group home. Because she was new, she became the victim of bullying by other kids. Also, because she was grown and her body was beginning to manifest signs of a successful puberty period, Roger – a social worker at the home – had taken an interest in her. It was against policy but who cared when those trodden underfoot possessed no voice. She became the playground for his inquisitive hands and after three months of petty play he found opportunity to go the full length of his sinister intentions. Tears became a language she could speak all too well and her pillow a confidant wherein her secrets were safely kept. She grew to hate every man she came across but those that showed her kindness and warmth gave her conflicting thoughts. Since her mother's passing, the one man who was a gentleman in every sense of the word had shared his world with her for as long as the mist dared face the sun. Each passing moment reminded her mist is fleeting.
She heard the doorknob turn and saw a man in a clean white coat come in. He held a clipboard in his hands and a stethoscope hung around his neck. He came in, looked at her intimidatingly, and made his way to the chair that sat across the table from where she sat. Something inside of her urged her to ask how Jake was but a more logical inclination suggested the doctor had come to announce he was no longer among the living. He sat down and placed his hands on the table, then interlocked his fingers while his eyes pierced right through hers. "What you did today ma'am was thoughtless. What was going through your mind? Weren't you there during visiting hour?" She looked at him with a look of remorse and replied, "I was. I just wanted to see him. I'm so sorry. I didn't do anything to him though. You have to believe me". He looked at her in a tense moment of silence. His fingers separated and rested his hands on the table as he leaned back. "Is he okay", she asked. He took a deep breath, looked around the room in a dodgy kind of manner. Then he looked at her. She thought this was it. The moment of truth. Her already overbeating heart was determined to rip her chest and escape. Each pound was heavy and painful. Her hands began to shiiver as the tears marched and encompassed the edge of the eyes, ready to pour out with the slightest hint of permission. She inhaled, locked the air inside. His words would be the cue from whence she would free her lungs.
"Relax ma'am, he is stable for now. We know you had nothing to do with it. He just reacted to some of the treatment we gave for his concussion and went into anaphylactic shock". As these words trickled into her ears, she felt the mountain that sat on her shoulders being lifted and placed elsewhere. Her breathing normalized while she uncoiled and sat in a more tranquil manner. Inside of herself, she was discovering the meaning of true happiness. However, not all was rosy. The joy was to be cut short by the news that followed. There was damage in parts of his brain which demanded an understanding of neurological jargon. He was to be confined to a wheelchair for the next three months or so until his body learned to coordinate. She was just happy he was alright.
The doctor got up to leave. "Am I free to go?" she asked. He reached the door then turned and nodded and said, "We have no reason or authority to keep you hear ma'am". This was delightful news. She got up and followed after him. As she popped out of her ad hoc jail cell, the doctor had waited for her. He looked at her and said, "He requested to see you. But we had to call his wife so she's on the way. I suspect she will be here in the next half hour or so". Cindy smiled at him and then uttered a warm and soft 'Thank you' for the heads up. She followed the way she came and came up to his wing. Her feet were invigorated and she took bold steps towards the room where she had almost become a murderer. She ran her hands through her hair, freshening up for her prince. This time there was a silence about the hallway. It was packed but she was oblivious to the existence of everyone in it. There was just the two of them in her world. Anyone else would be trespassing. She reached the door and opened it. On the bed he lay with needles thrust into his arms and IV bags hanging just over his head. He turned his head and focused on the beautiful lady that stood in front of him. Just then, simple transformed into complex. A wave of emotion swept through his entire body and his spine tangled. He lifted his arm invitingly. Slowly she started stepping towards him. She came up to the side of the bed, knelt down while her hand reached for his. Her hands were cold. While she was drenched in the belief that she had killed him she had forsaken the need to keep warm. Her coldness was all the warmth he needed in the world. His eyes lit up like Town Square on New Year's Eve. A plethora of emotions were flying through the air but were all allegiant to one. LOVE.
They hugged for a while. She grabbed him in the gentlest of ways, careful not to upset his vitals. When they eventually let go, she pulled the room chair and sat beside him. "I thought I'd lost you", she said. He smiled as he shook his head. "You won't get rid of me that easily Cindy", he replied. The clock then started spinning and time began wasting away. As they were caught up in their minute, the door opened. The wife had come. She knew drama was coming her way and she braced for impact.
Cindy and Jade arrived at the hospital gasping. They had brisk walked from the bus station to the hospital and had just about managed to creep into the edge of fashionable lateness. They bolted past the front door and onto the elevator. The trademark ding and open sesame! When the door opened on their floor, she first saw Elizabeth. There were a number of people that stood with her with some occupying the bench nearby. This was freedom's day. The day when Jake was to be discharged. Ironically, she had the feeling these strangers would make her feel trapped. Her life was a continuous oxymoron. She marched up to the throng and stood nearby, aloof. Everyone looked at her despitefully. They were wondering who she was and what she wanted. She smiled and said, "Hello". None responded. A voice crept up from behind her and said, "You must be Cindy". She turned and saw a fairly tall and chubby woman dressed formally. Cindy nodded, surprised at how she knew her name. "Please come with me to the reception, I need your help with something"? Her life was an unending mystery. Who was this woman? A second ago the same question was being asked of her. They went to the reception and once there the mystery woman turned and faced Cindy, extended her hand to greet her. Cindy was happy to have discovered a friendly. No doubt Elizabeth owned most of the affection of the people standing in that hallway despite her union with Jake fast becoming a thing of the past. She lifted her hand and it came up and met the woman's. "I'm Hazel", she said. "Nice to meet you Hazel. How do you know me by the way?" Cindy questioned. Hazel pulled out some papers from her bag along with her purse as she answered, "From my brother. He can't stop talking about you these days". "Is that so?" Cindy went on, "I didn't know Jake had a sister". "He does. There were only the two of us before mom and dad separated and then mom passed away several years later". Hazel organized the papers she had extracted from her bag and arranged them neatly on the counter. She waited for the receptionist to come and attend to her needs. "I'll let you in on a little secret, I was adopted. So the people out there don't like as much as they don't like you", she added. "I see you already met with her highness", she said with her thumb pointing at Elizabeth. Cindy just smiled as she nodded. She had found more than a friendly. She had found an ally.
Within half an hour the discharge process was complete. Jake emerged from the nurses' office looking sharp and raring to go. One of the nurses pushed him on the wheelchair he sat on. When he appeared, everyone flocked around him. Cindy let the thick blood take precedence over the thin water she fell under. But Jake wasn't one to respect such. He asked for her and called her from behind the wall they had formed. She leapt from the bench where she sat and dashed to his side. He commissioned her with being the propellant to his transport. She would be nowhere else other than by his side.
As they were outside, they had to determine which car was most comfortable to ferry their recovering kinsmen. Elizabeth's car stood high and mighty above the rest and comfort came in abundance. Cindy pushed the wheelchair whereon her beloved sat towards the vehicle of the woman she despised and when she had reached it, Elizabeth pulled her to her side to have a quick word with her. "This car has no place for whores my dear. So does my home where we are going", she hissed. Cindy's heart started to beat hard and she felt the need to lash out. However, this was neither the place nor the time. She remained on the other side of the car while they loaded Jake from the opposite side. As soon as this was done and the high ranking relatives from Jake's side were on, Elizabeth rushed into the car sped off in Formula One fashion. Cindy watched helplessly as her darling was being snatched from her. She stood as motionless as a rock pondering her next move. Jade had delivered her to the hospital and waited for just a few moments before asking Cindy to be excused. She was on her own in the semi-naked, cold parking lot.
Her eyes remained fixed on the car as it navigated its way from the hospital yard and into the street. It stopped by the gate as the routine hospital security checks took place. After a minute or so, the security officers were satisfied and lifted the boom gate to allow them passage. The car remained stationary though. This puzzled Cindy. Then it started to reverse back into the parking lot. Manoeuvring past other parked cars, through empty car spaces until it pulled up beside her. The driver's window opened and revealed the face of maleficence. She gave her the look. Her trademark look. "Get in", she commanded. Cindy hesitated questioning why they were back and the sudden change of heart. Just then the window on Jake's side lowered. "Let me out!" he screamed to the people in the car. The uncle that occupied the passenger's seat next to the driver tried to calm him but he remained as boisterous as the sea on a stormy night. "I am not going anywhere with this woman", he continued. "I'd rather catch a cab". Raw, authentic, untamed, unfiltered drama! And they thought she was worth nothing. The morning was still young and it promised to be entertaining. The uncle got out of the car and went round to where Cindy stood quiet with a look of bewilderment and screamed in an accusatory tone with his index finger aiming straight for her heart but falling just short, "Remove whatever spell you cast when you bewitched my son!"