Tribulation [h.s]

01

Respiration is more complicated than it sounds.

It's a chemical and mechanical process that brings oxygen to every single cell in the human body.

When you inhale, the diaphragm automatically moves downwards towards the abdomen. The rib muscles flex, which will then pull the ribs up and out. This helps enlarge the chest cavity while air is being sucked in through the nose or mouth.

When you exhale, the diaphragm moves upwards. The rib muscles relax, and the chest cavity grows smaller. This allows carbon dioxide to leave the lungs through the mouth or nose.

With each breath, air moves to fill the millions of alveoli — those tiny sacks in your lungs that take the oxygen you breathe in. From there, oxygen moves from the alveoli to the bloodstream through the capillaries in a process called diffusion. After that, oxygen gets picked up by the hemoglobin in red blood cells.

Then, the oxygen-rich blood flows to the heart. From there, the heart pumps that rich blood through the arteries and down to oxygen-hungry tissue throughout the body.

In simpler words, respiration is the act of inhaling and exhaling. It's the exchange between gases that keeps the body functioning properly; to keep the human body alive.

Every 3 to 5 seconds, nerve impulses stimulate the breathing process, so it happens over and over again.

For an involuntary act our body naturally does, it sure feels like I can never fucking breathe.

I open my eyes and end up staring at a white ceiling. Silence. There's nothing but silence. From under the sheets, I let my hands move to run over my lower belly. My fingers trace the sensitive scar. The action did well to remind me that I was, in fact alive, that I was safe. It also reminded me of how I lost everything.

Even myself.

When I hear the padding of small feet against the old floorboards, I let out a long sigh. I lied. I didn't lose everything. I still had her after all.

I hear the hinges on my door squeak when it's slowly pushed open. My head falls to the side, and I see little Maggie standing there in the doorway. Her hair is a rat's nest, to say the least. There's a bit of dried drool near her lips, and there are chocolate stains all over her nightgown from last night. It's her favorite nightgown, the one that has Queen Elsa on it from Frozen.

She pads up to my bed slowly. "Allie?" I hum in response. Her small hand gently pushes my hair away from my face, and it almost tickles. When she crawls up on my bed, her face lights up. She smiles down at me and grins. "C'mon, " Her voice is sweet, bubbly, and unblemished. She looks like a mess, but I highly doubt I look any better. "you gotta wake up, Allie."

Even though she can annoy me to no end, seeing that crooked baby smile with two missing front teeth, I can't help but crack a small smile back. I try brushing her hair back too, but my fingers only get caught in knots. She smacks my hand away. If I weren't so tired, I would have laughed.

Whenever I'm around Maggie, breathing becomes easy, as it should be.

Rubbing my eyes, I ask, "What is it, Mags?"

"I think I'm late for school."

...

Shit.

I push myself up from my bed and grab my phone. It's eight o'clock on a Monday.

"Shiiiiiit."

"That's a bad word-"

"Yeah, no shit, Mags! You're late, and my shift begins in an hour!"