To Skin A Lamb

16

CHARITY

It was nearing midsummer, and I thought to myself that things were going too well.

Phoebe has been such a joy to get to know and Vini has been a pleasure too. It has always been a challenge of mine to make friends, but they make it feel effortless.

Me and Cash have been building a new friendship. A foundation based on mutual trust, respect and admiration for each other's strengths and an understanding of each other's weakness.

Terrance.

Always a topic that makes me feel mixed emotions. The amount of times we've nearly kissed have been more times than not. We are always interrupted or we just don't find the time.

After this day, I realize that if you don't find the time to do something that you wanna do in the moment, you may not ever be able to.

I was in charge of overseeing a group of kids that day. They were around 13 years old so I didn't have to keep them too busy and watch too hard. We went out to the shallow part of the sea and we just talked.

I was fluent in Spanish so it was easy to fall into conversation with them. We spent hours in the water so after a while we all decided that we needed a break from the water.

I told them to leave me and that I would meet them later.

Everything was working smoothly so I just sat there for a few extra minutes soaking up as much of the sun as possible. I stood up and started heading back to camp when everything was put into perspective.

In that exact moment, my eyes widened and a scream so powerful rips through my being so strong that I feel like I could die from the pain.

I immediately looked down to identify the source of pain when I saw a large wooden plank deeply embedded in my calf. I feel like I could throw up at the amount of blood seeping out of my leg, tinting the water.

I start to heavily pant and pray that this is a dream. In a small town in Mexico where they barely have access to nutritious foods and clean water, how the fuck am I supposed to survive this (70)?

I fall forward, not able to catch myself from the shock and not being able to stand longer from the pain. I splash into the shallow water as I continue to scream out, sounds leaving my body that I didn't think was possible.

I squeeze my eyes shut from the searing pain radiating from my leg. "Fuck!" I scream.

Before I could react or attempt to help myself, Brett and Lea approached me. Brett turned me over so I was lying on my back and the movement evoked a strong reaction out of me. I screamed again, even louder this time, tears rolling down my cheeks.

It hurt so damn bad and it must have hurt because there was no way I'd purposefully cry in front of anyone.

Lea looks at Brett and says something really fast, but I was in too much pain to be able to focus. Brett stood up and ran towards the cots. Alex came to take his place. He looked over at me with concern plastered all over his face. "Shit." He muttered to himself. His calmness didn't do anything for my agony. "You're okay."

"Deep breaths, Charity." The chief intern advised me, nodding her head confidently. "Help is coming, okay? Just breathe deeply."

I tried, I really really tried. But I was literally about to die from the indescribable feeling that sliced through me. More tears started to pour out of me and I really thought I was about to die.

Before I knew it, a familiar kind of eyes were hovering over me. Deep concern filled them and I couldn't decipher what hurt more: the pain I was experiencing or the look in Terrance's eyes (71).