The Runaway

Prologue

Prologue

Her blood soaked through my shirt as I carried her in my arms.  Her eyes were shut and her pale lips were pressed together in a line. Her face had lost its rosy and warm colour. Everything around me had lost its meaning. I was lost and helpless. I felt completely and utterly numb. Arms made its way around my shoulder as I dropped to my knees. Dressed in pure white, the nurses carried her away from my arms and onto the hospital bed. Tears cascaded down my cheeks, as I continued to watch the nurses push her hurriedly to the Emergency Room.

“It's going to be alright.” He told me as he squeezed my hand in reassurance. His words were anything but reassuring. I wanted to jerk my hand away from him. I wanted to break down then and there. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to throw a tantrum and scream that it was his fault. At that moment, I wanted to do many things that I would definitely regret in the future. I bit them all back and sat there, hopelessly. The state of emptiness you reach when you can only see the negative. That was exactly what I was feeling.

The girl who was bleeding profusely and being operated on, she is my sister. She means everything to me. There she is dying and there was nothing I could do but pray. Breaking from my thoughts, I noticed another nurse walk up to him and take him to a ward to address his wounds. Before leaving, he glanced at me to ensure that I was fine before he left. I merely nodded at him before forcing my gaze back to the ground.

“Ma’am?” My eyes remained glued to the ground completely ignoring the voice.

“Ma’am? Are you our patients’ relative? We need someone to sign the paperwork so as to start the operation.” She said, handing me a clipboard.

My hands trembled as I took hold of the clipboard. My eyes skimmed through the words before finally reaching the bottom where I was to sign. She hurriedly grabbed the signed papers from my hands. She scanned the forms and ensured that I had signed everything needed. Nodding her head, she rushed off to submit them and start on the operation immediately. I sighed and slumped against the horribly uncomfortable chair. The atmosphere was tense with people pacing and waiting for news of their loved ones. Some of them gave me sympathetic smiles while others gave me nods of encouragement.  My mind was cramped with dozens of thoughts. Deciding on a stretch of my limbs, I got up. I walked up towards the nurse at the counter and notified her that I would be back in a few. I gave her my number and told her to call me if necessary. I headed towards the exit of the hospital.

As I made my way out of the hospital I felt the change in my atmosphere. It was considerably cooler. The wind ruffled my hair, leaving it in a messy and knotted form. I rubbed my bare arms and walked towards the park which was a stone throw away. I headed towards an empty bench by the children's play area.

I laid my head back on seat's back rest ,  and stared up at the sky. I reflected on how the once pleasant day had taken a plunge for the worse. Worse did not even begin to describe the change of event. Life had taken a plunge so deep it reached the pot so hell. Everything had changed so fast. Just hours ago I had left my baby sister at home expecting to find her asleep when I came back. Instead, never in the span of a few hours had I expected her barely breathing on a bed in the hospital. I squeezed my eyes shut, restraining the tears which were threatening to fall. I sighed. Life was a strange thing. One moment it'd be giving you roses and the next it'd give you a bomb that tears away everything you had and leaves you in nothing but crumbles.