Maria

Chapter 11

Lola

"There is no scientific explanation for the fact that while my body lay in a coma, my mind, my conscious inner self- was alive and well."

- Dr Eben Alexander

The colour is the first thing I see- kind of a dirty white like the colour of the drawers in my kitchen when I was 8 years old. Then the mass of colour takes the shape of a human, the only human I trust. Maria stands in front of me, her  brown eyes warm like cocoa  and her hair swept against her face from the invisible wind. Suddenly I realise where I am standing, looking down at my feet I realise that I am standing on tiles- the sort of tiles that are stuck onto roofs. I gasp as I look at my surroundings, I am on a tall building, so high up that maybe, just maybe if I stood on my tip-toes I could touch the clouds above me. So high up that if I fell; it would mean instant death.

I look back at Maria, her curls blowing around her face like clouds on a windy day.

"You have to choose." says Maria, her voice is husky and broken. A weird feeling escapes my gut and I step back in surprise because she spoke- Maria spoke!

"What do you mean?" I say,  doubtful that she'll answer back instead of signing. But her voice is loud and clearer this time-

"You have two choices, jump or stay on this roof. If you jump you die, if you stay you'll be trapped in a coma until you go brain dead. However, if you jump and somehow survive the landing- you live." the final words are hopeful, optimistic.   My face creases in confusion- I had never been good at riddles,  I close my eyes to think but when I open them again Maria is gone and I am alone, barefoot and shivering.  

Suddenly an idea pulses through me- a parachute I think, that's what I need. As soon as I think it a parachute appears on the other side of the roof, I run over to pick it up but begin to think something is wrong, this is too easy. A sick feeling grows silently inside me- my heart starts to pound like a marching band, kicking against my chest and making adrenaline run laps around my body. I spin around  and come face to face with  the person who used to be so kind and caring, the person I thought I'd left forgotten and burnt on the sofa years ago.

Papa stands in front of me, a cigarette in one hand. I realise in horror that his clothes are burnt and his hair singed off. He has red gashes all over his arms.

"Lola." he says in his screechy voice. I am close enough to smell the alcohol that travels on his breath.

"LOLA, WHY DID YOU LEAVE ME TO BURN?" his voice suddenly furious and cold. My childhood fear comes back and I cower in fear.

"That wasn't very nice was it?" he says, his voice on the verge of madness and dripping with alcohol. He edges closer to me- pushing me toward the edge of the roof. The adrenaline comes rushing in then, like a dam when one of its walls give way- it crashes through my veins pushing me out of cowardess and into action.  I dive through his legs, scrambling to get up on the other side. I make a run for the parachute but Papa's cruel hands grab me and push the burning cigar into my back. I scream in agony as the heat blisters my skin,

"Not so nice now is it Lola?" He sneers at me, his voice thick with malice. 

Hatred mixes with adrenaline as I swing my fists blindly around me, I connect with Papa's jaw and a loud crunch like a water bottle underneath a foot races through the air. His cry of pain comes a second after and I feel his grip on me loosen, I twist around so I can face him and with one last effort of my tired soul I spit in his face. 

I run away from Papa and don't look back, fastening the parachute, I jump and pray that the ground doesn't come too quickly.

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Wow that was a long chapter- sorry that I haven't updated in ages this part was hard to write -sadly this book is coming to an end in a few chapters time but that means that I have actually finished writing a book!! I have never written and finished a book this long so yay for me! :) keeeeeep reading 📖