CHAPTER 2

Raya was falling, falling through a dark tunnel. She tried to grab at anything to stop her fall, but there was nothing, it seemed like she was stuck in an endless dark void, she closed her eyes and prepared for the worst. Suddenly strong hands grabbed her and held her steady, she couldn't see who it was but the figure smelled like Aloe Vera and dark wood. And then he spoke and said,"Its alright, you can wake up now".

Raya opened her eyes slowly and gasped, the lights were too bright and it hurt her eyes. She looked around and realized she was in a hospital ward, connected to a lot of machines. She tried to move but her body felt extremely stiff and her throat felt dry and patchy,she looked around but she was the only one in the word. She had been awake for about ten minutes before a nurse came in, the nurse was extremely surprised to see she was awake and quickly pressed a button by the side of her bed and a few moments later a doctor came rushing in. He looked at her, asked her some questions, if she could remember her name and she tried to talk but it came out as a croak so she nodded her head instead.

Over the next two days, she was had to be assisted to the bathroom by the nurse because everytime she took a step her legs felt like jelly. She practically had to be fed like a child, her body didn't feel like hers anymore. She hadn't sustained any physical injuries, it was just that she hadn't been out of order for a while that she basically had to learn to use her body again and it was so embarrassing. When she looked at her herself in the bathroom mirror, she saw a stranger with limp brown hair, pale skin and dull grey eyes.

On the third day, she was allowed a visit from her aunt Mary Jane, she wondered where her family was but she didn't think much about it. They would probably come to visit later. When Mary Jane came into the room and saw Raya, her eyes filled with tears as she gently hugged her for fear of hurting her. They talked for a while, Mary Jane babbled on a lot which was unlike her and that filled Raya with dread and she finally ask,"Aunt Mary, where are my parents and Jude?".

"Uhm, Raya dear…",Mary Jane stuttered and immediately started crying. And Raya was filled with fear.

"Tell me please, where are they???", Raya was crying at this point and she was finding it difficult to breathe but Mary Jane didn't notice. Mary Jane then told her that her father and Jude had been killed in the accident and her mother was on life support as she had sustained serious internal head injuries and her kidneys had been punctured. Raya's monitors started beeping as her heart rate increased, MJ pressed the emergency button and the doctors came rushing in as Raya slipped into unconsciousness.

When Raya came to, she was alone in the ward once again and she cried and cried and cried. She wondered how their last moments had been and if they had gone through any pain. She thought perhaps it was her, it was her dinner they had been heading to afterwards, maybe if she had just said she wasn't going to be able to go, her dad and brother would still be alive. She wondered if her mother would ever be ok, she thought about her friends, wondering if they even knew about the accident.

Slowly, she got visits from some of her high school friends, even Kalvin, her ex, her parent's friends and work associates. One thing was common, they were all awkward around her, like they didn't know how to comfort a person who had just lost two of her family members and might lose another soon. She was always glad when they left, so she could be alone and cry some more. The doctor had warned her against this, said it wasn't good for her health and she should stop if she wanted to get better. She had looked at him with such disgust that he had left immediately, she had lost people she loved, she should be allowed to atleast mourn them.

She was getting better and would be able to leave the hospital soon. Her mother was also in the same hospital as she and she had been to her room several times, she talked to her even though she knew her mother couldn't hear her. She would caress her hand sometimes and she would tell her how she didn't like the hospital food and how she would move in with Mary Jane because she couldn't bear to stay in their house alone. The room would always remain silent and no sign of response from her mother, just the beeping of the monitor. Raya knew their house would have to be sold, so some of the hospital bills could be paid off but she didn't want to think about that now.

She also tried not the think about the dream she had had before waking up. The smell of dark wood and aloe vera still lingered in her nostrils, as if it were real and the stranger who she didn't see his face. She also thought back to the evening of the accident, and how her father had swerved the car to avoid hitting the person that was standing on the road. When she thought about it, she felt uneasy.

Raya was almost due to be discharged when she got a visit from Steph, her best friend. Steph walked into the ward carrying a huge bouquet of flowers.

"You know I hate flowers",Raya laughed as she reached out for an embrace.

"I couldn't think of anything else to bring, but looking at you now I think a make up kit would have been fine", Steph said as she giggled and hugged Raya tightly. They talked for a while, they talked about everything except the accident.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come earlier Raya, classes had just started and I couldn't leave immediately and I....".

"Wait a minute…", Raya cut in. "You have started lectures already, but we just graduated from high school not too long ago".

"No we didn't", Steph frowned. "Raya, you were in a coma for two months".