Write From Home Anthology

Page 23

Hind Jendara, Meknes. When the night falls, it brings with it the misfortunes, the sorrows, and the dreary memories which leave their dungeons to metamorphose in sky’s darkness. It was almost 4 am, and at that time it was impossible to go back, abandon or stop this bloody story that will start in a few moments. Nightmare! And everything mingles between the chopped waves of sleep. Brutally torn from the dream by the deafening roar of her cry, Alice opened her eyes and jumped from her bed, on the bedside table, she saw a small piece of paper on which was written words she could not decipher. She rubbed her eyes, wiped the sweat from her face and read in terror: “don’t tell mommy” Awake this time, Alice realized that she was re-reading the same sentence for the first time, and then the paper suddenly disappeared. Vaguely uncomfortable, she got up, slid the window open, these little words still floating in her head and the fresh air of spring caressed her flesh. She turned back to her bed, but the images that lurked in her head haunted her and prevented her from gaining the few hours of sleep that remained before her workday started. Alice put down the pencil and slammed the laptop shut, her hand holding her baby bump; she closed her eyes and took a deep breath. It is time to go back home, today was full and dull, and stress is not good for neither her nor her baby. Along the way, they listened to the vigorous radio preaching at a low volume, one route to saving our species, the prime minister has declared a month-long state of emergency in response to the pandemic spreading all over the country. One month to go, get some rest Alice, get some. The aromas wafting in the kitchen filled the air of a cozy feeling and apparently filled her ribs too. She knew for sure that by this time, the course of her life and her baby’s will drastically change. The only sound she remembered after calling the coronavirus hotline was the ambulance siren on its long journey to the downtown hospital. There were a couple of hours where she was within a whisper of a dark place. There, loads of tests were being carried out and swabs were being taken, waiting for her PCR test result, Alice thought “maybe my time is up “. The next day she was the added number of the infected cases. Laying on her bed in an isolated hospital room, she was literally gasping for air, no one was allowed to see her, she would buzz for help and would have to wait for staff to get their protective equipment on before they could attend to her, this young desperate woman was a warrior in a double battle, she was fighting for every single breath. She was fighting for hers and her baby's life. A week later, the boatman of the River Styx suddenly opened the hospital door, firmly destined to Alice’s

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