Thandolwami (on hold)

Chapter 12

They say you do not become a woman or a man until you have lost your mother.

I had always heard this statement but right now, at that very moment, being faced by the harsh realities of the possibility of losing my mother, l felt it's gravity.
I ran past Sis Mavy in silent panick, my heartbeat racing, l saw my parents bedroom door open, they weren't in, l rushed to the main door and found dad struggling to open the door with mama on his arms.
I squeezed myself between them and unlocked the door.
He pressed the car keys on my hand "bring the car over while l hold her"

I rushed to the garage and all of a sudden l was hit by confusion, l forcefully attempted to open the Toyota Rush with keys for Toyota Belta. The alarm went off. Crap.

"Ntando what's taking so long" dad shouted.

"I'm coming!" I said scurrying over to the right car, l reversed it back to the veranda were l had left dad waiting with mum but he was already in the driveway, quickly l parked the car and helped him put her in the back seat,
"Hold her" he instructed and l got in the back seat with her, her head on my lap.

"Dad the Rush- the alarm-"

"Leave it" he said, getting behind the wheel and driving off while the Toyota rush continued screaming alarm that disturbed at most our 3 direct neighbors, thank Goodness for big yards.

The gate was closed. Great.

"Do you have the gate keys" dad asked eyes widening at me.

"No, should l go and get-"

Before l finished my question he was already outside the car, I turned to look behind and saw him running, Sis'Mavy appeared also running towards him waving the gate keys, as if grabbing the button stick on a relay race, dad grabbed them, Sis Mavy followed him, dad paused at the gate, appearing confused with the bunch of keys in his hands.
Sis Mavy grabbed the keys back from him and unlocked the gate then slid it open. Dad rushed back to the car.

I looked at mama, she was still, lifeless, l lowered my head to her face, l couldn't feel her breathe. At that point all thoughts of checking her pulse had evaporated from my mind.

I couldn't feel her breath meant she wasn't breathing.

"Dad she isn't breathing!"

Dad stepped on the accelerator, silent tears streamed down my face, how we got to the hospital alive ourselves, given the crazy speed we were using, was a pure blur.

*******

We got to the hospital, dad once more carried mama, l rushed in and l don't know what l said to the nurse, whatever l said he understood because next he was calling for a stretcher and another pair of nurses joined him.

They rushed to dad and put mama on the stretcher. The other 2 nurses did preliminary checks on mum while the third nurse asked dad for a couple of details.

I followed the stretcher as it went inside the hospital corridors and stopped when they entered an examination room because the third nurse who was following directed me to go to the waiting room.

I found dad there. Seated on one of the sofas, looking sad. Very sad. Never had l seen my father with such a fallen expression. His shoulders slumped, his head bowed, his hands clasped, fingers interlocking.

I didn't know what to do either, so l sat there next to him.

After a while, he looked up at me, his eyes blood shot red, had he beeen crying?
By then my own tears had long since dried.