I had an illness.
It happened when I was eighteen. I remember the day as if it was yesterday. My mum was screaming into the phone, probably about the utility bill, and my brother was spitting every single vulgarity he knew into the headset.
It was a perfectly normal morning. My parents were finalising their divorce and my brother had been gaming all night long. I had just finished washing up and was preparing to head down when my left ear started ringing.
It had been happening quite frequently, but I had assumed that it was due to stress. There was no need to bring it up to my mum when a ten-cent increase in apples could easily ruin her day.
I reached for the pen on my dressing table and scribbled Pharmacy on a sticky note. My memory had been deteriorating. Stuffing it into my jean pocket, I rushed down the steps and into the kitchen.
Court tomorrow, 2 pm was written and stuck to the refrigerator.
"Mum, is there breakfast today?" I was running late for school.
Her response was, "I've reminded you multiple times! You said that you would remember!"
"Mum?"
"Yes, honey. Sorry about that. There's yoghurt in the fridge." She apologised and turned her attention back to the call.
"Hmm... yoghurt." Pursing my lips, I contemplated before placing the tub of yoghurt back into the fridge. I was not prepared for a stomachache in the morning.
At that moment, my mum walked into the kitchen and handed me a five-dollar note. "Get yourself something nice for lunch."
"Thank you, mummy."
"Hurry, you're late!" She laughed.
Grabbing my shoes from the cabinet, I checked the time on my watch. Shit. "See you!" was the last thing I said before leaving for the bus stop. It was the last thing I remembered before the ringing in my ear turned to a shrill and a cloud of darkness covered my vision.
The next thing I knew, I was on the cold pavement, with snow falling on me.
It was supposed to be a perfectly normal morning.