by Shane Connell 28.NOV.08

There was another impatient knock at the door. Without waiting for an answer the door opened. Ras turned to Susan, looking for reassurance that she would not cause a scene; but all Ras saw was the look of hate on Susan’s face. All he wanted to do was usher Miriam out of the room, but it was too late. The person had entered.{{more}}

“Time for your medicine.” It wasn’t Miriam’s voice. It was the nurse. Ras gave a sigh of relief. He knew that he had been lucky. It was his chance to get away and find Miriam, warn her about Susan, tell her that Susan did not want to see her. “Susan, I have to go”.

“Tell she me nah want fi see she,” said Susan.

Ras knew it was no point trying to talk to her when she was in one of her moods. “I will see you soon,” was all he could say, and he left.

Whilst attending to Susan, the nurse tried her best to strike up a conversation with her, but all her attempts failed. Susan’s thoughts were far away, specifically on her ex best friend Miriam. Even though Susan knew that Miriam really wasn’t to blame for her predicament, Susan wanted to punish Miriam, to make her feel the pain she was feeling.

The nurse left the room. Susan could hear a mumbled conversation behind the closed door. It was just then the door opened and a boy stepped in her room.

“Boy, whey you doing in here!” she tried to yell.

“Susan, hush. Susan it’s me Miriam,” she whispered.

“Miriam?” Susan was surprised, Miriam looked different. Her complexion was much darker, and the long beautiful hair that Susan had been so jealous of was cut short.

Miriam knew that what she needed to say had to be done quickly. “Thank God, you’re alright, I was so worried. I feel it’s all my fault. I wanted to say sorry”.

Susan had never thought before of how the word sorry was such pathetic word. It was like knowing that you committed a sin and then asking for forgiveness on Sunday, only to commit the same sin again the following week. Absolutely meaningless.

Miriam continued: “I want to explain why I did this, and why I’ve run away from home”.

Susan felt numb, she really didn’t want to know the reason why. Quite frankly, she could not care. “I need to go to the toilet,” was all she could say.

Miriam saw her friend feebly struggling to get on her feet “You want some help?” asked Miriam.

There was a pause as Susan met Miriam’s gaze. “Miriam, what you going to do? Help me wipe my bottom?”

The pair looked at each other and then burst out laughing. For a moment it felt like old times, when they would joke about a teacher, or when they would tease Ras. For that moment, they both felt like teenagers again, and the only thing they had to worry about was boys and books. It felt like the good times had come back.

It was the pain at the side of Susan’s tummy that brought them both back to reality and back to their problems. Miriam felt uncomfortable.

“Ah soon come back,” said Susan as she left Miriam in the room by herself.

Using the wall as her support, Susan shuffled down the corridor and out of the ward. She approached a woman sitting on the bench outside and said: “You could give me a dollar, please?” The woman opened her purse and gave Susan the money she needed.

She shuffled along and went to the nearest phone booth. With all her strength, she lifted the phone off the receiver, pushed the dollar in and then dialled.

“Hello” she said “Could you put me on to CID, please?” There was a pause, she winced as a sharp pain kicked in at the side of her tummy.

“Hello, I know where the missing girl Miriam is.”

The Windy Valley Secondary series is fictional. Any resemblance to real events, places or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.