A run for it

Kwase opened her eyes to stare at the stark white ceiling above. Slowly, she turned her head from her left to her right, peeking through her lashes. The chair beside her bed was empty. Slowly, she lifted her feet off the side of the bed and pulled herself up. The floor spun beneath her feet and she clung unto the bed for support. Feeling a tad steadier, she moved to the door. It took her some time but she finally understood how it worked and turned the knob. The corridor was empty and she stepped into it unsure where she was headed. She turned a corner where she supposed there will be an exit only to find herself on a balcony. Staring down into the neighbourhood was like standing on the peak of the hills and looking far into the distance at houses sprawling below, only there was none of the lush forests and vegetation here. She retraced her steps, taking the stairs this time. She walked down tentatively, her step unsteady, afraid she might fall. A man and a woman passed her on their way up paying her no attention. They were arguing in low voices. At last she found open air and ran out into the street, her thoughts on escaping her captors. There was a loud screeching and a car skidded to a stop in front of her; an inch more and she would have been knocked off her feet. She had noticed the car too late and she covered her face, bracing for impact. An angry driver yelled at her.

"Are you crazy? Do you want to die?"

She stood there, admist the curses and loud honking of vehicles, unable to take a step further. "Sheila!" her mother and a nurse came running to her. She shook all over.

"Where were you going to?" she was weeping again. Kwase said nothing.

"Come." The two led her from the street up the stairs and back to her bed.

"What is happening to you, dear? Please talk to me," her mother implored.

"I'm fine mum," she said, not wanting anymore of the tears. "I wanted to get outside. I feel sort of trapped in here."

"You should have waited for me to get back. I went out to get something to eat and you were gone. You had me so worried something was wrong with you."

She helped her back onto the bed.

"Can I get a looking glass?"

"Do you mean a mirror? I'm sure there's one here." Bernice went to the small cabinet to retrieve a handheld mirror. One look at herself and Kwase felt like shattering the mirror against the wall.