Junior

Shock held me in place. My mind seemed to stop when I looked at Sihle falling on the tar road. I fumbled taking out my phone, my hands shaking. I cursed at myself for not being able to get a look at the number plate.

I knelt on the pavement; her eyes were closed, and she was not moving. I wanted to scream when I was placed on hold. After 10 minutes I was told that the ambulance was on the way.

“Is she going to be okay?” I asked when the paramedics arrived, but they didn’t pay any attention. They placed Sihle on the stretcher and carried her inside the ambulance. I got inside and held Sihle’s hand, trying to comfort her and let her know I was there.

“Stay here,” the nurse instructed when they wheeled Sihle away from me. I wanted to protest but I just let them go with her. I stayed there in the waiting area, anxious and scared.

“What happened?” The police officer asked, taking out a notepad. I didn’t know how long I had been sitting here but it felt like it was forever, waiting anxiously for a doctor or anyone to come and say something, anything to ease my anxiety.

“It was Simbongile,” I said without having to think about it. I knew for a fact that it was her; she was the one who hit Sihle. Even though I had no proof, I just knew that it was her. The police officer nodded and promised to look into it, but I was certain he wouldn’t.

The doctor came out an hour later, taking off his face mask, “You can go in now, she is okay; she just had a minor concussion and has a few broken ribs but other than that she is okay.”

I breathed a sigh of relief and ran to Sihle’s room. She was sleeping. I sat down and held her hand. “This is all my fault,” I let out. I was filled with what ifs and what nots and self-blame.

If Sihle was awake she would have told me to quit blaming myself for someone else’s actions, but how could I not? Simbongile was doing all of this because of me. If I wasn’t in the picture she would have never hit Sihle with a car.

My heart was heavy, just thinking that a few hours ago we were happy, and now my wife was in the hospital bed – and there was nothing I could do about it. I couldn’t turn back the hands of time.

***

“You’ll have a sore neck,” the nurse said, shaking me awake “You can’t sleep in that tiny chair, go home and rest.”

I didn’t even remember when or how I fell asleep. I opened my eyes and watched the nurse as she monitored Sihle’s vitals. I shook my head no, I couldn’t go home. What if Sihle came back here to finish her off? I couldn’t possibly take that chance.

The nurse let out a heavy sigh. “It is against hospital policy for you to sleep here, but I will let it slide just for today. I’ll grab you a blanket.”

I thanked her for her kindness and turned to look at Sihle when the nurse left, she was still sleeping so soundly as if nothing was wrong. “I’ll make sure that she pays for this,” I said under my breath and tried to get a little more comfortable in the chair.

You can read the final instalment here