When I opened my eyes, all I could see was a dimly lit peach-coloured ceiling. The aroma of a freshly brewed Nescafe filled the air. For some reason, I could not move either my left nor my left leg. Despite knowing something was seriously wrong, I even tried to stand in the vain hope that I would suddenly be able to. As I was lying in bed, the rhythm of my heartbeat was all I could hear, until a knock on the door. It was the nurse, taking reports of my vitals, blood pressure and all the usual stuff. The days passed pretty quickly, I was sleeping most of the time.

            My left arm and leg healed quickly and I was discharged from hospital a week later, my dad came to pick me up. Tears of joy glided down my cheeks as I saw my home from the guard house. I was so eager to get into the house that the feeling of helplessness and boredom mystically vanished but the overwhelming joy was short-lasted.

            That morning, I sat on the mat as I raised my hand to have a word of my prayer to my creator, I was fresh. My mother drove me to school along the coastal road, the scenic route to school. As I was arriving, I could see my friends waving to me from a distance, it was reassuring. “Do not judge a book by its cover,” I told my mother, “they may look naughty but they are top scorers in the school,” I added.

            Class went on as usual but unfortunately for me, I had to hand in all the homework from three weeks ago. One by one I handed in until the last period, English. A replacement teacher came in, my friends told me that Mr. James had been absent for three weeks now and the principal refused to tell them why.

            I went to the teachers’ lounge after school to hand in my homework. I was surprised to see Janice, Mr. James wife. She was clearing Mr. James’s desk, sobbing. As she was leaving “grow into a fine man, I am very happy that my husband was able to save a life in his final days,” she said with a broken voice. I was speechless, helpless.

            I took a leap of courage and confronted this with my mother. “Is there something I should know mom,” I asked. She was reluctant at first but my persuasion paid off. She only showed me a video on her phone. Tears rolled down my cheek towards the end of the video, only this time it was not tears of joy. It was a footage caught on the CCTV (camera) at the school’s parking lot, I was laying in a pool of blood, unconscious and Mr. James along with his wife carried me into their car and made a bee-line to the nearest hospital.

“Mr. James gave you a new lease of life.

“He himself was living in borrowed time.

“He chose to end it with a smile on your face,” she said.

I only had one regret. Time and tide wait for no man, I am sorry I did not thank him when I had the chance. Thank you Mr. James.

[544 words]