Chapter 8
There Is a Light
I feel myself pulled back to the present day; like last time, the images of the house fading, thoughts drifting from my mind like a slowly ebbing tide.
Tilly?
Through the hazy whiteness of the hospital, I hear my name.
‘Tilly?’
It’s as before. I try to force my eyelids open, to shape the faintest word on my lips. I’m aware of a hand taking hold of mine. But as I attempt to flex my fingers, nothing happens.
‘She is still not responding.’ The voice sounds distant.
As someone shines a light into one of my eyes, suddenly I’m terrified.
I’m here… My mind is working, I want to cry out.
But I can’t move… It’s like I’m trapped inside myself.
But another thought comes to me that’s even more terrifying.
What if I never recover from the fall? If my inability to move is permanent?
What if I can’t tell my boys how much I love them?
If I can’t hug them tightly ever again? If I never get the chance to live the rest of my life?
Another voice comes to me, startling me. It’s Lizzie’s voice.
Hold on, Tills. Don’t give up. You’re going to be OK.