Introduction:
The true story continues of Sarah and her teenage daughter, Grace. The horror and trauma for Grace to find Sarah unconscious beside her bed. What would have happened to Sarah if Grace had not come home for lunch that day? How will Grace cope with the stress going forward, not knowing if she will come home again one day to find her mother in the same or worse condition? Beverley Joy
Book Excerpt – The Wilted Rose Part 3 – The Wilted Rose
Grace often walked home during her lunch break to check on her mother. She was usually in bed asleep but would wake up when she heard Grace call to her, and they would eat lunch together. Grace stepped into the house, crossed the living room and followed the hallway down to her parent’s bedroom.
‘Mum?’ She pushed the door open a little further. ‘Mum!’
She rushed into the room and dropped to her knees beside her mother, who lay slumped on the floor beside the bed.
‘Mum! Mum! Wake up!’
Sarah didn’t budge.
‘What do I do, what do I do?’ Grace panicked. ‘Somebody help me! Please help me!’
Grace watched on as her mother was pushed on a wheeled stretcher out through the front door. A paramedic approached her.
‘Do you know what medication she is taking?’ he asked.
‘Valium. And painkillers,’ said Grace, wiping a tear away.
The paramedic placed his hand on her shoulder.
‘We’ll take care of your Mum now. Who can we contact to let them know what’s happened?’
‘You can call my Grandma.’
She gave him the number and he made the call from the home phone.
‘Will you be okay?’ he asked.
‘Yes,’ Grace quietly replied.
From the front door she watched the ambulance pull out onto the road and speed away, sirens ablaze. The house was still again. She walked into the kitchen and approached the sink, and with trembling hands filled a glass with water. She lifted it to her lips, swallowing the water one slow mouthful at a time.
Her legs were weak underneath her as she walked down the hill back to high school. As she approached the grounds, she heard the bell ring and quickened her pace. The lesson had already begun when she arrived at her classroom. The teacher narrowed her eyes at her as she stood nervously in the doorway.
‘Grace, you’re late,’ she stated.
‘I’m sorry, Miss.’
‘Hurry up and take your seat.’
Grace hurried across the room and sat down at an empty desk. The teacher’s words blurred as her mind lapsed back over the events of the past hour. She told no one what had happened.
To be continued…
Kate Kelsen Author © All Rights Reserved
In this image I wrote ‘If you go away’ over the top of ‘goodbye’ to illustrate how family and friends plead with their loved one who is suicidal to stay, to choose life. Beverley Joy
Image by Kate Cox from Pixabay
Simply Story Poetry 
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