Write In The Middle Of It

Officer Mancuso normally didn’t walk that block, but because he still had no leads on the Sadiah Gibson case he was willing to ask any passerby if he saw anything. When he walked down the alley he heard a rumbling from the third floor of a building he passed. At first he passed it off as kids playing in the stairwell until he heard the blood-curdling scream of a young woman. The elder cop ran as fast as his out of shape body could take him up the steps of Mekayla’s fire escape.

***

Sadiah was aware now. She was aware that she was no longer in a church fighting for her life but that she was in a hospital room.

She was aware that she has been there for quite some time.

She was aware when she would rub her tongue across her gum line, she had teeth missing.

She was aware that Monte, Ms. Howard and even Brett, were nowhere around to hurt her.

She was aware that her father was there and by the sound of his shuffled steps, she was aware that he was tired and sad. She was also aware the doctors around her have told her father that she seems to be improving, that the seizures have ceased and that it would be any day now that she would open her eyes.

She was aware when her father would leave, a young man who smelled of Egyptian Musk, and her father called “Mr. Erik” would come in and read beautiful stories to her.

Sadiah was also aware that no one else knew she was aware.

She waited patiently for her father to leave because she was too embarrassed to face him. Sometimes, it would take all of the strength that Sadiah had not to cry when he said a prayer over her and kissed her on her forehead. He and “Mr. Erik” would exchange their pleasantries and her father would be gone for the evening.

“Hey Love.” Erik would say to her every evening.

Hey. She would say back in her mind.

“How you feel today?”

Better than yesterday

“Well if you don’t mind me sayin so, it seems that you have more color in your cheeks today. Must be all that good literature.” Erik chuckled to himself.

Sadiah felt her face become flush as Erik turned the pages.

He is so corny sometimes. But, oh God please don’t let him see me smile. No one can know yet.

“Well today we are going to read a German author named Franz Kafka.” Erik would go on to explain the history of the author and the story itself.

Although she appreciated the background, sometimes she wished he would just go straight to the story.

The way Erik would tell stories was fascinating. He would keep her intrigued until the very end, but she would be sad when the story ended because Erik would leave after a few small bits of conversation. Sometimes she wished he would stay so that she could ask him questions.

Why is he reading to her and what book is reading from?

She wondered why he spent his evenings with her. Didn’t he have a girlfriend?

Surely someone that was so smart and smelled so good had to have somebody?

Sadiah tempted herself several times by wanting to take a peek at him to see if he was ugly.

Because if he was ugly that would explain why his nights were free and he was reading old stories to a comatose, drug addict prostitute. Sadiah tried to force those negative thoughts of her out of her mind, but in truth that’s what she was. But when Erik was there, she felt like a spoiled princess being read stories before she fell off to sleep. Sometimes Sadiah was afraid to go to sleep.

She was afraid that if she went to sleep that she would never wake up again and stuck in that church fighting those demons haunting her for eternity.

“Now,” Erik said interrupting Sadiah’s daydream. “Today we are going to read a story called The Metamorphosis. It’s about a man who worked very hard supporting his spoiled family and one day wakes up and discovers that he has been turned into a cockroach.” As Erik turned the page he swore he heard a chuckle. His head popped up and he looked at Sadiah who lay motionless but with a huge smile on her face. He darted up from the chair.

“Sadiah?!?” He exclaimed as he went over to her. Her eyes fluttered open as she squinted from the light.

“Hey yourself.” She said in a voice barely above a whisper.

With urgency, Erik said, “Let me get the doctor.”

“No please,” Sadiah said with a strained voice grabbing his wrist, “Not yet.”

Erik stopped and was at a loss as for what to say. “Are you okay?”

She nodded.

“Do you need anything?”

She shook her head no but said, “I want you to tell me the story.”

Erik smiled affectionately and nodded, “On one condition.”

Sadiah’s eyebrow rose.

“If I tell you this story you have to tell me, your father, Pete, and the police yours.”

“Deal.” Sadiah smiled showing her missing teeth, she was aware, but she didn’t care.