I wish I could say this was a story of the time I ran away and saw the beauty in the world and realise that every second is precious, but instead, this was the time that I went on a leisurely stroll up the hill and I twisted my ankle so I stopped to wait for my step dad to pick me up.
A few days ago I experienced the worse bug I had in a while. I usually call it 'seasonal sickness', it's essentially just my body getting used to the change in temperature. Weird. I know. However I, being the teenage girl I am, exaggerated this 'illness' to the fullest.
At 12:34pm I woke up, ready for my day which I anticipated would be filled with boredom and sneezing. Daylight hours were usually spent watching reruns of Criminal Minds or CSI:Miami, but for some unknown reason my legs took me to the shower.
My tired eyes glazed over, making the green tiles of my shower look like the jungle, and suddenly I was transported to the Amazon, where I stood beneath a beautiful waterfall. The water so clear that you could see your own reflection, and so clean that you would drink it with no doubt of its sanitation.
I don't think I'll ever discover which one of my Amazonian spirit animals possessed me to go on a walk at 15:02, but somehow, in my paraplegic state I left my home.
The interesting thing about Bath is that no matter where you look, you're 98% guaranteed to see a field. And that was the only thing which surrounded me. The one to my right was covered in a golden crop and cut into a maze for children, adults and tourists to play in; and the one to my left was reserved for the seven horses. Their grass was dying, the farmers weren't paying enough attention to both details.
And neither was I.
Because the next thing I knew I was on the floor. It wasn't even anything too serious. Like, have you ever been walking and your ankle just bops in and out of place. Well that's what happened to me, only I was also wearing heels. Dragging my crumpled body over to the next patch of grass, I curled up upon it, writhing in pain. I had sent my 999 text to my step-dad to come and pick me up, but I knew it would be a while before he checked his phone. So I waited.
I waited and waited. The horses fell asleep. The farmers had come out a few times and thought nothing of my presence. And not a single car stopped to check if I was alright; although if they did I would be screaming and running for the hills because I had seen enough Criminal Minds and CSI:Miami to know how that story played out.
All I did was wait, until even the sun left me.
Have you ever experienced a sunset? Or have you even seen one? The first time I had watched a sunset I was 7, and I didn't think much o it. I didn't drink up the vibrant colours, nor remember the thickening of the air as the freshness left it due to the day's build up of lung blocking pollution. I only thought, "oh, it's night now". But at that moment, I experienced not only the sunset. But also my surroundings. I noticed the grass which was slowly losing its life, fading into a dull yellow-brown rather than its vibrant green. I noticed the odd car or two drive past and look at me in confusion. I noticed the chirping of the birds had ceased and now silence had taken its place. I noticed that I didn't need a camera to capture the beauty, my mind was fully capable of that. So I guess in a way I ran away. I ran from reality and escaped into realism, but I wouldn't recommend it for several reasons.
*I broke my ankle that day.
*My 'seasonal sickness' turned into hayfever.
*I wasn't even allowed to touch the horses.
*And most importantly, I missed my daily crime dramas.
