Personal Narrative: Mermaids Of The Lagoon

You had insisted for twenty minutes that you should be allowed to join Courtney and Mum at the hospital and you had won. So you are sat wedged between Courtney and a very large blow up dolphin that Dani had asked Mum to buy and it was very uncomfortable. Also, the journey was far longer than you expected. Courtney winced every time the car shook and you start to feel sick again. Mum hums to herself in the front and you wish she would put on the radio or something because the silence in the car is unbearable. You remind yourself that even this dull journey was better than spending another day in the house. Seven days of very limited games of Mermaids of the Lagoon were taking their toll. Even Danielle had began to lose imagination, hence the
giant blow up dolphin that was attacking you on every left hand turn. You are glad when the hospital finally comes into view.
Half an hour later and you are less glad.
All you had done was sit in the waiting room, well, waiting. Courtney lay on Mum’s shoulder, eyes closed. Mum reads a magazine that you are pretty sure isn't in English. When the nurse finally calls Courtney’s name, Mum pulls you close and you follow her down a corridor, to a bed with a curtain around it. You sit on a chair and wait as they lay Courtney down and unwrap her bandages. Mum talks to a Doctor who you think is speaking English but his accent confuses you, so you stop listening. The nurse tending to Courtney looks up and smiles at you. You smile back, again. After a few minutes, Courtney’s bandages are gone and you can see the blistered, raised skin that has taken over her thighs. You feel sick looking at it. It looks like Nan’s old leather jacket that she keeps in the hall, full of rips and creases. It is red and raw and you feel an undeniable surge of guilt jolt through you each time you blink and have to look at it again. Mum and the Doctor jabber away some more as the nurse begins to rub a cream over the leather-skin on Courtney’s legs. You are going to cry. You can feel it swelling in the back of your throat and you want to leave the little curtained bed area immediately. You don't even look at Mum as you pull back the curtain and run to stand at the other end of the corridor. You sit on the ground a breath deeply until Mum comes to find you. She sits next to you, her hand in your hair, her voice soothing, Courtney is
going to be fine darling, it looks much worse than it is, She’ll be all better before you know it.
She makes you feel guiltier. You were making it about you on a Courtney day. You hate it when Courtney does that to you and here you were. You wipe away some tears from your face and stand up. Mum stands with you. She takes your hand.
I’m sorry.
You whisper the words. Mum looks down at you.
I didn't watch her.
These words are slightly louder. You hear mums sharp intake of breath and then she's pulling you into a hug. It was not the reaction you were expecting at all. She mumbles some things into your head like, This is not your fault and Don't you dare blame yourself and then she kisses you four times. You follow her back to the bed and you feel a little better. It’s not your fault. You say it again to yourself. It’s not your fault.
Courtney is sat up on the bed now, her legs re-bandaged. The Doctor speaks to Mum again quietly and you go over, take Courts’ hand and say, You can sit in the window seat on the way home if you like.