My mood today evening will have nothing to what this article is about. I am okay. I am eating well, putting on my favorite jeans and comfort fluffy sweater because I like their texture on my body. Doing the little things that make me happy. You know? Living life.

They say that pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding. They say pain is demanding. That the only way to heal from pain is by letting time heal itself. Sitting through it. Allowing yourself to feel it. They say no pain no gain. I may agree or disagree with some of these stuff. I actually resonate really well with some of these facts.

But can I ask? How do children handle pain? Their developing minds are too biased to process emotion leave alone pain. To answer this I will need to tell a story. Enjoy.

It’s five am.

June taps Ruby on the shoulder. She wakes up. She doesn’t need to be told. Slides into her tiny slippers , carries the ‘jiko’ outside, lights it up, rubs her eyes to the dawn and brutal cold on her body. She’s awake!

June was the housekeeper employed by Auntie to take care of James, and she sure as hell took care of him, so much that they forgot about Trudy. And this day was not going to be any different!

It’s six am.

The tea is ready for Auntie to take and the cereals are ready for James to eat. Thanks to young Trudy. She does this quietly so that she doesn’t wake Auntie or James. She does this accurately and with precision so that she does not get scolded for cold tea, or dropping something. All is well June has done her uniforms and James. They can now wake him to prepare for school.

It’s seven am.

Finally the school bus is here Trudy is more than happy to see it. She knows school was going to be fantastic today. She sees her friend Eva and knows it was going to be a good day and it was!

It’s four pm.

The bus home is here, and suddenly all the excitement she had kindles down. A certain heaviness for her she couldn’t bare. She arrives home. She doesn’t have to be told. She sometimes felt like she needed to earn living there. Auntie and James had gone to a recreation center for children to catch up on how school was. Well Trudy had to finish up the dishes before doing the laundry.

It’s 10 am.

Auntie decided to catch up with an old friend and she went with James. Trudy is feeling a little fatigued by the day’s event. She is feeling sick ,some nausea of some sort. She tries to explain it to June. She is given pain killers. No the pain is still too much to handle. She faints. June panics. She tries to call auntie. Seven times. In hospital she finally decides to text her. ”Trudy fainted and I rushed her to hospital ,you should come see her”

It’s twelve am.

Auntie sees the text! Meanwhile the doctors refused to treat her due to payment protocols. She dashes into the car immediately and drives to hospital.

It’s one am.

Young Trudy’s breaths become slower and intense. June can feel her fighting for her life in her arms. She cries her eyes out, to Trudy’s last heat beat! When Auntie made her way to the hospital, she saw the look on her face and knew. Oh! The guilt!

If only she had answered her phone those times. If she had seen the text and acted a little sooner. But then, if only she treated young Trudy like the child she was! . Trudy lost her young life while her only guardian was recoding videos of her grandson learning to use his new remote car. Sad. I can only imagine the kind of trauma that kind of impact would have.