When Jimmy knocked

 I was drifting through the clouds, light as a feather, feeling no pain. If this was how dying felt, then I had no complaints. I passed through a cloud and shivered, the moist air clinging to my skin.

I shook myself dry like old Jasper the dog would. I watched with glee as the water droplets remained suspended in the air. But something was not right. The clouds were rising in the sky until only a speck remained visible. That’s when I realized I didn’t feel weightless anymore. I was falling from the cloud-filled sky and sinking towards the earth.

It was an unnerving experience. I felt the hair at the back of my neck rise and my heart beat faster than ever. I was falling from the sky, but how did I get here? I kept descending. My hair flew past me and swept up towards the sky. And my eyes teared up as I tried to look down. The wind kept roaring in my ears. But every so often, I heard another sound that the wind carried. I heard drums being played; their beats getting louder the quicker I fell. As the meadow below came into focus, I no longer felt weightless. All the pains and aches that previously gripped my body, returned if only as a phantom.

My lips were cracked. I was parched. Was I thirsty? I felt soaked to the bone.

I started hearing my heartbeat. Why was it so loud? I tried to take a deep breath, only to catch a whiff of an earthy smell, like a damp wood…sweat! I was drenched in sweat. Why?

As I looked about me the drumming got louder.

“Annie! Annie, are you there?”

Annie…Yes, that was me. Where was I then?

I was still falling. And I saw something below me. It was hazy, the way I see without my glasses. But I kept falling until my vision grew clearer. It was me lying on my living room carpet!

What an odd sight! Me being in two places at once.

“Annie!”

What a horrid way was I lying down! My leg must be sprained.

What had happened?

I tried to remember but couldn’t. My mind was still flying through the clouds.

“Annie, are you okay?”

Someone was calling me from outside the door.

No. I tried to speak but found no words came out. My throat burned every time I tried to speak.

“Hey! What are you doing? I’m trying to take a nap here!”

I recognized the new voice; it was Monica my neighbour. We play cards together on every Wednesday.

“Sorry, I’m just looking for Annie. She is not answering.”

“Maybe she isn’t at home. So quit knocking!” Monica yelled. For a moment, I could only hear the wind as I fell, and then she spoke again. “And who are you? I have never seen you here before.” I thought her voice reeked with suspicion.

“I’m Jimmy”, the voice answered, “I live across the street….”

Oh! Jimmy! The sweet boy who sometimes played guitar. We leave signs for each other in our windows. I remember now.

Maybe I should open the door and let him in. If only I could sit up.

“What do you want with her?”

“Look, I usually come back from my shift by noon and by one in the afternoon she usually has a sign in her window asking about my day. It’s almost three now. And I can’t shake the feeling that something is wrong.”

Oh, sweet boy! Just hold on. I’ll open the door. I manage to sit upright against the couch.

“Annie!”

Wait a minute. I managed to say, but it came out as a whisper.

“Trust me please”, Jimmy continues.

“All right, she did leave signs on the window.” She is dismissive, I can imagine her waving him off. “But maybe she went out?”

“In this heat? At siesta? I don’t think so. She is diabetic, I’m sure something is wrong.”

“All right…all right! If we go inside and she’s not there or she is in there taking a nap, would you stop banging the door and let me do the same?”

“Yes ma’am”

“Wait here.”

I heard the door open and then close again. I listened to the key scrapping in the lock and the door crinkling as it swung open on its hinges, letting a blinding light in, one that began to lift me towards the clouds again.

“Oh my god! Annie!”

But I couldn’t look at them, the clouds were everywhere and they were so comforting. There was a chill in the air as I floated upwards.

Suddenly I felt warm. Someone was rubbing my hands. I felt the first drops of rain on my face…no someone splashed water on my face. My eyes fluttered open. I was still on the floor, feeling lightweight as ever. But Jimmy and Monica managed to get me back on the couch.

Monica sat at my foot, her big eyes wide as a cartoon’s.

“You scared us,” she said when I could see her better.

“I didn’t mean to”, I whispered,

She leaned in closer to hear better. However, I couldn’t say anything just yet, my throat felt so dry.

“Here, eat this….” Jimmy said, handing me a box of chocolate-covered doughnuts and a glass of water.

“Why?” I asked.

“Your blood sugar level must have dropped. That’s why you are going in and out of consciousness.”

“Are you a doctor?”, Monica asked.

“No, nurse.”

Jimmy left us and wandered into the kitchen. And while I slowly made my way through the doughnuts, Monica brought me some wet wipes. In between bites then, I managed to wipe my hands, and neck allowing its fragrance and cooling sensation to ground me further.

“Thank you!” I said, gratitude swirling in my chest as I watched Jimmy clatter around the kitchen as if he knew exactly where everything was, but instead opened cabinets and drawers at random and yelled to ask where the saucepans were.

“It was a good thing”, Monica began drawing my attention to her, “that he decided to check on you. Who knew what would have happened otherwise…”

I patted Monica’s hand.

“You are not getting rid of me so easily.”

She scoffed, adding-

“If it hadn’t been for your signs…”

“I told you they were a good idea,” I replied with a smile.