[Mombasa Hospital – Children's Wing | August 25, 2005 – 9:50 PM]
"Dhalik! Stop running!"
The voice echoed sharply through the corridor, breaking the quiet of the children's wing.
A small figure rushed past the rooms, bare feet hitting the cold hospital floor in quick, uneven steps. His breathing was slightly labored, but he didn't slow down.
"I'm not going back!" he shouted over his shoulder. "I'm done with those tests! I'm done with this place!"
Behind him, a nurse struggled to keep pace, her frustration growing with every step.
"There's a reason for those tests!" she called out. "You were in an accident—you fell from a building!"
"I don't care!" he snapped. "I just want to go home!"
Yeah… that was me.
Running through a hospital like I had somewhere better to be.
You're probably wondering why.
Fair enough.
Three weeks earlier, everything had been normal.
I was outside, playing football with some kids from my neighborhood. Just another day. Nothing special.
Until I kicked the ball too hard.
It sailed over the fence… and landed on the roof of a nearby house.
Now, most people would probably go get an adult.
That would've been the smart thing to do.
We didn't.
Because like most kids—
we thought we could handle it ourselves.
There was a tree next to the house. Its branches stretched close enough to the roof to make climbing possible.
So I went for it.
I climbed up without thinking twice.
Branch to branch.
Hand over hand.
Until I reached the roof.
For a moment, everything felt simple.
Easy.
I grabbed the ball and tossed it back down to my friends.
Problem solved.
That should've been the end of it.
But it wasn't.
"You need to stop this right now!" the nurse's voice echoed again, closer this time.
"I said I'm not going back!"
I should've listened.
Looking back now… I know that.
But getting up there had been easy.
Getting down…
was something else entirely.
Five minutes earlier
Dr. Mwenyeji walked through the corridor at a steady pace, the file still tucked under his arm.
To be this active three weeks after such an accident… he thought.
Kids really are something else.
"Good evening."
He turned slightly at the voice.
"Good evening."
Dr. Kale stepped alongside him, glancing ahead.
"You seem to be in a hurry."
"You could say that."
A faint smile crossed Dr. Kale's face.
"Let me guess—the boy again?"
Dr. Mwenyeji exhaled quietly.
"You'd be correct."
A sudden crash echoed from down the hallway.
Both men stopped.
They exchanged a brief look.
"…That would be him."
They quickened their pace.
By the time they turned the corner, the situation had already resolved itself.
The boy lay on the floor, wincing slightly, clearly more annoyed than hurt.
"That hurt…"
Dr. Mwenyeji approached calmly, adjusting his coat.
"Yes," he said, looking down at him. "I imagine it did."
The nurse caught up moments later, slightly out of breath.
"Doctor, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," he replied, brushing off his sleeve before shifting his focus back to the boy.
Dhalik looked up, irritation clear in his expression.
"Now then," Dr. Mwenyeji said, crouching slightly to meet his gaze, "why are you making this more difficult than it needs to be?"
"Because I want to go home," Dhalik shot back. "She said I could."
Dr. Mwenyeji glanced at the nurse.
"Did you?"
She hesitated.
"I told him he could go home soon… once you approved it. But he's been—"
"Because I am a child," Dhalik interrupted bluntly. "You should act like you know that."
The nurse's expression tightened, but before she could respond, Dr. Mwenyeji raised a hand slightly.
"That's enough."
He turned back to Dhalik, his tone calmer now.
"I spoke with your mother today."
That got his full attention.
"You did? What did she say?"
"She'll be here the day after tomorrow."
A pause settled between them.
"So here's what we're going to do," Dr. Mwenyeji continued. "One more test tomorrow… and then you go home."
Dhalik hesitated.
He didn't like it.
Not even a little.
But he also understood something important—
he didn't have a better option.
"…Fine."
"Good."
Dr. Mwenyeji straightened up.
"Let's go back. Properly this time."
The nurse stepped forward again, regaining her composure.
"Come on."
Dhalik rolled his eyes but got up anyway.
As we walked back, I figured I might as well finish the story.
Where was I?
Right.
The roof.
I had already grabbed the ball.
Thrown it back down.
Everything should've ended there.
But it didn't.
To get down, I needed to jump back toward the tree.
It wasn't far.
Just a short run and a careful step.
What I didn't realize…
was that the roof wasn't stable.
I took a step.
Then another.
And then—
it cracked.
My foot went straight through the surface.
Something caught my leg.
My balance shifted—
And just like that…
I was falling.
Five meters.
Head first.
I still remember the feeling.
Clearer than anything else.
Not confusion.
Not even panic.
Just—
fear.
Because in that moment…
I knew.
I wasn't going to stop myself.
I hit the ground.
And everything went dark.
Later, I was told my friends ran for help.
Adults came.
Someone called an ambulance.
And I was brought here.
To this hospital.
Where—
I died.
Yes.
I died.
For eight minutes and thirty-one seconds, there was nothing.
No heartbeat.
No breath.
No response.
They had already given up.
Until—
I came back.
But while they were trying to save me…
I wasn't there.
I was somewhere else.
A place I still don't fully understand.
A place where things didn't follow the rules I thought I knew.
Where time didn't move the way it should.
Where I wasn't alone.
And where—
for the first time—
I realized something.
The line between the known…
and the unknown…
is far thinner than we think.
To be continued…