The university campus was infested with fervent first years and their families. The annual welcome day was off to a busy start and a flurry of university returners and hopeful newbies flurried all over the campus. The motionally charged trio made thier way to the outdoor ampithetre, prompted by a pamphlet thrust in Ona's hand as they entered the Hatfield camosu main gates.
How excited people were around her, was directly proportionate to her dread. While someone on stage made reference to senior management of the university like Prof. Cheryl de la Rey, Ona was disinterested.
"So this place is quite a prestigious university as well," considered her mother.
Ona questioned what made her mom come to this conclusion when just moments ago she was visibly outraged at Ona's suggestion to park somewhere. She reserved her response, still stung by her mother's earlier outburst.
They made their way to the queu outside the student centre which snaked its way across the pavement to the grass. These lawns served as a meeting place for idle students in-between classes and had captured many passersby for hookah and gossip sessions in the place of lectures. Ona stood silently next to her dad, taking it all in with dread. She felt nauseous now and she did not recognise the lack of feeling in her legs.
Was she dehydrated? She did not remember making sure she'd be hydrated in spite of the Pretoria summer heat which caught her unaware despite being born and living in Gauteng her whole life to that point.
Had she eaten before they left their home in the leafy suburbs of Johannesburg? She could not remember.
Did she eat something she should not have the night before? She did not eat anything her palette wasn't used to and she remembered her mother visiting her room with her plate of food as a peace offering in between her discrete sobbing, she took the plate. Food brought as a peace offering was one of the universal signs African parents apologised without saying sorry. Why did they do that? And besides- she did not need their apologies, she needed their empathy and support.
Ona turned to her left to grab her dad's arm to say something- anything indicative of the ground spinning. Her mouth was dry but she could feel the moisture gathering under her armpits. Her knees were weak and she could not feel her limbs. She desperately tried to grab hold of him but it was too late. She was grasping at air, simultaneously losing control as the gap between her and the concrete closed, alongside her shocked companion. She heard muffled sounds of confusion and alarm around her as she made contact with the ground, descending into the black abyss that was her subconscious.