Unfriendly Neighbours

The story you are about to read is a true life story, feel free to comment without reservations.

Tuesday the 12th September 2018, 2am

The dying child lay helpless on the floor of his parents living room, he had managed to crawl from his room to the living room while trying to get his parents. His strength failed him. He fell heavily and the noise startled his mum who was a light sleeper. She traced the noise and found her son fading away fast. She woke her husband and his younger sister so they could get him to the hospital.

Josh and his mother

"Where did I drop my car key?" The father said aloud, talking to no one in particular. He rummaged through the room, his briefcase, his trousers before eventually finding it where he hung it the night before. While he was searching for the key, his wife and daughter had managed to dress his son up, ready for the hospital, they moved him to the car. "Hurry Honey", Mrs Z said. Key in the ignition and all belted in their seats, Mr Z turned the key.

"Paruhuhu" came the sound of the engine. He tried again, "Paruhuhuhu", and again. He was frantic, not now. He took a look at the dying boy who was so full of life and had to be forced to bed barely 4 hours ago. He didn't know what to do. " Let's ask the neighbours for help", Clara Z said. And so it began, they knocked from door to door, none of the neighbours responded. With no option left, they called an ambulance and kept praying as they waited. Praying not to lose their son.

After 15 minutes that felt like an hour, they heard the siren, "waw waw wawwww" in a distance, the ambulance arrived. It was already 2:45am and Josh Z was barely hanging on. He was rushed to the nearest specialist hospital where the doctors and nurses were already waiting for him. They took his blood sample, ran some tests and placed in on treatment. "If you had come in 10 minutes later, it would have been too late", Dr Tim said to the anxious family.

The ambulance

Josh Z spent a week in the hospital with his relatives taking shifts attending to him. None of the neighbours ever visited. None of them called. None of them ever asked what happened that night.

"I will never forget how I almost lost my life to their callousness" Josh Z vows.