Broken by Oliver T Spedding Page A

I
crossed the passage and carefully peered into the
bathroom.
    Aunty Rose
lay on the wet tiled floor in a foetal position, completely naked.
Her back, shoulders, arms, neck and head were an angry red colour
and covered with mass of large white blisters. Above the sound of
the water pouring into the overfull bath I could hear her
whimpering softly. I stepped into the room and closed the tap. In
the silence that followed I stepped back and looked down at the
figure lying on the floor, trying to understand what had happened.
The only thing I could think of was that Aunty Rose had slipped
while leaning over the bath to turn off the hot water tap and had
fallen face-first into the scalding liquid. Somehow she must have
been able to pull herself out of the bath and had collapsed onto
the floor.
    I stood and
stared down at my aunt unfeelingly and wondering what to do. I had
no knowledge of first-aid and couldn’t even gauge how badly she was
burnt. After a few minutes I left the bathroom and hurried back to
my bedroom. I had forgotten that my computer was still open on the
porno website. I disconnected from the site, carefully deleted the
history of the websites that I’d visited and disconnected from the
internet. I switched off the computer and walked back to the
bathroom.
    My aunt still
lay on the wet floor, whimpering softly. I shrugged my shoulders
and went to the kitchen. I poured myself a glass of milk and stood
drinking it as I contemplated what to do. Obviously my aunt needed
help. I finished my drink and walked along the passageway to her
bedroom. On the small table next the bed was a landline telephone
and a small directory. I looked up the number of the nearby
hospital and reached for my cell ‘phone. I was about to punch in
the hospital’s number when I realised that I would be using my own
precious airtime. I put my ‘phone back into my trouser pocket and
lifted the receiver of the ‘phone on the table. I dialled the
hospital’s number.
    “ My aunt
seems to have accidentally fallen into a bath of hot water.” I told
the woman who answered the ‘phone. “She’s lying on the floor in the
bathroom and most of her upper body is covered in blisters. What
must I do?”
    “ Where are
you?” the woman asked.
    “ I’m at my
aunt’s house.” I said.
    “ Yes, but
where is the house? What’s the street address?” the woman
asked.
    “ Number
eighty nine Zinnia Street.” I said.
    “ I’ll arrange
for an ambulance to go there immediately.” the woman said. "In the
mean time, don’t touch your aunt. Make sure that the front door of
the house is open so that when the ambulance arrives the medics can
go straight to your aunt. Do you understand?”
    “ Yes.” I said
and put down the receiver.
    I left the bedroom and went back
to the kitchen. As I passed the bathroom I noticed that my aunt had
stopped whimpering.
    “ Are you
alright, Aunty Rose?” I asked.
    There was no reply.
    I went into the kitchen and
poured myself another glass of milk. As I drank the cold liquid my
mind went back to the pornography that I had been watching and I
felt myself begin to harden. Then I heard the distant wail of the
approaching ambulance. I put down the glass of milk and walked
along the passageway to the front door. I unlocked it and opened
it.
    The ambulance
arrived in front of the house, its siren screaming. Two men in dark
blue overalls with yellow trim climbed out and dashed into the
house. Another two men hurried to the back of the vehicle and
opened the doors. Nobody took any notice of me. I heard the men in
the bathroom talking anxiously. I went back to the kitchen and
drank the rest of my glass of milk. I sat down at the table and
listened to the medics in the bathroom. I watched the other two men
enter the house wheeling a stretcher and carrying a large gas
cylinder. I heard them lift my aunt onto the stretcher and begin
wheeling it out of the bathroom and along the passageway towards
the front door. A woman wearing