I neither saw nor heard her when I walked in the door, as I did every day after a seemingly interminable bus ride. I wandered through the kitchen, finally saw my mother in the bathroom. She was kneeling beside the tub, and in it was a pool of blood.

I think I would have stood frozen forever if it were not for Lucy, the scrappiest of the four dogs. She bludgeoned her nose into my half clutched palm, and gave a couple licks. I slowly pulled my face towards her with my eyes, and she entered my consciousness sitting nervously and wagging her tail.

That’s when everything went dark.

I awoke moments later thrashing in thick, dark water. My hands and arms were restrained, and I was choking on my own lungs. Warm chunks of what felt like sticks and foam were all over me. My eyes were stinging but I got my head up I opened them. Everything was red, and white tiles were surrounding me. I realized then that I was in the bathtub.

Something was holding my leg down. I couldn’t breathe and I vomited. I was horrified.