Juggernaut

Her back felt like a juggernaut had hit her in the night.

Winnie turned over, not quite sure how she was going to get out of the bed. One stretch of her spine, sent her into reels of pain. With deep breaths, she slowly manoeuvred into a comfortable position.

She needed to call in sick, but that wasn’t an option. At least if she went to work, they could see she wasn’t making it up. Another try, and she managed to sit up. Another deep, exhausting breath, and she was finally in a standing position.

Clothes were a problem, but with her back angled in a certain way, the pain wasn’t quite so bad. Trousers, blouse, and she hobbled into the bathroom, her back arched downwards, she held on to the rail to get downstairs.

Naproxen, two tablets, and she took them with a cup of coffee. Driving to work wouldn’t be too bad, but getting in and out of the car, not so great. It wasn’t so bad really, and she would be sitting down for most of the day anyway.

‘You’re in, finally!’ her boss said, as she struggled in the room.

Trying not to swear, she apologised. ‘Sorry, hurt my back last night.’

She didn’t expect him to send her home, and heaved her body into the chair, finally feeling a bit more human.