Name: Luthando Ndlovu Grade: 12 Topic: English Blended Narrative Essay

Conflict Descriptive Blended Essay:

TITLE: Whispers of Solace
"Peace is not the absence of conflict, but the ability to cope with it." - Mahatma Ghandi

During moments of intense frustration and anger, an overwhelming urge to cry takes
hold of me. Standing amidst a crossroads of inner turmoil, I find myself caught
between the need to express my feeling and the fear of exposing the depths of my
pain

As I stand by my mother, Gloria’s, hospital bedside, my eyes meet her empty gaze,
and I become engulfed in a storm of emotions that threaten to break through the
fragile barrier I have constructed. The uncomfortable irritation in my eyes, battle to
suppress the impending tears that threaten to escape from my eyelids, with the
intent to stifle every word and sound that will get lost in the white sterile walls of her
hospital room. And the erratic beating of my heart mirrors the thoughts I yearn to let
out - something…anything that will block out the restless hum of hospital machinery
and the IV’’s drip. Yet these words remain trapped behind clenched teeth when I am
caught in the trap of her void gaze. So, what other alternative do I have, but to keep
the peace and remain silent?

If you were to overlook the trays of untouched food, you would find a clipboard that
holds her clinical details - her name, age, and the condition that led her to the
hospital; Gloria Rosetta Smith, it will say, 40 years of age, suffered from hypovolemic
shock. Yet it fails to capture the emotional anguish that brought her here - a
grief-stricken wife who lost her husband just months ago and abandoned her only
child to try to be with him.

I am not taken by surprise by the unfortunate turn of events. At the back of my mind,
it makes me think of one of the sessions I had with my school psychologist, Miss
Isaac, on the first day of school after my father’s funeral. She held my hands gently
with the practised strokes of a woman who is passionate about her job. She told me,
“ Grief takes on different forms Everleigh, it can grapple you and put you in a
chokehold that won’t allow you to take the refreshing breath of air that is life. To
Name: Luthando Ndlovu Grade: 12 Topic: English Blended Narrative Essay

confront your father's loss, anchor yourself to the small joys in your life that make it
worth it.” Was I not good enough to make her stay with me?

The realisation settles over me like a heavy fog, a constant companion during these
hard times. The memories of happier days, when our family was whole and laughter
echoed through our home, now feel like distant dreams from a life that was never
truly mine. I am haunted by the boisterous laughter and tender embrace of my father,
a reminder that I was once cherished within my family. But now, with his absence, I
am left to navigate these ruins alone.

In this instance of tension, I am posed with a choice - to break the stillness around us
or endure it. I yearn to close the distance between us , to mend the frayed parts of
our relationship. Yet, I hesitate with the fear of her rejecting me and the confirmation
that now, i have lost two parents within the span of one year.

As I stand by her side. I hear the rustle of bedsheets and the weak cough escaping
my mother’s lips. She attempts to pull her lips into a smile that fails and ends up
looking pained. “ Hey Vivi...I am so sorry that momma had to scare you like that..I
seemed to scare myself too.” A sudden type of emotion takes up the space of the
empty despair that was there before. With a cracking voice she says, “ I never
thought to ask how you were talking.”For the first time, standing in the room, I
allowed tears to trickle down my face, “ I miss him Ma. I miss him so much”. Tears
moisten her eyes now, and with a faint smile she responds, “ I miss him too baby. I
miss him too.”

Word count: 666