Page 7 of Secrets of Riverside

Ebony clapped her hands together, making Millie jump as if a gun had just gone off. ‘You right, Little Miss Jittery?’

Her hand on her chest, Millie chuckled. ‘At the very least you’ve kickstarted my heart.’

‘Sorry about that.’ Ebony brushed a kiss on her cheek as she skipped past. ‘Come on, Mills, you got this.’

‘Woooh, yeah, I do,’ Millie tried to say as enthusiastically as she could.

They hit the walkway at a brisk walk, chatting about Ebony’s heavy workload, and Millie’s lack of, followed by their latest television favourites and Ebony’s upcoming two-month-long African safari. For the first little bit, with her lungs and legs playing nice, Millie could see the logic in this power-walking malarky, especially so early in the day. The lightening sky was pretty with the sun languidly rising, and there weren’t too many people about. She had to admit that she felt a bubble of goodness, somewhere deep down in her belly, steadily rising, making her ready to face this athletic challenge with refreshing vigour.

‘You know what, Ebs, I can’t believe I’m about to say this out loud, but I think I like this exercise thingamajig.’

‘Yay!’ Grinning widely, Ebony looped an arm through Millie’s as they power-walked onwards. ‘This means that you can start joining me more often.’

Nodding, Millie matched her grin. ‘Yeah, maybe, I mean,’ she shrugged, ‘stranger things have happened, hey?’

But a few kilometres in and her enthusiasm didn’t last as they headed uphill, and she began to suck in tortured breaths, while Ebony was basically skipping beside her with her breath steady and even.

‘Oh, my goodness, I didn’t know I was this unfit.’ Hands planted on her hips, Millie grimaced, but she pushed on.

‘Oh, hon, do you want to stop for a bit?’ Ebony offered a sympathetic glance. ‘You’re looking a bit red in the face.’

‘Nope, it’s all good in the hood, my friend, I got this.’ She tried to sound convincing, if not for Ebony, then for herself. ‘I reckon I’ll be running before we know it.’

‘That’s the spirit.’ Ebony punched the air. ‘In that case, do you want to try and shuffle those feet of yours a little faster? Maybe work up to a jog?’

Was she kidding?

‘I’m going to die anyway, so why the hell not?’ Millie replied, ignoring her inner voice of reason that was mocking her stubborn stupidity.

‘Woohoo, let’s do this.’ And off Ebony went, light as a feather on her feet.

Do her very best to keep up, Millie tragically put one foot in front of the other, feeling like a dog wearing shoes. With her lungs crying out for reprieve she tried to make herself believe this would do her the world of good. Then they turned a corner, and just when she was feeling like she might make it home alive, the road became steeper.

Oh lord have mercy on my oxygen-deprived soul!

‘Come on, Millie, you got this, remember!’ Ebony called from two metres in front. ‘You’ll feel on top of the world when you’re finished.’

‘I’m a-comin’,’ she called back, breathlessly. ‘Eventually.’

As she began what felt like Mount Everest, there was a crack of thunder, and just off in the far-flung distance, grey clouds gathered with their bellies full of rain. She hoped they’d make it back before it rolled in and drenched them to the bone. You beauty! Maybe this was her excuse to go home.

No! she firmly told herself. No excuses.

Determined as hell now, she opened her mouth wider to try and draw in some much-needed oxygen. In the strangest of ways, the brisk air burnt her lungs, shockingly reminding her of a similar time her lungs had burnt, but she shook off the haunting sensation, pushed through and soldiered onwards. Harder. Stronger. Unwavering. Gritting her teeth, she looked up the narrow street, at a seemingly never-ending stretch with its vertical incline, hugged close by redbrick apartment blocks on either side, and with one almighty thrust she heaved her weary mind, body and soul upwards. As if in combat, the wind funnelled downwards, making her push even harder. She suddenly felt extremely light-headed, as though she was going to hurl at her jogger-clad feet. But onwards and upwards she went, doing her best to push through the nausea. This road, like her life, was just one big upward struggle, she thought as she put one cumbersome foot in front of the other. She could do this. She craved to prove it to herself, and Ebony.

‘Come on, Millie, you’re almost there,’ Ebony called back from the top of the rise.

It looked as though her best friend hadn’t even broken a sweat, whereas Millie felt as though she could wring her clothes out and fill a bucket. ‘Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.’ She waved her arms in the air and tried to smile.

Then, with three more steps, she was there. She’d made it. Bending over, she heaved in air, gasping as if she was asthmatic.

Ebony patted her back. ‘Good job, hon!’

‘Ha, thanks, Ebs.’ She chuckled. ‘My legs are shaking, and there’s a weird clicking noise in my right knee, but I’m alive and kicking, so that’s good.’

Ebony smiled kindly. ‘You’re way stronger than you give yourself credit for, Millie Price, in so many ways.’

‘I’m glad you think so.’ She tossed an arm over Ebony’s shoulder. ‘Sorry about my sweaty pits.’

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