“It’s all right. I’ve gotcha,” said a man, and I felt myself being dragged on my stomach, away from the hole in the floor.

“No! It’s my mum! My mum is down there! I’ve got to help her!”

I spun around and faced the health and safety man. He held tightly on to my arms.

“It’s all right, we will help her. But you ain’t going to be any help if you fall in as well, are you?”

I sat there, stunned, as the man got down on his hands and knees and crawled toward the hole. “Hello? Hello, can you hear me? My name’s Colin. Are you okay?”

I could hear coughing. My mum was coughing.

“I think … I think I’ve broken … I’ve broken my leg … I fell through the floor. I fell through … I’m so cold … I need water …”

Her voice sounded strange. The words were slurring into each other.

“You just sit tight and we’ll get help. Don’t you move and don’t you panic. We’ll get you out of there!”

Colin edged away and then he fumbled in a pocket of his bright, fluorescent jacket.

“My son! Nate! Nate, are you there?”

I stood up and Colin put his hand on my shoulder, making sure I didn’t go any closer.

“I’m here, Mum. I’m fine!” I shouted.

“I’m going to take your boy outside where it’s safer, and I’ll phone for help. I’ll be right back, I promise!”

I shook the man’s hand away. “No! I’m not going anywhere.”

Mum coughed again. “Nate, do as he says. Please …” And her voice faded away.

Colin held my arm and we walked back outside as he called an ambulance. He then got a bottle of water and some cookies from his car and grabbed a thick coat from the back seat.

“Right, you sit in my car and keep warm. I’m going to go and drop these down to your mum, and I’m going to keep her talking until help gets here. Okay?”

I studied Colin’s face carefully. He looked a bit flustered, but I could tell he was doing his best. And he had kind eyes. I nodded. And then he shut the car door and I waited.

Everything went a bit crazy after they rescued Mum. I opened the car door to try to see what was going on, but a police officer told me to wait there. She sat with me for a while, telling me my mum was going to be fine and that they’d phoned my grandma, who was on her way. Eventually the paramedics appeared, carrying Mum on a stretcher. I could see a silver foil blanket over her and some other red ones on top of that. I didn’t care what the policewoman said—I dove out of the car.

“Mum! Mum? Are you okay?” I said, running over to the stretcher.

The paramedic had placed a small plastic mask over her face. I could see she had blood running down her cheek. Her eyes were shut. She looked so cold and pale.

“Mum! Mum, it’s me!”

One of the paramedics put an arm on my shoulder and was talking to me, but I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I just wanted my mum to open her eyes.

“Mum! Wake up!”