stuck in my head for a week or two.
Two cars ahead of me the brake lights flashed and the front of the car dropped.
There was nothing special about that day. It was a bit warmer than a normal October evening, but otherwise, there was nothing that set it apart from any other days that sequenced to make the 25 years I had been alive. The sky was clear, the sun was going down and the traffic was light. There was simply no reason for it.
The car in front of me managed to attempt breaking a split-second before careening into the back of the other car.
I had been inching slightly to the left, trying to see around the SUV in front me to see why traffic was slow. As soon as I could see around the edge of the SUV, the brake lights flashed on the other car. I could feel it. As soon as the lights went on I knew what was going to happen and I did nothing to avert the disaster. Unlike the SUV, even though it was too late for them, I never tried to brake. Looking back now I wonder if it would have mattered. Knowing my luck, probably not.
The crash sent pieces of plastic and glass in every direction. When I saw the car stop I swerved to my left to get out of the lane. That was why I didn’t try to stop. I should have tried to stop. A car in the next lane hit the driver’s side rear quarter of my car and spun me around sideway. I was perpendicular to the truck that hit my car and nearly split it in two. When all was said and done seven vehicles had crashed together across two lanes of east-bound traffic. I was the only one with severe injuries.
My head hurt, my left side where the ribs were broken throbbed and I had cuts and bruises on my arms and face and chest. My legs and lower back never hurt. They never hurt because when my back was broken, I became paralyzed from the waist down.
The woman who started the wreck by slamming on her brakes was trying to stop before she ran over a squirrel that had run into the road. I will no longer be able to walk because of a squirrel. I will never be able to play sports again because of a good-natured old woman. I can never drive myself anywhere ever again because someone decided to hit their brakes and I decided not to hit mine. However, I cannot blame her. Had I been in her place, I would have done the same thing.
While I write this, reliving those few moments, I look at my legs (what’s left of them) and wonder: what if I had hit the brakes? What if I had turned right instead of left? And the always present: why me? And what did I do to deserve this? But it’s all pointless. I can question it until the end of time and I will never get the answers until the end of my time.
For now all I can do is write and hope that I can get ride to where ever it is I may need to go. There had to be something or someone behind this. And one day, I’m going to find out all about it. Until then remember this: only stop for red lights. If anything runs into the street small enough to pass under your car, let it pass under it. Because even if it doesn’t make it, I’m sure whoever it was that put me in my place, has a place for it, too, somewhere.
ETC.
There was nothing special about that day. It was a bit warmer than a normal October evening, but otherwise, there was nothing that set it apart from any other days that sequenced to make the 25 years I had been alive. The sky was clear, the sun was going down and the traffic was light. There was simply no reason for it.
The car in front of me managed to attempt breaking a split-second before careening into the back of the other car.
I had been inching slightly to the left, trying to see around the SUV in front me to see why traffic was slow. As soon as I could see around the edge of the SUV, the brake lights flashed on the other car. I could feel it. As soon as the lights went on I knew what was going to happen and I did nothing to avert the disaster. Unlike the SUV, even though it was too late for them, I never tried to brake. Looking back now I wonder if it would have mattered. Knowing my luck, probably not.
The crash sent pieces of plastic and glass in every direction. When I saw the car stop I swerved to my left to get out of the lane. That was why I didn’t try to stop. I should have tried to stop. A car in the next lane hit the driver’s side rear quarter of my car and spun me around sideway. I was perpendicular to the truck that hit my car and nearly split it in two. When all was said and done seven vehicles had crashed together across two lanes of east-bound traffic. I was the only one with severe injuries.
My head hurt, my left side where the ribs were broken throbbed and I had cuts and bruises on my arms and face and chest. My legs and lower back never hurt. They never hurt because when my back was broken, I became paralyzed from the waist down.
The woman who started the wreck by slamming on her brakes was trying to stop before she ran over a squirrel that had run into the road. I will no longer be able to walk because of a squirrel. I will never be able to play sports again because of a good-natured old woman. I can never drive myself anywhere ever again because someone decided to hit their brakes and I decided not to hit mine. However, I cannot blame her. Had I been in her place, I would have done the same thing.
While I write this, reliving those few moments, I look at my legs (what’s left of them) and wonder: what if I had hit the brakes? What if I had turned right instead of left? And the always present: why me? And what did I do to deserve this? But it’s all pointless. I can question it until the end of time and I will never get the answers until the end of my time.
For now all I can do is write and hope that I can get ride to where ever it is I may need to go. There had to be something or someone behind this. And one day, I’m going to find out all about it. Until then remember this: only stop for red lights. If anything runs into the street small enough to pass under your car, let it pass under it. Because even if it doesn’t make it, I’m sure whoever it was that put me in my place, has a place for it, too, somewhere.
ETC.