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As If You Would Understand |
| Written by Taylor | |
| Thursday, 10 April 2008 | |
Driving home in the dark was always a fun thing for Eli. Especially after a long day, and even more after a productive day. It was so eerie and mysterious driving on a deserted road lit with a soft, dull yellowish light that contrasted the dusty blue of the sky and allowed the trees to have such impossible shadows that stretched across the road, grabbing for something nonexistent on the other side. And they were hungry shadows. Eli wondered if the shadows even knew what they were grabbing for. His headlights searched for the reflection of fox eyes, hiding in the same shadows. This particular road was strange to Eli. He had only driven on it once or twice, and in the day time. Under the cover of night, it looked completely different. Now, Eli was a very safe driver, but tonight, the scenery around him had more of his attention than the road in front of him. For every 2 seconds he spent looking at trees, he spent one looking for his next turn. After cruising for a few minutes, Eli spied the turn from a distance. It was more of a sharp curve in the road that happened to meld into the other street. For some reason there were a few more cars on this road - the traffic heading both directions, in and out of the shadows. Eli slowly depressed the break pedal to check for traffic and safely make the turn, but there was little response from the car. Not one to panic (he was a man, after all), he down-shifted and pulled up the parking break. The car down-shifted but the parking break did nothing. Still able to keep his composure, Eli decided to take the turn as best he could and hopefully avoid any other cars. Of course the timing was perfect, but against him. Two cars burst out from the shadows just as he was making his turn. He missed the first and was able to just barely nudge the second. Eli had little control of the car after that, but he managed to keep it on the road. Ahead was a street that was going up a hill-a chance to slow down and stop to check on the other driver, as he wasn't sure the other driver hadn't lost control. The street was the entrance to a neighborhood and the car managed to stop just at the top of the hill. Eli turned off the car and put it in first gear so it wouldn't roll away. His pocket vibrated-his mother is calling. "Mom? Hey, I just got into a small accident so I'll be a little late. But don't worry about me it's no big deal. Yes. It's just off highway 20 a little way. Okay, I'll let you know if I need any help." He hung up and was preparing to call police as he stepped out of the car. The area was strangely well lit, and there were several people nearby, as well as a heavy flow of traffic coming into the neighborhood. Music. Eli heard voices coming from the front of a house that was facing the highway. "Get her out! Help me get her out!" "Come on people! Don't just stand there!" There were cries as Eli rounded the corner and the scene opened up before him, bathed in bright light. A crowd formed a semi-circle around a black car, upside-down, the driver's side crushed. And close by, a young man sitting with legs spread supported the weight of a gray-haired woman. She looked as if she was trying to gaze into the stars, but they were blocked by the light. A man and woman were trying to help the young man comfort the old lady, but they were moving in slow motion. Their words were drawn out, and many other people were quietly sobbing, and Eli found he was one of them. This was his fault, after all. The children stood quietly, not fully understanding what was happening. "Better go get Jessica," one man muttered and finished his sentence with "oh" as a small girl wearing a colorful cone on her head appeared. She stood silent, close to the dying woman, clutching a stuffed animal that had a bow tied around its neck. The dying woman closed and opened her eyes as she coughed. There was no blood to be seen. Her hands reached towards the sky and the girl leaned in close to the woman's face. The old woman's arms wrapped around the girl's neck and she whispered something in her ear, and then dropped her head back into the young man's lap. The girl had had enough and faded backwards the way she came. The people were moving around hugging each other, trying to hold back tears as best they could. They seemed to be family. Not many were able to look at the dying woman lying in the grass. The old woman's chest moved up and down so slowly it was difficult to tell if she was breathing, the young man's frown directed the tears down his chin. An ambulance was approaching, along with several police cars. Eli turned around to find his mother walking up behind him. "It was me, Mom!" he said crying as his mother pulled him in for a hug. "Look what I did. This is my fault." The old lady coughed again, lifted her head, and with a strained voice, yelled her last words at the sky, "Why so alone?" With that, she dropped weightless onto the young man, whose face was now made of stone. And nobody breathed. And nobody moved. A policeman finally pulled the man to his feet and paramedics took his place. Still staring at the now dead woman, Eli mumbled, "Mom, nobody knows I did this. Nobody knows I hit her and made her crash. Nobody knows this is my fault." "I have my car," she answers. Mother and son turned their backs on the party and drove home, moving swiftly in and out of the shadows. Copyright 2008 Taylor |
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