Crash.

It had been a bad day, and I was in no mood for the traffic jam which met me on my way home from work. It was already late, later then I usually left the office and I suppose that was part of what contributed to my lack of patience. As I sat in my car, the heating turned right up, I couldn’t help feeling bitter, it hadn’t just been a bad day, but a bad week. In fact, if I thought back I couldn’t remember the last time a week hadn’t been a ‘bad one’, I must have been having a bad year.

I turned the radio on, but after just a few minutes of listening to the chattering presenter on my favourite station I decided I was in no mood for listening to talk and put on a CD instead. I hadn’t changed the CD in a while and I gave a half groan as Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata began to play through the speakers; it was all I had with me however and with a sigh I tried to relax and just enjoy the classical music. Around me other commuters were fiddling with the dials on their radios, faces a blank mask of boredom. I laughed to myself but it was an expression of mingled exhaustion and disgust. Here we all sat in stationary cars, living our lives. Because this was it �" the great gift �" life itself, in all its relentless glory. My fingers turned white against the steering wheel, as I resisted the urge to beat my fists like a discontented child.

The traffic began to move, vehicles edging forwards, inch by endless inch. I moved with the rest, fighting my way past in seeming slow motion as the road narrowed into a single lane, and we all fought for space. The track was coming to an end and I tried to remember what else I had put on the mix. Satie. My silent question was answered as the opening bar to my favourite piece began. I stared idly at the CD player as I tried to remember the name of the track, it was a French name beginning with a G but that was all I could recall.

The next second I was woken from my reverie by the sound of a car horn behind me, I jumped and looked up to see the traffic had moved on, unnoticed to me as I sat distracted. Embarrassed I drove quickly forwards, seeing too late the bicycle that had pulled out. I swerved to avoid him and on the icy road found myself sliding, wheels spinning uncontrollably. I was headed for the guard separating this road from the one beside it and I had time only to utter a single four letter word before I was up and over the barrier, straight into the oncoming traffic. I was hit, and the car began to roll. The airbag deployed, in an attempt to save my life that felt exactly like a punch in the face.

Within seconds I was still, the car having landed in the ditch at the side of the road. For a moment all I could hear was silence, and then like the breath that came rushing between my lips, sound returned and the world was a mess of confused noises. Through it all I could still hear the quiet music, sickeningly sweet to my aching ears. As I listened, the pain so great it was bearable, I looked up. I could just make out the twinkling stars through the shattered windscreen but as the blood ran into my eyes and stole my sight, I couldn’t help feeling a slight disappointment at still not having remembered the name of the track.

Luckily I was unconscious before I could realise the ‘stars’ were headlights.

Reviews

[SR Urie]

Hiya Cassidy,
'Moonlight Senata' on the freeway and saving some moron on a bicycle by wrecking your own car; you are to be congratulated as a hero, at least by those of us who get to read about it. Excellent setting and plot description, except I'm curious if anybody else ran into the idiot on the bike. Exquisitely structured text, compelling me as the reader to look forward to the next paragraph. Tell me, do you do cyber??? (just kidding)
I've very impressed with your write here, and I hope to see more. Good freaking job!! BZ

[EMP]

shitttt claire this is frickin awesome! good gosh you're truly amazing in every word that you write! the detail "faces, a blank mask of boredom". it paints such fantastic imagery... oh i love it *adds to favourites* i feel embarrassed with mine now -_-