Accident

With a deafening bang going through Jan’s entire body, the young man’s face hits the exploding airbags. For a second that feels like a minute, everything goes dark. …

Background Hohenlimburg is a suburb of 29245 people (as of 2013) belonging to the city of Hagen, located in the federal state of North-Rhine Westphalia 21km/13mi south of Dortmund and 63km/39mi northeast of Cologne (both measurements in linear distance).

To one named Unknown, nevertheless most important, your imprint will last with me, even after I forget. A candle lit, for the fire abruptly cut-off, maybe with a moment notice or none. More than a minute silence, by shock and for respect, for a voice never heard here again. For the bereaved Ones, relatives by blood and love and more, blissfully ignorant until painfully aware, bad news that will shatter and break.

“Why did you run from the accident?” “Sir turn around and face the car. Put all your stuff on the car there?” I put my Ocean State Job Lot plastic bag on top of the gray police car bonnet. A freshly purchased checkerboard and a receipt are its only contents…

All I could think about was to get back into a car and drive — It was a warm, sunny day in late spring. I was working as a field biologist and used to drive a 4WD to the places where I was collecting data. That day, I had just finished my morning tasks and was driving back to the house that served as the…

This Uber is taking forever, or is it a Lyft? I can’t tell. I look over, my girlfriend, Abby, is with me. She’s the reason I got so drunk. I drank her alcohol because I didn’t want her to get wasted. We have a complicated relationship. She was very promiscuous…