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Headlights

An unexpected turn of events for the worst.

By: David Cornett

Headlights

My key turns right into the ignition. The last vehicle in the parking lot, I leave late again for the third night in row now. The only thing on my mind is getting a nice cold drink and relaxing. I push the volume knob, rotate it to high and step on the gas.

As I start driving home my phone vibrates from a text message.

“It’s grandpa, I almost forgot, ” I say to myself.

If it wasn’t for him I would have completely forgotten about dinner. He would have been a little upset if I had forgotten to show up. But, I try to maintain my status as the dependable grandson! He has done so much for me and has been a contributing factor on how I am today. Admittedly I’m not the greatest man ever, but I try. Whether it’s investing my time into someone’s life or helping a random person do a simple task, I try to help. I need to be more dependable for my family and friends who count on me, though. I often take the ones closest to me for granted.

My favorite song comes on my cd. Immediately I am stuck in a trance. Visions of where I see myself in life appear. Happiness, success and fun are all I see. I’ll have a successful business. I will be working from home and relaxing most of the day. I will own a beautiful ocean view home. There will be frequent rides to the beach. Laying on the beach, my skin will be warm and tanned. I will be holding a cool refreshment, looking out into the ocean’s horizons and will drift off with the warm sand encompassing my feet.

“Okay!” I tell myself.

“I’m on the road, ” I finish.

Passing the lights into the city, I keep driving. The sky is dark and gloomy. An almost ominous vibe passes through my body. Several headlights pass by me and I almost instantly feel alone. There are people around, but I feel like even if I screamed no one could hear me.

Coming up to my grandpa’s road, excitement is kicking in.

I slowly stop at the left turn. There is no light, I just have to wait for the traffic to end. The vision around me is engulfed in darkness. The only lights are from my headlights and from the other drivers’ headlights.

One. Two. Three. Four cars go pass by me. I look ahead to see if any others are coming my way. Only in the distance there are headlights. My foot is off the brake. My hand is on the wheel. Then I turn the wheel left and press my foot on the accelerator.

Suddenly, like a steaming locomotive, headlights come barreling towards me. No time to react or think.

“Huh, ” I murmured.

There is nothing, just nothing. Sound is nonexistent here. Everything is. There is no life, death, pain, or joy. It is no place of dreams either. This place is unlike any other I have been before. It is an absolute absence of everything.

All I hear is my ears ringing.

As my vision fades back in, I realize this is life.

“What the hell happened?” I mutter to myself as I moaned from the shock.

Smoke is flooding out of the dashboard. The dashboard is jutted out towards my face. The music is off. The windows look like crystals, because they are smashed in. The doors are clamped shut. So are the side door windows. The center console is pressed in towards my right leg. The front of my truck is smashed in as well. It looks as though it is a crumpled piece of paper. This once strong vehicle is now frail and broken.

Someone knocks on the passenger side window. Popping out of the darkness is a tall muscle-bound man. Then I gaze upwards and see his face. It’s my friend Allen from work! I just saw and talked to him today.

“Are you okay buddy?” he asks with a worried facial expression.

“Could be better, ” I say back to him.

“I’m going to get you out!” he exclaims, and then continues, “Hold on buddy.”


As I focus my attention on what is happening, I begin to grasp what has been, and is continuing to transpire. A drop of blood drips off of my head like a faucet with a leak. Placing my hand on my forehead over the cut, I smear the blood on my hand so it stops dripping. I move my arms around and squeeze them to detect if anything is broken. One of my worst phobias is broken bones. I then examine the rest of my body. I move my left leg. I extend it and twist it at my knee. There are no signs of anything wrong. I try to move my right.

“Oh man...” I say worriedly.

My leg doesn’t move. I place my left hand under my knee and the right over my upper shin, hoping that it might help in recovering my mobility.

Nothing. My leg being completely limp. I start freaking out. It is a plaster mold made of jello. It feels unattached to my body. No pain has struck me yet.

Allen breaks open the driver side door.

“Are you injured anywhere?” he asks.

“I can’t move my leg, ” I say back to him.

“We’ll get you help soon David.” he replies.

A man comes up to me with the door ajar. He must have seen the collision or at least saw the destructive seen that it caused.

“May I pray for you?” the man asks.

“Yes, ” I reply.

The man lowers his head and then prays for me. When he speaks to me he displays exuberant confidence. The words just flow off of his tongue like he has been in a similar scenario before.

“You will get better, ” he says, while slowly walking away.

I am kind of in shock from what was just transpiring. This person comes up to me unknowing of the circumstances to help make my ordeal better. I don’t know if I could do that for someone in need.

Out of nowhere an ambulance pulls up about ten yards from my truck. Two men and one woman hurried towards me with the stretcher. As soon as they grabbed me and pull me out my leg felt as though sharp spikes were piecing it right through the bone. I moaned in agony. But this is my fate, so I accept it and allow them to help me, no matter how painful it may be. The workers lock up the ambulance and we are off to the hospital. Every bump in the road sends shock waves through my leg.

We finally get to the hospital. I am pumped with morphine and I’m beginning to get drowsy. The doctors come in and take me to the x-ray room. Every move I make sends a jolts of pain through my body. They help me onto the stretcher and pain flows through my body like a shock of electricity. Finally, we get to the room and take the x-rays.

Back in my room the doctors come in to give me the analysis. It’s a broken femur and a partially dislocated hip. It is not too surprising to me. The doctors say they will come in later to set my leg and hip. So. I patently wait.

In my room I am asked if I want to call someone. I almost forgot. I call my grandpa and tell him what happened and where I’m at. He shows up very soon after our conversation. Then my friends mother shows up. It’s Mrs. Karen! Then my friends Mike, Trevor, Pat, and Aaron walk into the room.

“Wow, thanks for coming everyone, ” I say, overwhelmed.

I can’t believe all of these people are here with me right now. I don’t know how they even knew that I was in a car accident and where I was. I am almost paralyzed in amazement of how this has all developed. Words seem to escape me. Thoughts of my circumstances don’t even cross my mind at this moment. All I know is I love my friends and family.