Seatbelt (1159 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.93 on 20 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Ben (View user info) at 2005-09-24 13:27:34 EDT
It happened again yesterday.
I was walking down the street, I heard the squeal of brakes, and I passed out. It's become so bothersome, and common, now, that I think I just might go talk to someone, although that would be redundant at this point...I mean, I'm writing about it on an online forum, and all I have to show for it is the ache of the carpal tunnel in my left wrist...besides, the head-shrinks didn't help the first two times around, how will it be different this time?
I used to think that it was the shock of watching them all go in such a horrible way that freaked me out so much near cars, but now that I look back at it, I know deep down that it was partially my fault, which is why I still can't control myself enough to drive, or even cross a busy street. It's been nearly two years, and I still can't get over how sudden everything was, and how empty it's been since.
We were visiting my aunt, who lived in a small suburb of Berlin, from which she commuted to the Maccabi International Building in Berlin daily, in fact, we were about to go to her office to see exactly what she did (she got to travel all around the world and repossess buildings that used to be owned and operated by Jews as synagogues, schools, gymnasiums, etc, but are now run/owned by non-Jewish organizations that got the buildings mainly through the Germans during World War II). We all got into our rental car, just big enough for all of us: my dad, mom, sister, aunt, and me. I was sitting back right, because I was the tallest one in the family, and thus I got all the leg space my mom didn't use. The fastest way to get to my aunt's office was to take the Autobahn and turn off on the second exit, which is actually what my dad and aunt were discussing while my sister and I fought in the back over who got the arm rest built in between the middle and the right seat.
We finally all got settled into our small, yet cozy, rented Mercedes, and shot off towards the Autobahn.
Ten minutes later my whole family was dead.
As soon as we got onto the Autobahn, I knew something was wrong. My dad was always a phenomenal driver, and it always upset me that I took after my mom and was awful at it, which is why I immediately noticed that his slow drift back and forth was not one of his usual antics, but something different. Before I had the chance to ask him what he was doing messing around like that at 250 kph, the car lurched off the road, flipped twice in the ditch, and finally came to rest against a tree, with the left front tire still spinning against the trunk, slowly peeling the bark off to expose the naked wood of the tree.
I was told after they brought me to that my dad suffered from a heart attack, pretty much just as he merged into the lane that would bring us to our exit, lost control of the car, hit the ditch, and then everything else was a chain reaction. I don't even want to think about how the airbag probably smothered my mother, the seatbelt cut my sister, and the slightly open window shattered into my aunt. How I escaped with only an injured left wrist and a bruised neck, I will never understand.
I was also told that it would have been a lot less severe, and that everyone would have come out unscathed if the car had been going only 50 kph slower.
I'm the one that urged my dad to bring it up to full speed, despite the fact that I noticed his drifting.
I've been living alone for some time, now, since I was already a legal adult when it happened. My parents only said in their will that if anything should happen to them, that my sister and I would live with our aunt. There was no clause for what would happen if she died with them.
I honestly don't know how I managed to finish school, or force myself to work over the summer. My friends all distanced themselves from me when they found out. The only relief I got was when night slowly crept into the house. My insomnia prevented me from dreaming about it, but my sleep-deprived delirium colored all my thoughts with a light fuzz that made me think my brain was rotting--a definite distraction from my room, in my parents' home, all by myself.
I've been getting better, though, I'm actually able to talk about it, and writing it all down is a definite step forward. I think I'll actually be honest with my doctor this week, maybe show this to him. Hopefully, I'll be able to drive by next summer, because I promised my roommate that we could road trip together.
I still haven't told him.
User Reviews
Submitted by sideshow (user info) at 2006-08-30 18:55:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Antioxident (user info) at 2006-08-30 08:25:37 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by ThineJericho (user info) at 2005-12-18 02:40:18 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by inkursion (user info) at 2005-09-25 16:51:57 (#)
Ranking: 2
Hoping this is fictitious.
If not...
"fuck".
=======================
If it is fictious, great writing...if not, well, I'm sorry to hear that.
Submitted by rockdocc (user info) at 2006-08-30 08:37:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Antioxident (user info) at 2006-08-30 08:25:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by ThineJericho (user info) at 2005-12-18 02:40:18 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by inkursion (user info) at 2005-09-25 16:51:57 (#)
Ranking: 2
Hoping this is fictitious.
If not...
"fuck".
Submitted by ThineJericho (user info) at 2005-12-18 02:40:18 EST (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by inkursion (user info) at 2005-09-25 16:51:57 (#)
Ranking: 2
Hoping this is fictitious.
If not...
"fuck".
Submitted by mcgee3394 (user info) at 2005-09-25 19:54:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2005-09-25 19:25:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
excellent
Submitted by inkursion (user info) at 2005-09-25 16:51:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hoping this is fictitious.
If not...
"fuck".
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-09-25 14:45:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I really hope this isn't true. But it was well-written, whatever it was.
Submitted by Dante_Alighieri (user info) at 2005-09-24 21:46:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'll mourn for your family. That's awful.
Submitted by alfakyle (user info) at 2005-09-24 19:09:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Read it twice. Then once more. That made three times.
Submitted by Circe (user info) at 2005-09-24 18:39:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
250 kph?
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2005-09-24 17:56:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Stin (user info) at 2005-09-24 16:19:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck.
Submitted by STIXS (user info) at 2005-09-24 14:30:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Oddly enough, yes.
Submitted by Whiplash (user info) at 2005-09-24 14:26:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
That help?
Submitted by Whiplash (user info) at 2005-09-24 14:25:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't think of anything comforting to say.
UR HWAT
UR HELLA CUET
LEMME GET YR DIGITS?
Submitted by STIXS (user info) at 2005-09-24 14:09:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Bubba, your reviews are always grade A. That's why I continue to write...
Submitted by FilthyAssistant (user info) at 2005-09-24 13:55:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Last line.
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2005-09-24 13:52:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Q: Is this true?
A: God, I hope not.
Q: What happens when we die?
a: wE GO TO uBER AND GET -2ED. . . ..
Submitted by c1ndy (user info) at 2005-09-24 13:47:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
great