Driving down the unpaved back road,
the air is warm.
Our favorite song is on the radio.
Belted high B’s and laughter fills the air.
Tomorrow we will graduate.
This is the eve of our new lives.
The woods are interrupted by the sound of his car’s motor.
The evening sky is clear and our lights show us that the road is ours.

The woods end and the open meadow lies on both sides of us.
A few miles ahead is a crossroads where either road we take, we know it by heart.
No stop sign for us, so we drive on with no hesitation.

Stop sign is run.
Headlights stare at me through my window.
No brakes screeching.
No horn blaring.
Shattered glass.
Air-borne.
Other driver’s body in the ditch, car in flames.
Our car is upside down.
His mangled body hangs next to mine.
My heart aches.
My breath is taken.
My face burns as tears run into my fresh cuts.
Our seat belts are still fastened.
I unfasten mine and crawl from my imprisonment.
I go to him.
His breath is shallow.
His pulse is faint.
I pull his previously strong body into my arms .
I drag him away from the car.
I hold his head in my hands.
I kiss his still warm lips.

Gas tank leaks, flames ignite.
Explosion.

Newspaper printed next day
Front page headline:
Crossroads Claim 3 Senior Teens