There are these fleeting moments when everything can change.
You could be just sitting in a car when an idea comes to mind – what if we crash?
Highly unlikely, of course. But still, it could happen. You regard the scene in front of you – leg stretched out on the dashboard, other cars racing by, road stretching seemingly endlessly in front of you. The wind from the open window whips by, lifting your hair in its insistent fingers, as you picture how it could happen.
The car in front of you stops short – you cannot stop in time – the front of your car collides with theirs. There is a screeching of tires, a scraping of metal, unearthly screams of the doomed. You watch in horror as your leg folds in upon itself, shattering completely, in mere seconds.
Everything changes in the blink of an eye.
A car cuts you off as you contemplate this, and you catch your breath. The scene you pictured flashes through your head at warp speed, but the car pulls ahead. Your driver curses the other, but carries on as usual. Your racing heart does not settle as quickly. What if that had actually happened?
You think back to the school day, when you had teased someone about not letting you borrow money. “What if I died tonight, and you hadn’t given me those five dollars? Wouldn’t you feel bad?”
People from your class parade by – some crying, others stoic, others uncomfortable. Thoughts fly through their heads – she didn’t take that joke seriously, did she? Did I say anything mean eighth period? Was she really pissed at me, or just pretending?
A five-dollar bill floats down from the hand of a passerby, landing in the soft velvet of your coffin.
You smile sadly. The car stops, and you give a start. “We’re here,” the driver says, stepping out of the car.
You follow.
Nothing changed.