the accident

Who: Janey
When: Morning
Where: On the streets of the city

Janey had gone to the cathedral early that morning to deliver a few pies and some muffins. Mrs. Sterling, one of the older women in the church, had died, and her family was hosting a luncheon in her honor. Janey hadn’t known the woman or her family well enough to feel comfortable attending, but contributing a few baked goods always made her feel she was doing her duty for the church.

After a little over an hour of prayer, she was making her way to the soup kitchen. She figured it’d be a good day to volunteer; she was in the middle of town already and feeling in a better mood than usual. She’d slept without nightmares and for the first time in a long time, she felt energized and didn’t have even a hint of a headache.

She approached a busy intersection that she’d have to cross two ways, undecided which to cross first. But just as she reached the corner, she saw the light for oncoming traffic turn to red. Perfect—one less decision for her to make. As she stepped into the street, she raised her left hand to brush her hair off her cheeks. The sun off of her wedding ring glinted unusually bright, then there was a rush of chaotic noise, and then tires squealed, car doors slammed, and voices rang out. “What happened?”
“Somebody call an ambulance!”
“Who is it?”

Janey couldn’t figure out what was going on. Everything had gone completely dark, almost as if the sun had been eclipsed, but she couldn’t even see shadows or outlines of anything or anyone. She heard the pounding of footsteps on the pavement, very close by, and a man’s voice.

“I didn’t have time to brake, the damn light never turned yellow! Has somebody called the ambulance? Give her some space, some room to breathe! Lady, can you hear me? Miss?”

There was desperation behind the tone of the man’s voice. As she listened, Janey began to notice a strange sensation in her lower right side, a throbbing ache punctuated by a few points of sharp pain. What the hell is going on? She tried to speak, to ask the question, but she couldn’t seem to make her voice work. She was suddenly overcome with drowsiness, and she wished all the noise would just stop so she could get some sleep.