If only…
“Hey! Watch where you’re going!” screams the voice in front of the runner. Hair flying everywhere, tears running down her face smearing black mascara, Alice stops at the sound of the stranger she runs into.
“I’m so sorry. I…I just don’t know where I am. Please help me!” Alice explains. Her heart pounds harder and faster with every second the stranger delays in answering. Realizing that the stranger’s attitude towards Alice was with caution, she tries again.
“My name is Alice Greene. I’ve been running, possibly in circles, for the longest time ever and I can’t seem to get out of here. First off, I apologize for running into you, again. Second, can you tell me where this place is? I’m sure it sounds crazy, and it really is. If I may ask, what’s your name?” The stranger looks directly at Alice causing her to freeze. His face looks quite familiar, she saw him before somewhere, but she can’t quite grab hold of where.
“Ok, Alice Greene, I guess it’s alright. This is Lawrence, Kansas. Yes this is truly crazy of me to be talking to you. And my name is Brian Dawne.” Brian stands rigidly in front of Alice, studying her.
“Thank you so much Brian. I’m from Nebraska—Lincoln, Nebraska, that is. I don’t know how I ended up here, but I need to get back. My family must be worried sick. Is there a phone anywhere I can use? I seem to have lost my phone,” Alice politely asks.
“Ok. That’s not so far from here. I can try to find a local phone that you can use to call your family. I just have to find my way there...” Brian paces the rectangular section of the sidewalk. Alice studies him. She had to have seen him somewhere before.
“Excuse me, where do you live?” Alice asks.
“Left, I think. No, right, and then left. Not quite sure. Oh sorry, what did you say?” Brian responds.
“Where do you live? Maybe I can use your phone instead.” Alice suggests.
“I live about a couple blocks down from here. My phone…,” He searches his pockets. From the inside of his left pocket, he pulls out an iPhone 4. It was bent in from the center, but still usable. “…is here. Strange, I just remember getting it yesterday. How come it’s all bent up?” Brian, confuse about his phone’s condition, makes a face. He looks from left to right, and front to back as if searching for something.
Ring, ring. Ring, ring. The phone rings for some while before a voice answers on the other line.
“I’m sorry. The phone you have dialed is not reachable in your area. Please try again later.” Alice tries three more times before giving up. By the time she finishes, Brian is across the street looking into a crowd. The forming circle attracts more people. Alice walks forward, snaking and pushing her way between people to the front to see the commotion. On the way Alice tries to ask what the ruckus was about.
“Excuse me sir. What is going on up there?” Alice asks. The man blindly ignores Alice and walks on. He doesn’t even flinch or look at her. Annoyance boils from within and she continues forward. Up near the front, Alice peaks behind two couples.
“Excuse me, can I get through please? I want to see what’s going on?” Alice asks with force in her voice. Without talking to Alice, the couples turn around and walk away from the scene. At the same moment, two police cars come zooming into the scene with two ambulances. Four policeman and six nurses exit from the cars.
“Please step back people. Stay back,” Commands one of the policemen. He starts blocking off the accident scene with the yellow caution tape. People start to back away from all-around while some people push forward to get a look of what has happened, just so they could gloat about being at an accident scene to their friends and family. From the pushing and pulling, Alice gets pushed into the accident scene.
It is as if she is invisible to the world around her. She creeps closer to the petite silver Cadillac. Both windows on the left side are shattered. The whole left side of the car is dented in from the hit of another car. The car perpendicular to the Cadillac was a green Chevrolet Spark. Her green Spark! She is sure that it is her green Spark. The beads hanging from her rearview mirror, the black smear on the driver’s door, the green seat coverings, she is sure that they are all hers.
“Someone’s in the car! Get her out. Get her out!” the nurse to Alice’s immediate right orders. The door is taken apart and a frail body cover in blood is taken out. Alice silently creeps over to take a look. The girl looks so familiar, those long brown hair, the bright blue dress, and those blue flip-flops. A police opens the girl’s purse.
“Her name is Alice Greene, from Nebraska.” The policemen walk towards Alice. She yells out to the policemen, screaming at him that he is coming right at her. He passes her with only a blank stare in his eyes.
Suddenly, everything comes rushing at her, the story behind all her questions became clear.
She was driving down to Lawrence to see her best friend Katie, whom she hasn’t seen in a while. She and Katie grew up together. They attended the same elementary school, and middle school. It was towards the beginning of high school that everything changed. Katie’s dad transferred work, and they moved to Lawrence. Since Alice started high school, she couldn’t visit Katie. They still kept in touch, and this was going to be their first reunion before they leave for college.
Alice got pumped up about meeting Katie again and left before her mom came home from work. Right as she crossed Nebraska into Kansas, her mom called her. She picked it up, reassured her mom that she was fine and hung up. Upon her arrival in Lawrence, she received a text message from Katie. Just as she looked down, the light in front of her turned red and the parallel street light turned green.
A silver Cadillac was getting ready to turn, and her car was going full speed towards the car. Alice looked up, but it was all too late. The strength of the Spark collided with the Cadillac, pushing both cars forward. As soon as the collision happened, her head was propelled towards the steering wheel. Her right cheek came in contact with the wheel. The friction between her face and the wheel twisted her head, dislocating it. The front bumper was dented in; the dashboard jutted out and cut into Alice’s stomach.
The driver of the Cadillac was none other than Brian. From the vigor of Alice’s car, Brian’s head swayed towards the window, cracking it. His head was oscillated back towards his right, and back towards the window, shattering it completely. The damage caused him his skull. The back seat window shattered with the force of the collision, pieces of the window sprinkled upon the seats. The interior side of the car came in and pushed Brian’s upper body to the right, confining him in the car. Cars and people stopped in their tracks to take in the accident.
“NO!!!!!!” Alice screams. This can’t be true. She didn’t die. But there she is, dead on the ground covered in a black tarp.
“Dead upon arrival at 7:30 p.m. for both bodies.” the police declared. Alice couldn’t believe it. She only glanced down to text back. It was only a glance. She must be dreaming. She hears footsteps from behind her.
“Alice. Why didn’t you ignore it?” Brian questions.
“I’m so sorry Brian. I didn’t know this would happen. I really didn’t. I’m so sorry.” She breaks down crying. If only she ignored the text message. If only she slowed down. If only her phone was off. If only…
