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Sometimes we get second chances...

White steam billowed from the front of my car. The acrid stench of radiator fluid filled the air. I shoved weakly at the quickly deflating, blood-covered airbag. It billowed as the air quietly rushed out with the light scent of baby powder.

Oddly, I felt no pain. The impact had been so hard that my seatbelt broke from the frame. I looked for my cell phone, but didn’t see where it had gone. I never finished the text letting my boss know I was going to be late.

I stepped out of the truck; the driver’s side door was gone. It looked like someone crumpled an origami truck into a ball and then tried to straighten back out. People rushed around me to the other vehicle.

My mind raced. Did I hurt someone?

I made my way to the other victim’s car.  The damage didn’t appear any less severe than mine. I waved my hand trying to clear the steam from my vision. I saw a man slumped forward on the steering wheel. A long, jagged cut ran the length of his bald head. The man moved. He lifted his head and looked in my direction with a confused look on his face. It was Daniel. My boss. A paramedic rushed to him, speaking comforting words and checking him for injuries hidden beneath the bent and torn metal husk.

I looked back to my truck. I gasped. A headless body lolled to one side in the driver’s seat, one arm slug over a bloody stop sign, still attached to the post, sticking from the passenger seat.

Horror and fear and remorse trampled my loose grip on the reality before me. I screamed, but no noise came. The world around me began to fade to darkness. A sensation of falling washed over me.

I’m glad you’re okay Daniel. I’m sorry.

Accepting my own death seemed easier than I would have imagined. My life had been full and happy. I would miss my family.

I’m sorry I won’t be there to see you grow up, Little Man.

The darkness slowly lightened. It was bright, but not unpleasant. I didn’t know what was next for me. Maybe there was another cycle to life, maybe rebirth. Maybe Heaven. Whatever came next, I knew it wasn’t the end; I would continue to exist.

I closed my eyes, only for a moment. A moment.

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I swerved at the last possible second. I missed the front of the car by a hairs breath and slammed hard into a shallow ditch. Squealing wheels and the smell of melting rubber cleared my confusion. I looked around, pushing the airbag out of my face. My face hurt. My nose was broken. Tears streamed into my vision. There was a knock on my window. I turned.

“You okay?” The tempered glass muffled Daniel’s voice.

I nodded yes. He gave me thumbs up and pressed his cell phone to the window.

‘Daniel, I’m gonna be la…” It read.

“Me too,” Daniel said.

Author's Note

As with all my stuff here... it's rough draft.
Written for a story prompt @writersdigest.com

Have at it! Give me the good, bad, and the ugly!