Life

by Ashley Lauro, , February 21, 2006

Printer-friendly version

I watched as the light snowflakes blew sideways against the classroom window. Temperatures will only reach the low teens today, making way for 2-3 inches of snow and ice- the meteorologist’s voice replayed in my mind. I shifted in my chair, as I thought about the thirty-five-mile drive home.
“Now, let’s go over the syllabus.” I refocused my thoughts on the professor. I didn’t even want to take the Spanish class, but if I wanted to graduate, I didn’t have a choice. And did we really need her to read us the syllabus? I just wanted to get home, safely.

Whooooooshh…thuuuump. The whistling gust of wind hurled a pile snow onto the window. I shivered, picturing the interstate covered with blowing snow. I hated New York. Winter had just begun, and we had already gotten over twenty inches of snow. We shouldn’t have ever moved here. Daniel had always had a way of persuading me. Back at home in Indiana, Dad and Mom had gotten only three inches, just enough for a white Christmas.

“Okay, that should do it for today. Buenos Dias everyone.”

The wind was just as it sounded, sharp and cold. I peeked out of the small crack between my hat and scarf and brushed the snow off my back window. My rear defroster had broken last year, but we hadn’t had the money to take it to the shop. Dad could have fixed it himself, but Dad was in Indiana, and I was in this God forsaken state with Daniel who hadn’t quite learned the difference between a drill and a wrench. I grumbled, remembering the broken kitchen drawers that he still hadn’t fixed.

I yanked the car door open, breaking the thin layer of ice around my doorframe. Inside, I pressed one hand against the air vent and the other against my numb nose. Five full minutes passed before my body stopped tingling and I shifted into drive.

Except for the light dusting that had just fallen, the road had been cleared. I loosened my grip on the steering wheel and let my back lean against the seat, knowing that if the town roads had been cleared the interstate would be no problem. The church bell struck 11 o’clock, and I flipped on the radio to listen to the last hour of the Glenn Beck program. Listening to the conservative talk show host always kept me company on the long drive home and was my relief after listening to the ranting and raving of my liberal professors. I relaxed as Glenn impersonated the eccentric Theresa Heinz-Kerry.

My muscles tightened as I turned onto the interstate ramp. It was covered in slush, and my tires spun as I merged onto I-81. The interstate was just as slippery. “Where are the freakin’ snowplows?” I grumbled, as I maneuvered in between two cars. The wind whipped the snow through the air making everything a blurry white. I followed dim taillights, braking when I got closer than 30 feet from the lights. “This is ridiculous,” I muttered. “Leave it to New York Interstates.”

At thirty miles per hour, I watched the mile markers creep by. I had turned off the radio a few miles back, wanting complete silence after a SUV whizzed by me going at least sixty miles per hour and then sliding off the road. God I wished we had cell phones. I wanted to call Daniel and tell him to come drive me home. But, we couldn’t afford cell phones either. Everything about this place sucked. Not only were we poor college students stuck in an unwelcoming, cold, and snowy New York, we lived hundreds of miles away from any family- or any true common courtesy at that.

Why did Daniel have to get accepted into Syracuse Law after we got married? If I had known all of this, I wouldn’t have been so willing to move with him. Why was I the one who had to make the thirty-five-mile commute anyway? I couldn’t wait to get home and yell at him and then yell some more. He needed to know how sick I was of having to live such a miserable life. The taillights in front of me suddenly seemed brighter.

“OHHHMIIIGODD!” I screamed, seeing the taillights only mere inches in front of me. The car had stopped! I slammed on my brakes, sliding over into the other lane. As I whipped my car back into the driving lane, flipping on my flashers, I heard it. When I looked into my rearview mirror, I saw it. “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,” I screamed as the enormous semi-truck hurled down the hill full-speed, horn blowing behind me. “SHIT. SHIIT. SHIIIITT. SHIIIIIIIIIIT” I screamed. “GOD HELP ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!” Before I could think, I whipped my car off the road and down into the ditch. I flung my head around just in time to see the semi-truck slide into the passing lane and crash full-speed into another semi.

Kaboooooomm. A loud bang from behind hurled my chest into the steering wheel, spinning my car and flinging it into a mile marker sign. Kaboooooomm. Another bang spun my car around so that the front faced the interstate. “OH GOD! DANIIEEEEEL, I LOVE YOU!” I hunkered in my seat, screaming and waiting for the next hit and listening to glass shatter and metal break. Thirty seconds later-- silence. I peeked out my window and saw that my car was at the bottom of a pileup. I had to get out. I unfastened my seatbelt, choked down the pain, and forced myself out of the car door.

I stared at the maroon Pontiac Grand Am lodged in between my car and a big black Dodge pick-up. The Pontiac’s front was halfway inside my trunk and its back bumper on top of the pick-up. A woman was spilling out of the car door. “HELP” she screamed, flailing her arms toward me. “My baby’s trapped inside.” I rushed toward her as she tried to pry her screaming baby from the backseat.

Kaboooooommmmmm. The bang, screeching tires, and shattering glass were so close my body shook from the force. “OHMIGOD!” I cried, covering my face with my trembling hands while running in circles. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. I’m gonna die. The interstate was completely white, blinding the traffic driving behind us, preventing them from seeing our stopped cars until they crashed into us. “AAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Another car crashed into a truck and bounced within inches of my feet. “DANIEL! I’M SORRY FOR EVERYTHING! I LOVE YOU” I bawled.

“Run,” I told myself. “Run away from the road.” I stared at the hill off the side of the road, but my body was frozen. “Run to the hill.”

Kaboooooommmmmm. Slivers of glass shattered at my feet. “RUUNNN!” My feet loosened, and I ran, and ran, snow spitting in my face, toes frozen, but I ran, panting, tripping up the hill, tears streaming, I ran- until my legs folded, and my face slammed into the snow at the top of the hill.

I lay there, freezing and gasping for air until the sharp wind forced me to curl up, burying my head under my scarf and between my knees. And I bawled. My body quaked as the wails burst from me. “Thank you God. I love you Daniel. Thank you God. I love you Daniel.” I chanted, choking on my tears and listening until the screaming, shattering, and crashing metal slowly faded.

Sirens broke my trance. As I uncurled from my fetal position and tried to sit up, sharp pains darted from my ribs to my chest and up to my neck and then back down again. I grabbed my chest and fell back against the ground. Several minutes past before I managed to roll onto my stomach, push the wet, slushy strands of hair from my face, and crawl to the edge of the hill. Everything was still. The interstate had been closed.

Ambulances were driving away, and everyone stood in clusters beside their crushed cars, hugging each other and talking to police. I gasped as I saw my car--it was partially underneath another car and the entire back side was mangled. I stared, replaying the crashes and trying to remember how many times my car was hit.

Suddenly, I realized I was smiling. “I’m alive,” I said. “I’m alive.” Then, I laughed, and laughed louder. I listened to my high-pitched chuckles echo off the trees; I hadn’t heard myself laugh in weeks. It felt good, laughing and just being alive.

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://neovox.cortland.edu/mt/mt-tb.cgi/389

your thoughts?