It was a Monday and I was just coming home from school. I had this fascination with riding a skateboard and that's my teleportation home since mom couldn't afford a car at the moment because of the funeral expenses.
Anyway, I had the green light to cross the street, but the black van came hurtling towards me at speeds that shouldn't even be legal. I couldn't dodge it in time and I was sent across the street. I could barely hear the screams of others over my pain filled gasps. The van came to a squealing stop and the door slid open.
A man dressed in all black came storming out, a gun pointed on me. A brave civilian jumped towards the man just as he took the shot. Since the unknown soon-to-be-murder was bumped, his aim was misdirected and the bullet pierced through my right calf.
"Call the police!"
"He has a gun!"
There were more screams and shouts, but I was more concentrated on the blinding pain of my ribs and shot leg. My world was tilting and I figured that I was going to die, leaving my poor mother alone with no child or husband to comfort her. Luckily my fate wasn't decided that day. The civilian that saved my life was an off-duty doctor and he saturated my wound with a jacket, keeping me from bleeding out.
When mom found out, she was hysterical and made some calls to her parents that were still in Japan. After I was better, she announced to me that we were getting the Hell Outta Dodge. My things were packed for me since I was on crutches and my bruised ribs were taped. Two weeks later, we were booked for a flight for Kyoto, Japan.
