PIECES

0021

BEFORE

I wait eagerly at the foot of the pavement.
Mom said that Dad got a new job;
we are moving!

I see our family car rounding the corner.
It rolls to a stop at the red light.
I smooth the front of my school uniform
and wave at my mom in the car.
My dad at the wheel,
my toddler brother strapped to the backseat.
My mom lounging in the passenger seat.
They all smile and wave at me.

Green light, go!
As the car moved forward,
things seemed to proceed in slow motion.
Right before my eyes,
a huge long truck accelerated,
sped across the junction,
and crashed into the car,
a sickening loud crunch of metal.

Chaos ensued as people spilled onto the road
gathering around the accident.
I stood frozen as people milled around me.
My family just died in front of me.

Click.

I sit at the police station,
shivering.
There were no witnesses,
no one actually saw what really happened,
till it's done.
No one believed me,
an 8 year old boy,
when I said it was no accident.
They said I told lies,
just because I was family to the victims.
They said I was a bad boy.

But I saw it.
I saw the truck,
with its intent for murder.

Click.

A figure loomed over me.
A menacing shadow over a crouched figure.
"What must you say when you're a bad boy?"
"I'm sorry, please forgive me!
I'll change, I promise!"
"If I were you, I'd be careful.
Because I wouldn't be so nice next time."

He pushed me roughly
and I fell to the ground, hard.
A pop reverberated through the
dank, musty cellar.
I think my ankle is dislocated.
The door slammed shut,
and darkness flooded my vision.