The Turn.

Year: 2014.

“Spike road”. That road, I tell you, is horrible. Firstly, there is close to zero traffic and secondly, with all those twists and turns, it makes driving a nightmarish experience. Many ‘Turn signs’ have lost their lustre and some of them have fallen off. But during the day, it’s a beautifully scenic place! Lush green all around, flowering trees and flowing streams. I travel pretty much on the road. Since I am very familiar with all the dangerous turns that could be fatal at night if not known, I take time out to help caution people. I signal them to be cautious and gesture them to slow down just before the turn.

Spike road starts off with an upward connection to Wedding Meadows. Wedding Meadows is a beautiful place. You must have already guessed by now, as the name pretty much implies, the place is perfectly suitable for weddings. People believe; getting married at Wedding Meadows brings good luck to the newlyweds. They even have a great hotel - “Wedding Bells” on the top. Back in my days when I was younger, people were more sensible and mature. We did not have these crazy gadgets that teens have nowadays. iPods and iPhones and those tiny chat apps that these teens are constantly hooked onto. Advancement could be corrosive, fatal even! Whenever I see these teens driving on Spike road with half their eyes glued on their chat apps and ears hooked onto some godforsaken loud rock music, I get scared to death. How could they take life for granted? Don’t they value even their own lives? Can’t that crazy “LOL, ROFL” chat wait for twenty more minutes?

Anyways, I do my part whenever I can. Nobody is ever grateful for what I do, but I do it nonetheless.

It was 11:45. Close to midnight. I was returning home from Spike road. Through all the distant curves, I could distinctly see two cars speeding their way up. I knew what I had to do. I quickly parked my car at a distance and moved towards the side of the cliff. I had a high power flashlight in my left hand. I was just near the angular curve. There was no way these cars could make that turn at the speed at which they were coming. I quickly turned my flashlight on. These cars would now appear any moment. And they did. I guessed, these were again some reckless teens racing each other. I started waving my flashlight signalling them to slow down making hand gestures indicating the dangerous turn.

I think, the boy driving the first car saw me. Yet, he showed no sign of slowing down. I panicked. I started waving harder and moved a bit to the centre of the road hoping that he would push those brakes. He didn’t! Oh my God! I quickly dodged away to safety and then there was this great big screeching of his car’s brakes. But it was too late.

I saw the first car plummet down. And the second one following suit. I stood there totally bewildered. Shocked beyond words. I heard the wild screaming from inside the second car just before it plummeted down. I heard the big thumps of solid metal banging its way down the cliff. Then two explosions; one following the other.

I felt miserable for weeks. I avoided travel completely. Travel to me meant going via Spike road. I dreaded it completely. I tried thinking positive thoughts. I tried all I could. Maybe those kids were drunk? Or high? Or most probably, like most teens out there, reckless? I needed to put behind me that painful night. I needed to move on. I needed to continue.

One night, returning via Spike road, the thoughts of that painful night started whizzing in my brain again. I just could not forget the tragedy. I slowed down my car during another angular turn and stopped to have a sip of water. Just then, I saw a white S.U.V. raging upwards. My mind numbed out. What would I do now? Didn’t people read about how dangerous this road was? Didn’t they read about frequent and certainly fatal accidents on Spike road turns? Does ignorance have no limits? I was angry and scared at the same time. I was not going to let them crash. I WAS going to help. I was not going to think about those guys that went down ignoring my pleas to decelerate.

I quickly got out of my car with the flashlight in my hand. I turned it on and stood right there in the centre of the road waving and shouting frantically. They just had to see me and brake.

I saw them coming from a distance at a speed way above what was set to maximum for Spike road.

They HAD TO BRAKE! I waved and shouted. I jumped up and down. There was no way these people could not see me. The S.U.V. was now dangerously close to me. I saw the driver look at me. Straight into my eyes. I screamed as loud as I could…

“STOP!”

I heard the sound of his tyres screeching. Thank goodness he was braking hard. But what was this? I saw him accelerate wildly! Right at me. Why on earth would he want to kill me? Or himself and the others with him? I stood there, right in the centre of the road, in complete shock. What the hell did he think he was doing? I saw the bright headlights right in front of me with the loud noise the S.U.V. engine made. These guys were completely out of their minds!

In an instant, almost as a reflex, I jumped out of the speeding car’s way towards the cliff. I did not want to turn around and look. I knew what was going to happen. And happen, it did.

The S.U.V. went straight off the cliff. It must have gone quite a few yards in the air straight ahead, into complete darkness. And then came that huge blasting noise. I had both my hands clamped tight upon my ears. I was shaking uncontrollably. Despite the chill in the air, I was perspiring hard.

How could people be so blind? How could people not value their own lives? How could they ignore my warning signals? How could they speed up instead of braking? These ‘hows’ kept buzzing in my brain as I stood there, shaken and dumbfounded. I cried hysterically screaming “Why?” repeatedly.

As tears rolled down my cheeks, I closed my eyes and remembered the night of 6th May, 2010. The excrutiating pain I felt as every bone in my body was crushed in the wreckage of my own car. I should have slowed down but I didn’t. I should have seen those turn signs but I didn’t. I shouldn’t have been chatting and listening to music. I should have paid more attention. More attention at staying alive, but, sadly, I didn’t. I died that night.

From that night on, I decided to be the good samaritan and help everyone on those deadly Spike road turns. My outer ghastly and bloody appearance shall never deter me from helping people. Never.

Just then, I saw a small Porsche convertible speeding upwards…