Pieces of a Puzzle

Radio Contest

I really wished I had not entered that radio contest. Well, in retrospect, I didn't think I would win. No one really ever does.

It was Thursday afternoon when I heard the call. Everyone around me was rushing home at that time, being that it was around 4:50. Laying on my dashboard, my phone began to vibrate. It was some random number. I still decided to pick up since I entered a radio contest for 10,000 dollars. As I picked up, I could hear the radio host shouting out my name and claiming me to be the winner. I was so excited. I couldn't believe it. I could finally afford the dream vacation that my wife, Julie, and I always wanted. I called Julie to tell her the good news, but she didn't pick up. I found that to be a little strange but I shook the thought away.

I rushed home to tell her in person. I was greeted very oddly when I walked through my front door. My entire family was sitting in my living room, with grim looks. My mother looked up at me and began to cry. My father stood and walked over to me wearing the look of a grieving man. I tilted my head in confusion. He spoke up, "Julie had an accident."

I could hardly stand. I leaned against the wall nearest to me. "What happened?" I asked, in worry and wonder.

My father said, with a low and hollow tone, "When she heard on the radio that you won, she cheered. She lost track of herself and crashed into a bus." He took a long, deep pause. "She didn't make it."