That Moment

2.Nightmare

8:14 A.M

We pile into the car. Mom and Dad offer me or Gwen to drive, but we both said no. I guess we both weren't in mood today. Dad slips behind the wheel. Back when he used to play music, he had this really-ultra-huge fancy bike in which he took Mom for rides. But after having me and Gwen, he changed. I guess having us meant that it was his time to grow up. Time to start wearing  a bow tie. So he sold his bike and bought a car.

My Dad still had trouble with the car though. He turns the ignition over a multiple times before the car comes to life.  Well, as usual, there's a fight regarding the radio. Mom wants news, Gwen wants her favorite band's song and Dad wants "Forever" by the Gettos. I wanted the classical-music station, but I guess I had to take a backseat. I am willing to compromise as I am the only Classical- music fan in the family.

So finally mom made a deal. "How about just not even switching on the radio? Keep it off." Mom meant it to be a question, but it sounded like an order. You do not wanna mess with my mom when she's angry. Pro tip- never ever mess with your mom. You have no idea when they can smack you. 

"Gosh, you broke my heart into two." My dad jokes. But anyways we didn't argue.

I leaned my head against the car window, watching the scenery zip by, the grass dotted by the snow, the buildings a little far away. I never really liked buildings a lot. Good we stayed at the outskirts. It's so warm in the car.

We soon reached Uncle Eric's place. Turns out Will wasn't there. Bummer. Long story short he has been trying to avoid me.  He had gone over for band practice despite the snow. Gosh, his determination terrifies me. But it was nice meeting Uncle Eric though. I liked the way he dressed. Classic.

Will is completely different. He's one of those typical Rock-puck type guys. He had curly black hair, and always wore a blue jeans and a black leather jacket. Though he's my best friend, I found his dressing sense quite funny. I guess he did that to annoy me and Gwen. His dad usually dressed a too formally sometimes. Like now. I wonder what he wore back when the band was there.

"We were actually here to congratulate Will in person. But, unfortunately the lucky boy isn't here." Dad said, not particularly to anyone.

So we stayed there for what, 10 minutes? Or maybe 15? I have no clue. I wasn't paying attention to their conversation. I was wondering about the good days I had with Will during high school.

"Change of plans." My dad says. " Eric will be joining us for lunch at Grandpa Ben's place."

What? I thought.  Oh right, Eric wants to meet my grandpa. Great. Another trip to the old house.

Soon, the seating arrangement changed. Dad drove. Eric sat in the front. Me, Mom and Gwen were squished like puffy cute birds at the back.

Everyone got so bored that  we decided to switch on the radio. Finally! But we decided to play it in an order. First was news, then Gwen's favorite song, then Dad's song " Forever". Then we switched on the classic music station. I hear the first few bars of the Violin Sonata No. 9, op. 47 by Ludwig Van Beethoven, which was the very piece I was gonna perform for the audition next week. Wow, it seems like a huge-mega-ultra-big coincidence. I concentrate on the notes, imagining myself playing, feeling every moment, every bar, the weight of every emotion flowing through me. This Sonata was notable for it's technical difficulty, unusual length and emotional scope. People always considered Gwen to be the most graceful. Yes, she is graceful, her every moment, every step she took was like a feather.  Light and beautiful. That's what's Ballet is for. Tchaikovosky created most of his concertos so that ballerinas could dance like the droplets of rain. Even music is graceful, in its own way. Anyways, I was happy that I could have a mental practice of this piece.

I close my eyes, leaning on Gwen's shoulder.

You wouldn't expect anything bad to happen. But yeah, it did.

The car had been hit. The impact of a five-ton garbage truck going seventy miles an hour banged straight on the front seat, with the force of maybe a couple of tsunamis, or to be more clear, like a hydrogen bomb.

The glass was broken, the doors were missing, probably fell off. The wheels came off, bouncing on the road and the engine ripped apart. There were tiny flames of fire on the wet road. Probably the gasoline.

And yes, there was a lot of noise. Too loud to bear. But it got over in an instant. Then it got quiet. I could still hear the Violin Sonata playing.

At first, I figure out everything is fine. One, I can still hear the Violin Sonata. Two, I was wearing jeans, a white leather coat and brown boots. That's exactly the same thing I wore today morning.

I go to take a look at the car. Well, I said it's a car, but it didn't look like that anymore. It looked like as if it was baked flat( in a really bad way). And nobody's in the car.

I turn around and first see Uncle Eric. I walk to him, and there was blood everywhere, on his full body, his face, his hair, his white t-shirt, his coat. Near him was my Dad. Though from several feet away, I can recognize him. But his head way completely covered in blood. I turned around to search for mom, and I did find her. My mom didn't have any blood around her face, but her nose was bleeding, her lips blue. She seems totally unreal.

I need to find Gwen. Where is she?  I spin around, suddenly panicking wildly. When I found her, I didn't know if I should be scared or mad or angry. Or even cry.

I run back towards the ditch where I came from. And I was petrified. I edge closer and now I know that I'm not imagining. It's not some zombie lying down there. It's me. The blood from my chest had seeped through my coat. It was in a pool of blood. One of my legs was bruised, bleeding, and I was pale. My eyes are closed, my hair covered with blood, covering my face.

I turned. This isn't right. Maybe I'm dreaming. I am definitely having a nightmare. Gwen, why don't you wake me up? Why don't you crack one of those sarcastic jokes which you always do? This isn't real. Please stop. Gwen, why are you so quiet?? WAKE UP! I pinch myself as hard as I could, but I'm still me.

I don't feel a thing.