The Spider's Lullaby

The Dawn of Disaster

Every incident, every event is a product of the domino effect. Every action is consequential and will lead to the inevitability of each particular altercation. Free-will is a controversial concept and cannot be explained without leaving a single iota of doubt behind. Although, it is most commonly acknowledged that most of the time we cause our own doom.

For Renato, something very similar happened to him. Three weeks prior to his death, he had been in a disastrous accident, an accident which shaped his life. For him, he couldn't remember the half of what happened during and after the accident.

It was a rainy day in São Paulo and Renato was driving on the Avenida Washington Luís expressway. He was lost in his thoughts, thinking about how he was going to be a father. The windshield wipers swiftly cleared off the rain water off of his car.

As he quickly drove his car across a crossing, he failed to notice the motor-bike coming towards his way. Within a blink of an eye, his Fiat colossally crashed with the bike. A startled Renato looked at his rear-view mirror and he could see the motorcyclist along with the rider who was sitting behind him had fallen to the ground. Renato slowed his car for a brief moment as he was going to help the victims of his recklessness, but before the car could stop, he saw a large truck coming in and crushing the fallen motorcyclist and his mate. Blood quickly coloured the road red.

Time stopped for Renato. What has he done? People gathered near the truck. Renato without wasting a moment, stepped on the accelerator pedal of his car.

What has he done? What has he done?

He drove off, as fast as he could. He had been in a hit-and-run and he was on the run. Will the police find him? Will he be imprisoned? What will happen to Juliana if he is incarcerated? What will happen to his baby? He drove more than twenty miles as he constantly checked the rear-view mirror for the police.

"Probably they will blame it on the truck driver", said Renato to himself.

But what if someone had seen him knocking over the bike? Were there any cameras on the road? He didn't think so.

Fear had gripped Renato like anything and he could not think straight. He was in a state of complete blankness. Soon, he could feel his limbs were giving up and his eyes were becoming heavy. He couldn't keep them open any longer.

He was feeling sleepy. The last thing was the blurred tarantula spider toy which hung from his car. The toy with cartoonish red stripes.

The next thing he could feel was pain. Excruciating pain.

Renato woke up in the hospital four hours later. He had crashed into a tree. Again.

The nurse standing next to him noticed him and said, "Mr. Alves, you are awake I see... You have been through a terrible accident, but God knows how you are in perfectly healthy condition with just minor injury to your arms and head... We ran through your wallet and mobile phone to run through your credentials and we called Ms. Juliana. She is waiting outside, Should I bring her in?"

"Oh yes! Please do so!", replied Renato. He knew Juliana will scold him a lot but he also knew her warm presence would make him feel like he is at home, right where he belongs.

Juliana entered the hospital room, her face was distraught and without any scolding, a tear rolled down her eyes and she said, "Are you alright?"

"Sure, don't you worry a bit! But what happened to the motorcyclist I crashed into?"

Yes. He had forgotten of what happened to the motorcyclist but his guilt conscience and his sub-conscious mind didn't.