It was just another lazy afternoon on Main Street. Sun too bright, pavement hot enough to fry an egg. People shuffled past, arms full of groceries, heads full of their own problems.
"Careful there, buddy!" A cyclist swerved past me, almost clipping my shoulder. I raised my hands in apology. "Yeah, yeah, my bad…" I muttered, even though I'd been walking straight.
That's when I heard it-
The low growl of an engine gunning way too fast.
VRRROOOOM-
'I noticed the truck rushing towards me. But I didn't move an inch. Panic, maybe - but deep down I knew the real reason was,'
'I didn't want to move.'
SCREEECH!
The loud sound of tires stopping on the road brought everyone's attention towards me.
People stared in shock. A man inches from death, saved at the very edge. A true miracle!
But the one blessed with this miracle cared least of all.
The truck driver's curses didn't faze me, nor did the furnace-like heat from the truck's grill, only a few feet from my face.
This was because, my whole attention was focused on someone else.
Someone who had come just at the right time, just in front of me, spreading her arms as if that would've stopped ten tons of steel.
'Is she stupid? Why the hell did she get in between? Was she trying to act like a hero or something and save me? Nah, no way, she wouldn't have known that the truck would've stopped just at the right time. So did she have a death wish? Does she also want to off herself? No, she saved me stupid! Stop overthinking and thank her-'
All my attention was brought back instantly by,
"Are you okay?!" She screamed, voice trembling.
"Oh my God! That was scary."
.
.
.
'Huh?'
At this point, I wasn't able to think straight and my legs finally gave out as I fell collapsed on the ground. I could see other people from the street coming to help me.
"I - I'm sorry. And...thank you."
"Pheww~"
The girl in front of me exhaled and helped me up. Now, that I properly looked at her, she looked incredibly beautiful. She was breathing hard, chest rising and falling.
She wore a simple white slip dress with a loose brown cardigan, which was slipping off her shoulder. I caught the scent of laundry soap clinging to her clothes, sharp and clean against the stink of exhaust.
Her short dark hair framed a face both sharp and soft. Fair-skinned, curvy yet slender, she carried herself with an elegance that didn't fit the chaos around us.
'A familiar face yet I can't remember who she is.'
I was unable to take my gaze off her eyes. Those mesmerizing hazel eyes, I had seen many, but hers were the first that made me like them.
While everyone's attention was on me, I suddenly heard a loud horn.
*HOOONK*
The horn split the air as I quickly pushed them aside.
Then metal slammed into metal with a deafening crunch.
*BANG* *CRASH*
Another truck had crashed behind the first one. It happened so quickly I wasn't even able to warn them.
*BOOM*
I remember feeling my body flung like a ragdoll flung across the pavement. I couldn't even see what happened to others.
'Aah fuck. Even now I was a liability.'
'They must've died too. I just hope some of them can recover. All because of me. There was no reason for them to die this way, they were just helping me, yet because of me...'
A bicycle wheel spun beside a crushed crate of vegetables. The stench of hot oil diesel choking the air.
'Mannn, My life sucked anyway. I was going to die in a few months. Better sooner. But...if there's a heaven, I hope they all go to it. I know for sure I won't.'
Immediate reactions from bystanders and other drivers began, but the ambulance had not yet arrived.
'I couldn't even keep my mom's promise. Ahhh... I'm definitely ending up on one of those top 10 worst deaths in history compilation'
This was my last thought before dying.