Amy’s car suddenly started to move by itself. It was necessary to make a decision what to do next as soon as possible. The road after the rain, mixed with mud, was slippery like an ice rink. There were potholes on the road and she tried to avoid them, which make it even worse. The other drivers behind were watching her intensively.
The car was carried along the road with its speed increasing fast. Amy’s car was quickly catching up with the cars in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the drivers from other cars, passing by the opposite direction, were looking at her in shock. Something had to be done to stop the car, but she couldn’t just stop it. Her driving instructor had told her that she must not use the brakes in the situations like this. Amy, while looking ahead of her in a trance, was searching deep in her brain for help and for what her driving instructor told her to do instead of what not to do. It was like in a nightmare she wanted to wake up from, but she was trapped and forced to be in it till the end.
She stopped blinking and all her attention was on the road ahead. The wheel hit a hole, but she was able to steer and the car remained on the road. A little more and she would be outside the town where there were no pedestrian paths. She worried about the people walking along the road if she would lose control of the car. The back of a white big lorry was not far away in front of her. Various options flashed through her head. And then, in her subconscious mind, without thinking, she took control of the situation into her hands.
She gently removed her foot from the gas pedal which she wasn’t pressing already for a while. Her foot was like a rock in the air and Amy needed to put it down as pain went up to her hip. Amy’s hands still firmly held the steering wheel. She felt the vibration of the road, but this didn’t frighten her. There was a state of mind, as if all of this wasn’t happening to her and she was watching this scene from the outside.
Why was the car not slowing down?
To the right was a large puddle. The right wheel of the car fell into that puddle and the car was thrown up in the air. Amy’s hands firmly held the steering wheel without moving it and her eyes were staring at the white lorry in front of her. She didn’t even turn her head to the side. She didn’t blink. It seemed like her brain gave her such a command. She didn’t remember the moment when the car dropped from the air back on to the road. She continued to hold the steering wheel; the car moved like on autopilot.
There were less and less cars on the road. The big white lorry ahead was no longer so close. She had a feeling that everyone parted and let her car rush along that dangerous section of the road alone. The speed began to decrease. Amy saw the side of the road without a pedestrian path, it meant she was outside the town. The curb height was not too high. Her heartbeat indicated some relief and her left eye, without turning her head, spotted a long brick wall along the road. Between the road and the wall, there was a gap covered with grass. In a split second, she decided that it would be better if she ended up there. There was enough space for her car. Amy moved her shoulder to feel the seat belt to make sure it was there. Her hands were still clinging to the steering wheel. The main thing was to get the car out of the way without creating an accident and harming other drivers.
In a split second Amy stared at the wet green grass through the windscreen and couldn’t believe that her car had stopped. She barely remembered driving off the road into a ditch. On the left was a brick wall and on the right was a road. So she did not crash into the wall. ‘Well done’, the thought crossed her mind. As soon as she realized that, she immediately started to think, where was she going in such a hurry and what she needed to do next? Amy looked at her watch and quickly got out of the car. The time was coming close to five o’clock in the evening.
All traffic stopped on the road. The cars were lined up, one after the other. Several drivers ran towards her and their faces were frightened and surprised at the same time. One of the drivers literally exhaled when he saw her alive and unharmed. Others began to inspect the car and could not believe that nothing had happened to the car, only a few scratches and one mud guard had come off.
“I’m fine, thank you.” Amy quickly replied to one of the drivers with a serious expression on her face. She made a few steps through wet grass and shouted for everyone to hear. “Please, is anybody there who can pull my car back onto the road as soon as possible. It’s urgent. I need your help. Please!”
“Crazy girl,” one of the drivers said. “She miraculously survived, but she is thinking about going somewhere again. Slow down, girl. You can’t drive right now. We will take you home and please don’t worry about your car. We will bring your car to your home too.”
“Why can’t I drive? Everything is fine with the car and I’m fine.”
“She is really not herself. Maybe she is still in shock. Where was she going to?” The drivers were perplexed and discussed the situation on the road. She heard that when her car was thrown up, in such situations, not everyone could cope with it as she did. The road was slippery, there were many puddles and mud. Many drivers would often start to turn the steering wheel. The car would skid. The drivers would put their foot on the brakes and start to turn the steering wheel again. Then the car would turn over. That was unfortunately often the situation, but not today, and not with Amy.
“We watched you and thought that your car would turn over several times, given the speed with which you were driving. You were born lucky. How you managed to handle the wheel and didn’t turn over, we still can’t believe it. It’s a miracle.”
Despite the fact that other drivers were against her getting behind the wheel straight after the accident, they did not argue with her. She was determined to get her car back on the road. They helped to pull her car out onto the road and watched her driving away as if nothing had happened.
Amy managed to stop by the pharmacy and bought medication for her mother before closing time. That was the reason she rushed and almost got herself into trouble, but medication was prepared and must be collected today before the weekend as her mother desperately needed it.
When she arrived to her mother’s house, she went to the kitchen and looked out the window. Outside the window she saw her car was parked on the road, a bit dirty, but fine. Her mother asked what was wrong because she noticed her daughter’s pale face. Amy suddenly felt so tired. And then something happened that should have happened an hour ago.
Fear took over her entire body. She finally understood what could have happened to her and what other drivers were talking about. She looked out the window again and tears rolled down her cheeks in a stream. Her body went limp and her mother helped her to get on the sofa. She was crying sobbing on her mother’s shoulder. All she could tell her mother was that she had just miraculously survived and escaped a very dangerous car accident. Her mother didn’t ask any questions, she just cuddled Amy even tighter, kissed her forehead and whispered ‘Oh, my dear, I love you so much.’
Amy didn’t have the strength to talk as she was in a state of shock. She did not remember for how long she cried and how she ended up in bed. Her mother brought her favourite camomile tea which helped to relax her body muscles. There was a vacuum in Amy’s head. All the fear, stress and unpleasant thoughts came out of her with tears. The tension slowly left her body. She found herself in a space where she felt warm, comfortable and at peace. Her heartbeat became rhythmic and breathing was even. Her mother sat next to her and that was enough. Amy felt the warmth of her mother’s hand on her shoulder and after some time, feeling safe and loved, she fell into a deep long sleep.