Self Inflicted
This evening, an attractive woman in a brown t- shirt and well-fitting jeans climbed out of her gridlocked car and invited a truck driver to run her over.
COME ON! she yelled, arms raised, fingers twitching. COME ON!! she yelled again, COOOOOMMMMMEE OOOON!!! until the truck’s enormous grate inched forward. Pedestrians paused. The woman stepped closer, into the rippled air that stood between her and a very strange death. COME ON! The truck inched forward again.
Four blocks down, the source of the gridlock pulsed at its center– visible only to those directly beside it. Something (someone) had fallen off Key Bridge.
What must have been hundreds of drivers groaned past both suicidal scenes, penitent at first; far less inspired to speed off in a fury.
Maybe this effin traffic isn’t so bad after all.
Wow. What an amazing post. Did those 2 things really happen?
And…what do you think…are people ‘good’ or ‘self-correcting?’- if not, would you have bothered putting in that last sentence starting with “Unless…”?
Excellent questions– that night I fell asleep wondering those very things. And maybe now I’m ready to change the post. Oh, and yes, both things happened. Thanks for the feedback!
I agree – great post. I especially like your subtle commentary – “a very strange death,” etc. I might cut the last line, it pulls a little from the punch of the previous one. You really have a way with tiny details that fill out a story. I feel like I should care that this is so brief, but I don’t. It’s great that it’s short, and I think you can get away with it by adding all those little details.
so noted, thanks!
Very well done social commentary and parallels. I wish people would take more time to consider the sanctity of life all around…