June 04, 2003

By the time he had looked up a full five seconds had passed - he wouldn't have thought it was that long if you had asked him afterwards as it was only enough time for him to grab his drink, which had fallen on the floormat - but it was. When he hit it, he didn't really feel the impact of his chest and cheek against the steering wheel, or his wrist, which ended up against the radio at a strange angle, but he did hear the noise very clearly. It was much softer than he thought - no broken glass or last minute screams - frightened eye-contact between the two as they stared together at the inevitable - but it was a soft thud and then the screech of the tires. Then silence. An alley cat was searching in some trash when it happened and darted underneath the dumpster when it heard the noise. When he was out of the car and looking for help, its eyes followed him as he got back into his car and drove off, leaving the man.

June 4, 2003 07:35 PM