Be Careful What You Wish For
Second Chance

“It’s sad isn’t it?” He flicked his hand toward the TV which was now displaying images of a car wreck. “Woman plowed into the back of a semi on I-95, didn’t stand a chance.” Rivulets of tears began streaming down Ward’s face. He didn’t care if anyone noticed. The pale man did.

“Whoa there buddy, sorry about that. I strike a nerve?” A few minutes passed. The pale man didn’t speak, instead he respected Ward’s unspoken request for solitude. When Ward finally spoke, his words came out cracked and broken, like a clay pot shattered on the ground, its remaining pieces alone and unsure of themselves.

“My…wife…she died, one year ago today.” Ward gasped for breath. He felt as if someone knocked the wind out of him. Memories flooded into him, shattering what remained of his composure. He could remember that night so vividly in his mind…

He could see her smiling at him, her flowing brunette hair and piercing green eyes moved him. The night was cool, but not too cold. The air was crisp, and the city was alive.

Ward’s newly acquired BMW 540i thrummed happily as they headed down Main Street towards the concert. The Moody Blues were playing, Sue’s favorite band. Tonight was her night. Sue’s hand played along his arm and shoulder as he drove. She was wearing a gorgeous little black dress that left her back mostly bare, and came down just below her knees. Her black hair was set about in curls around her head, stretching down just below her shoulder blades. He turned to look at her. Sue’s loving gaze met his. Ward was handsome in his own right, but sometimes he felt like a plain rock sitting next to a ferociously shining gemstone. He smiled, she smiled back. A second, no, a fraction of a second later Sue was screaming, hands flung in front of her face. Ward whipped his attention back to the road. A Ford F150 had run a red light in the intersection Ward was crossing. Slamming on the breaks and swerving the car to the right he barely missed T-boning the truck. In the process of swerving however, he lost control of the car and he careened into the light pole at the other end of the intersection. A deafening screech of metal on metal reverberated Ward’s eardrums, accompanied by the instantaneous pop and hiss of the deploying airbags. Ward frantically regained his bearings and looked Sue. She was unconscious, but breathing.

“Oh thank Go-“ before he could finish another vehicle slammed into the passenger side of the BMW, which now spun back into the intersection. Screeching tires and smoke blanketed the streets and drivers fought to halt their cars before adding to the disaster. A few minutes must have passed, blaring sirens faintly echoed in the distance. Ward could barely hear people shouting, and it sounded as if someone was trying to open the door. His consciousness faded to black as the world collapsed around him.

Ward came to find out that the driver of the F150 was never caught, it was a fairly common white pick-up, the driver had never stopped after causing the accident. The second vehicle was a Lincoln Continental driven by an elderly man who got off with a suspended license. Having no retribution to speak of for his lost wife Ward settled with abusing himself. The business he built with Sue fell into ruin and was sold when he couldn’t pay the mortgage on the building. He fell deeply in love with drinking away his sorrows. Ward mentally struggled with removing the memories from his mind and brought himself back to the present.

“That’s a shame, I’m so sorry for your loss Ward.” The pale man’s yellow eyes held an incredible visage of sadness in them. Another silence followed for several long minutes before Ward spoke.

“Thank you. It’s just…she was my life. Sue was everything that made me whole. I am now an empty shell of what I once was.” Ward stared off in silence for a few more minutes, the pale man joined him. “There are nights…like tonight when I’m consumed with hating myself when I wish that I could return to that night, and save her life.”

“And do tell Ward, how will you save her life when you go back?” Those yellow eyes held a secret deep inside them, a sad secret waiting to be let out.