Hit By A Car

A trip to the ice cream store turns into drama as a little boy by the road runs and gets hit by a car.  Joyce shrivels inside of her skin, and she stands helpless as she listens to screams and cries.  She sobs a little as she watches cars stop and crowds gather, and then she leaves.


Feeling weak Joyce trembles as she walks home.  She doesn't pace her steps, her knees feel like they are to collapse as her stomach twirls on truth and memories.  She hears the sound again - someone being hit, and she feels a shiver.  Joyce holds her breath - her mind still twirling she waits to faint.


By a tree Joyce stops to catch her breath and she catches the eye of Jake who stands in his front yard peering at the garden.  Jake moves closer to the fence and he calls to Joyce.

"Hello there;"  he says.  "Are you okay?"

Joyce looks to Jake and she tries to gather her wits.  She wants to move on, but her feet feel like air and so she stands still.

"I feel under..."  she mutters.

The image of a car on top of a dead body pops inside of her mind and Joyce bends down to peer closer at the person underneath.  Twisted under the front tyre is the face of a person whose eyes are bloodied and dead; it is the image of herself, and she puts her hands up over her mouth and screams.

Joyce feels a light hit her and she trembles before she begins to sink.  Jake catches her -  moments have passed and he has approached to see if Joyce is on drugs; he takes seconds to pick her up inside of his arms and he carries Joyce inside.



A dab on the brow with a moistened rag wakes Joyce from her unconsciousness.  Jake smiles at Joyce and he greets her.

"Hello;"  he mutters.

Joyce shivers and then she shrieks.

"Who are you?"  she asks as alarm rings over her mind.  "Where am I?"

"My name is Jake;"  tells Jake as he changes his tone to calm her.  'You are in my house;"  he adds.

Joyce offers another shriek.

"You fainted on the front pave;"  he adds.  "I brought you inside to keep from frightening the neighbours;"  he adds.

"Oh..."  mutters Joyce as she touches her face.  "I'm sorry... I must have been in shock..."  she adds as she blinks.  "I saw someone get hit by a car, and it made me feel funny;"  she adds.  "Weak..."

"That's terrible!"  gasps Jake as he leans back.  "I would have felt lucky if..."  he lets his sentence flop.  

"I'm sorry, I should leave;"  mutters Joyce able to catch the pick up line despite the confusion inside her head.

Joyce feels weak as she sits up, and Jake helps her to stand as stars dance over her eyes.  Joyce looks to Jake -  he seems decent looking, maybe even nice; but his eyes look to her with greed and so she tells herself to leave.  However with her feeling so faint she stumbles, and Jake keeps her up on her feet with a light push.  

"I still feel faint;"  mutters Joyce as she rubs her head.  "Strange..."  

"I understand;"  tells Jake as he follows Joyce.  "Perhaps you would like a drink or something to eat?"

"Do you have any aspirin?"  asks Joyce as she turns to Jake.

"Yes I do;"  tells Jake before he moves to a nearby shower to collect some aspirin.  

Joyce takes the pills and then she offers a sigh.  The aspirin makes her feel a little better, almost good to walk again.  However Jake clears his voice.

"Would you like me to drive you home?"  he asks.

Joyce wants to say no, but with her head in a puzzle she smiles and accepts the offer.  Jake nods and collects his keys, and soon the two are inside a silver car driving down the street.


Joyce looks to Jake as he drives.  He seems stern yet comfortable, and she enjoys the smooth of the drive.  Joyce smiles as Jake flicks his eyes to her, and then she looks to the street.  Jake smiles and then he clears his voice.

"I've been living here for ten years and never seen you before;"  he tells.

Joyce shrugs.

"I walk around only sometimes;"  she tells.  "I usually drive but my car is being fixed;"  she adds.

The image of the run down boy flashes inside of Joyce's mind and she shivers as tears squirt from her eyes.  Joyce turns away to cup her hands over her face.  She feels cold and pale -  so cold she feels as though her heart has stopped beating; she feels dead.  Joyce wants to scream, but she stays quiet as Jake looks at her with concern.  He drives a short while, and then finally he turns a curb to stop the car.  

"Hey, are you okay?"  asks Jake as he places a hand on her shoulder.

"No!"  gasps Joyce as she feels her breath suffocate inside of her lungs.  "I just wish... I hadn't seen it!"  she gasps.  "He was just a boy!"

Jake rubs her back a little as he gazes at Joyce who wants to run out of the car screaming.  

"I can see him.... it's like a vision;"  she adds.  "He's dead!"

Jake rubs her back a little more.  He wishes he could hold Joyce, but the constraint of space doesn't allow him; so he squeezes her shoulder a little before offering her a tissue.

Joyce takes one and she blows her nose and wipes her eyes; she clutches the tissue as Jake rubs her spine a little more.  Joyce wishes she had more aspirin -  she has a throb in her belly that rises to her brain, and she wishes she had a drink to ease it.

"I'm sorry;"  she whispers as she takes a gulp.  "Can you continue driving me home?"  she asks.

Jake nods.  

"Okay;"  he mutters before he starts the car.

Joyce shivers, and then she curls herself into a ball as Jake drives the car.  Joyce recoils and presses her weight on the window, then she waits as the tyres roll over the road.



Jake reaches the house Joyce tells him to stop at.  He whistles.

"Nice house;"  he mutters.

Joyce smiles.

"I can't offer you to come inside, so I'll say thank-you;"  she tells Jake as her hands crawl to open the door.  "And goodbye;"

Jake nods.

"Any time;"  he mutters as he watches Joyce slip out of the car.  "If you're passing by again, feel free to visit me;"

"I won't -  but thanks!"  mutters Joyce as she smiles.  "Thanks for the help!"  she adds before she closes the door and walks towards her house.

Jake watches Joyce for a short minute.  He feels a rise inside of his heart.  He wishes she were his -  but his common side takes over his senses; he knows she is not his, so he starts the car and leaves -  he has done his duty, he has helped a stranger, and now it is time to go home where he can help himself to a drink.


Joyce walks inside the house.  She steps down the corridor and towards the bathroom.  There she finds more aspirin and she swallows them fast.  Feeling relief she strips herself out of her clothes and she moves towards shower whose taps she has turned on.  Through the water Joyce sees the boy -  his eyes cry blue tears that dribble onto the bloodied road, so clear it is as though she is at a cinema.  Joyce steps back and she rakes her face with her fingernails before she screams a shrill scream that cracks the glass in front of her.

"Go away!"  she gasps.  "Go away!"