Hindsight

In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Hindsight.”

This is my first post, written for the Daily Prompt: A Close Encounter to the After Life.

My family owns property on the banks of the San Juan River which feeds into a lake nearby.  During the summers our family would gather there for the weekend.

One Saturday morning, as I was driving to our river place, I came upon a part of the road that had drop-off cliffs on both sides of the road.  Prior to getting to this particular part of the road, I had to climb a hill.  As soon as I topped over this hill, I am aghast to see  a van stopped in the right-side  lane of the highway (blocking my path). The driver and passengers of the van had abandoned the van in the middle of the highway and walked down the cliffs to gather firewood.  I was forced to stop behind them,  and immediately looked for a way to safely pass them.  To my horror there was a large car coming in the opposite direction in the left-hand lane, making that impossible. I checked my rearview mirror and a truck was coming at a very high rate of speed, topping the hill behind me.  This truck would have no other choice but to either hit me or the car coming on the left of me.  There was no doubt, I was stuck behind this parked van with two vehicles coming in opposite directions. There was no way to escape my destiny of a four vehicle crash,  unless I drove off the side of the cliff.

I laid my head on my steering wheel while continuing to honk my horn.  I remember thinking, “I am going to die.” Suddenly, the driver of the van jumped into the drivers seat and all the passengers jumped in to the van and the van sped off, only a split second before a deadly crash would have occurred.

Although I was thankful for the impeccable timing, I was very angry that they had stopped in the middle of the road to begin with. 

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