Awereless

And that is when it happened. Just at that moment – as soon as awareness dozed off. An indescribable force of impact, from behind, shattered an entire universe with equally ineffable ease. The blow mercilessly attacked the boy’s just-asleep senses, which scattered as if someone had thrown them into the fierce wind. He didn’t even have time to wake up. Through the dark veil of sleep, he felt his father’s vehicle rolling unevenly.

“It’s just a child playing with a ball,” his Awareness tried to calm him.

The force of the impact pressed him against his father’s seat, and for a moment, only the sounds remained. Metal screeched like tortured beasts in agony, or like prey, almost gnawing at his ears. Beneath that aggressive sound, the boy heard the whisper of shattered glass.

It is over; blood lost its metallic taste and now reminded him of fresh blueberry juice.

Lower, a dull but powerful sound echoed through his chest like a drum. The percussion section of collision, of death. And as if surgically detached from reality, for a moment, he felt blissfully weightless. And then it came: complete silence, an eternal moment of peace.

At first, the silence heightened every remaining sensation. The sticky blood-soaked clothing against his back and the gentle, almost caring touch of air on his face were the first and only things the boy briefly felt before he ceased to feel entirely. Is this it? Is it time for his life to flash before his eyes? Nothing had happened yet. And then everything began to happen all over again, as he fell and touched the ground with the wreckage of the car for the last time. The heavy, red, metal beast offered him a final embrace, one to which he did not resist.

In the aftermath of a severe crash, the once vibrant sunflower field now lies in darkness, its golden blooms wilted and lifeless. The summer night hangs heavy with crimson skies in the distance, casting an eerie glow over the scene of devastation. The earth beneath is marred with tire tracks and shattered debris, a somber reminder of the tragedy that unfolded. Despite the season, a cold chill fills the air, a stark contrast to the warmth of the summer evening. As the sirens wail and the distant sound of passing cars echoes, the scene is cloaked in an unsettling silence, a poignant reminder of the fragility of life.

The boy now remembers it all.