Aaron

December 18^th, as I walked into the convenience store, I couldn't help but feel a sense of relief. It was a busy day, and I had been running errands all morning. Finally, I could take a break and enjoy a moment of peace. I strolled through the aisles, browsing the shelves and picking my favorite snacks. The store was playing some great music, and I found myself humming along to the tunes. It was a small moment of joy in an otherwise busy day. I paid for my groceries and left the store, feeling refreshed and energized.

At midnight, I found myself strolling down the sidewalk. With no one else in sight, I put on my headphones and let myself loose to the rhythm of the music. I swayed my hips and tapped my feet to the beat of the songs, feeling the energy of the music surge through my body. I was in my world, carefree and unbothered by anyone's judgment.

 It was as if the music had taken over me, and I was simply a vessel for its expression. I didn't even mind if someone saw me dancing in the middle of the street at that hour, all that mattered was that I was having fun and enjoying myself to the fullest.

As I was walking towards the crosswalk, engrossed in my smartphone, I started receiving an influx of notifications from various people. Some of these notifications were from people I knew, while others were from unknown senders. I was so preoccupied with responding to these messages that I didn't even realize the volume on my headphones was full.

As I approached the crosswalk, I looked up momentarily and noticed some people shouting at me from a distance, but I couldn't quite understand what they were saying. I was so distracted that I didn't even realize I was blocking the way for oncoming traffic. Suddenly, I heard a voice saying "Get out of the way!" and quickly removed my headphones from my head. Before I could even react or move out of the way, a truck hit me with full force, causing me to fly through the air like a rag doll.

The impact of the collision was so strong that I lost consciousness at that moment. I didn’t know what happened next, I heard voices of screaming and ambulances. All my eyes could see was blood on the floor. My vision started getting blurry, but at that time I saw death and experienced it.

As I lay there on the ground, my body felt completely numb, as if it had lost all sensation. I wanted to move, to escape whatever was touching me, but I couldn't find the strength. The world around me was a blur of sound and confusion, with voices shouting out to one another, calling for help and desperate to make sense of the situation.

Despite their frantic efforts, I felt myself slipping away, as if I were slowly disappearing into the void. Through my blurred vision, I could see only bright light spots, a dizzying array of colors and shapes that swam before my eyes. And then, with a suddenness that took me by surprise, everything went dark. I had fainted, my consciousness slipping away as the pain and confusion overwhelmed me.

As I began to gain conscience, the world around me was dark and I couldn't seem to open my eyes. My body was wracked with pain and confusion as I tried to piece together what was happening. As soon as I attempted to shift my position, I felt a sharp increase in pain that made me wince. I quickly realized that I couldn't move much as my entire body was wrapped up in bandages.

The tightness of the bandages made me feel as if I was almost tied up in one place, preventing any significant movement. Thoughts started racing through my mind were a jumbled mess, but all I knew was that something was wrong and I needed help. Suddenly, I heard the sounds of people running towards me, their footsteps echoing in the darkness. I screamed out for help, hoping that someone would hear me.

As they drew closer, I felt a sharp pinch in my arm and realized that someone had injected me with something. I couldn't understand what was happening - everything was happening quickly and my mind was confused. The voices around me were muffled and I couldn't discern what anyone was saying. Despite the fear and uncertainty gripping me, I knew I had to stay calm and trust that the people around me would help me through this.

The pain in my body started to fade as if the pinch that was injected in my arm was a painkiller, a thought came to my mind that I might be in a hospital. But I didn’t know clearly, my eyes were closed and my body was tied and bandaged, If I tried to move I felt pain, and my hearing was dull but I still kept hearing voices. I heard the voice of the door shut, I heard footsteps, and I heard the voices of two people with each other.

I somehow noticed when my father’s name was mentioned. In my mind, I was laughing because that person would kill himself yet never see me But my heart wasn’t showing any emotions. That was because my father disowned me when I was young.

From an early age not only did my father disown me, but the entire family kicked me out as well. I never understood the reason and never received the affection a kid needed from their parents. My brother and sister looked after me secretly.

They both assured me that one day these people would come crawling to me and would ask for forgiveness and till that time I should control myself. And now just as I was about to be 25 years old, I’m in this state where no part of my body moves. I guess it’s fate that brought me to this state to rot and stay paralyzed.

Sometimes I wonder if my life is just a test or a curse where no matter what I try and how well I try, I still fail and get thrown to the bottom. But this, where I can’t feel my legs, can’t move my body, and I can’t see or hear people feels like I am finally at the stage where death itself will come and pick me up now.

I felt as time went by, people came and went away, but I was there lying helpless and couldn’t move an inch nor see who these people were. I kept on wishing that these people were my family who came, and they came to bring me back. My mother came to take care of me. My father came to tell me that he was sorry for everything.