A picture to make the words flow...

Pic supplied by Heather Max

I remember how they look so well at times, and at other times their faces are blurred, as if I’ve just woken from a long sleep and need to rub my eyes. I remember the sound of their voices, the ring of the Irish accent in Carrie’s, and the happy exuberance that comes with youth in Julie’s. I remember the smell of Carrie’s hair as I turn to cuddle behind her at night, and I remember the soft, powdery scent that accompanies every child in those early years.

I remember the day that it happened. We were driving along, singing happily with the radio, the picture of a happy family. The screech of the tires wasn’t enough warning before the SUV connected with our little Toyota neon. I could hear the metal, twisting and crunching, as it drove its way into the passenger’s side and the look of terror on Carrie’s face as she realized what was happening.

Everything happened in slow motion from there. The metal crushing inward, the sound of the screams emanating from Carrie and then from Julie in the back seat. The feeling of the car spinning around and around from the impact, and then the impact as we collided with another object. The searing pain appeared in my shoulder first, then a pressuring pain began in my head and I felt the snap in my leg. It seemed like forever before I began to hear the sirens in the distance, and then time caught up and everything seemed to happen on fast forward.

I was pulled from the car, secured to a gurney and loaded into an ambulance that raced off in the direction of a hospital before I could find out anything about Carrie and Julie. When I arrived at the hospital, they set my shoulder, which had dislocated, secured my broken leg, and deciphered that I had suffered a concussion from the impact of hitting my head off the window.

When I finally found someone to give me answers, I wished I hadn’t. The officer tried to be kind and heartfelt as he ripped my world apart when he informed me that both Carrie and Julie had died in the crash. Within a few moments, which had felt like forever, my entire world had been shattered.

Now, here I sit alone, by the tree in our favourite spot that overlooked the ocean. I come here, every year on the anniversary of the accident, and remember the family that I lost.

*Note: This is a trick supplied by a writing teacher I had. The idea is to choose a picture and write a page or less about it, in any form that you wish. It has helped in the past with kicking me out of writer's block. Thanks again for the pic HeatherMax!*