Suspenseful Seven-Sentence Sunday -- That Helpless Feeling

A few days ago, I came closer to death than I'm ready to. I was in my car, my son in the passenger seat beside me, pulling up to a quiet intersection. Ahead of us, to the left, two cars collided, each going about 45 mph. One of them had run a red light. I don't know which. One of the cars was sent airborne. It landed on the right-hand side of a car several car-lengths ahead of me to the left, then proceeded on two wheels toward me, finally coming to a rest about ten feet away. While this was happening, my son and I were basically frozen in time. I watched the events unfold as if my windshield was a movie screen. There was nowhere I could have gone, nothing I could have done to avoid obliteration if that's what was to be my fate. Mercifully, I'm still here, as are all of the inhabitants of the vehicles involved. Stunning.

This reminded me of a police officer in my story "Administrative Leave" (Ellery Queen, Sept./Oct. 2010). He is at home after an officer-involved shooting in which he killed a young man. As he stares out his bedroom window, a strange man standing in his backyard stares back. Feeling trapped and frozen, the police officer watches the events unfold.

He pulls a cell phone from his left pocket. His right hand stays hidden. He punches the keys with his thumb, never taking his eyes off me. The phone on the table on Lorraine’s side of the bed rings. My head snaps instinctively at the sound. I turn back to the man and he smiles. He knows he’s got the right number.

I hope your week ahead provides you with plenty of options to take charge of your destiny.

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