The Incident - Both Audio and Text - W-Illustration

Despite the fact I’ve been a darn good driver all my life, the truth be told…I once destroyed a car! And I am actually proud to say, “I totaled it that night.” It happened just outside a local bar. Seven months before that night, the man who owned that car had run a stop sign on the edge of town. Crossing the street - when he did - was a little girl of nine! The man who owned that car had run her down. No one saw the “hit-an’-run”…she lay there all alone for nearly forty minutes, ‘til, at last, She was fin’ly spotted…still alive, but only just…thankfully, by someone walking past. By the time the ambulance arrived, her fate was sealed. She struggled hard for every tiny breath. And when my wife and I arrived, to see our little girl, the only words she said before her death Were, “Daddy, am I going to die? Can you and Mommy stay? Please don’t leave me here all by myself.” Now the always-tearful conversations that we have are only with her pictures…on a shelf! Over time the rumors flew about that hit-an’-run. It happened somewhere close to eight fifteen. The ones who had the best idea of who it had to be --- that killed our little girl, then fled the scene --- Whispered just enough about “the incident” that night to drive the information back to me, And I’ll admit there’s actually not a single shred of proof, but most are still convinced…and so are we. Everybody knows this man was drunk and on the road at eight fifteen the night our child was killed. We all believe he ran her down, and doesn’t give a damn about the little girl whose blood he spilled. The night I totaled out his car, the music from the bar was loud enough to keep him unaware That - just outside - a tortured man had lost his self control, and just because he did - and didn’t - care… He would fuel a rumor of his own that went around that, someone…with a can of gasoline… Had doused his car from end to end, then set the thing on fire, and then…the same as he…had fled the scene! Everyone who watched it burn would only stand and stare, and no one tried to help. No tears were shed. The tiny crowd that witnessed my revenge was well aware - this was the car that left our baby dead!