Linda

Kavitha Kandaswamy posted under Flash Fiction QuinTale-58 on 2023-12-24



It is said in the scriptures – “A man has seven lives….” “If it was true, I would trade a new life as a replacement for the current one?!” thought Linda, driving on Highway A7.  She was angry at the world, her work, her competitors, her friends, her relatives, her siblings, and everything she had, irritated her. All that was so shiny and great till the last evening, now all have taken a 180-degree turn.  Being competitive from a young age, her friends were envious of her, and her subordinates wanted to beat her, never did she give them a chance, and always stood a step ahead of them.   A unique combination of beauty and brain, but by practice was a level-headed person, never too proud of herself and kept working hard at keeping her stance. But now all shattered, she couldn't believe that she lost the battle. She had to give back to all of them, one by one till each one of them, knows what it is to lose at the hands of a person who loved you, she had to claim what is hers….never settle. The man she was supposed to get married to and believed to love her back, was at the helm of all betrayal.   She kept pressing the pedal to its maximum capacity and wanted to end the life, not as a failure, but as an end to begin afresh….if only it was possible to exchange. In a fit of unbridled rage, she didn't notice the truck from the opposite side flying into her lane ...though being an excellent driver the fear arrested her senses and...smashed. She jolted ahead, her seatbelt pulled her back, smashing her face with the airbags. A loud crash, followed by deafening silence, was broken by the sirens of ambulances and police, people with worried faces waiting patiently for the clearance of the road, amidst phones ringing and vibrating….it was chaos.  When the paramedics, pulled her body out, she was lifeless. When they laid her on the stretcher, they looked at her lifeless body without any sign of an accident, they were amazed. The medics got to work, one of them found a faint pulse and looked at the others with hope when all of a sudden Linda woke up, looked around in a haze, and slowly her memory returned. That's when she started checking her arms and legs and found them perfect, she started screaming, “I am not dead, I am not dead….” The paramedics calmed her and told her, she needed to be taken to the hospital for further checkup and cooperate with them.  Some bystanders spoke, it's a miracle that the woman doesn't have a slight scratch on her body, alas the truck driver along with his pet in the vehicle is dead.  Hearing it, Linda sent a silent prayer, “Thank You, God. This rebirth, I will show them, who I am. After all, I have traded a life.” She closed her eyes and went into deep sleep.   Penmancy gets a small share of every purchase you make through these links, and every little helps us continue bringing you the reads you love!