Crossroads
He lay on the bed. His body throbbing with pain. He
tried to move but it made the pain worse. The smell of medicine hit his nose,
stale and harsh. Tom realized he was in a hospital bed. How did he get here he
wondered. Everything begun to swirl around him as his brains racked.
It came flooding back to him. Tom had had the worst
week in his life. The saying "when it rains, it really pours"
couldn't describe the week better. All that could go wrong seemed to have gone
wrong at once. His whole world or whatever that was left of it had caved in.
Tom was looking at the rubble and was at odds on where to start.
His eldest son, an insolent teenager, had been
expelled from school. The grounds for expulsion were incitement and drug abuse.
The boy, Jesus, was ever thing contrary to the name. He had a knack for
crossing people. He run his mouth every time he could, and found joy in
annoying people (particularly Tom). The cause of all his troubles was yet to be
understood, but Tom was fed up.
His wife, Mary, was cheating on him with his
neighbor. Tom was mad with rage and had beaten the two half to death. He was
let out on bail three days later. Mary filed for divorce citing brutality. He
couldn’t blame her. He was rarely around to pay attention to her. The odds were
stacked against him.
He had being falling behind at work. His sales
showed a deficit and his boss, the witch, was onto him. His three days in
lock-up hadn't helped his situation. The witch was full of glee when she sent
Tom packing.
He was distraught as he left the office. What would
be first; a job; numerous documents lay unattended on his desk, the son, the
wife, the case, the bills. Tom was so deep in thought he didn't notice when he
got on to the road. Then it happened.
The was the screeching of brakes. He turned just in
time see the drivers face, its features contorted in horror, her jaw dropped in
a scream. He was flung foward, feeling the rush of air before he hit the
windscreen, cracking it.
"This it," he hoped. Just then the brakes
kicked in throwing backwards. He hit the tarmac so hard he bounced. The motion
seemed to take an eternity. His eyes registered the shock. Tom hit the ground.
Now he hoped it was over. He exhaled pain coarsing through his body. Then the
wheels rolled over him . He blinked as pain jabbed every part of him. He
blinked watching the crowd gather around him. It all got dim then he blacked
out.
Now there on the bed he debated. Should he fight n
stay or should he let go. The idea of the problems awaiting him was not
lucrative. On the other hand letting go was not easy. He lay there in
indecision. He was at a cross road with two choice that were not attractive. He
shut his eyes and exhaled. His decision was made. Then he exhaled. Finally.
©davidasonga 2012
