IMPACT

I had a dream.

Danielle and I are at the ocean. It's late. Real late. We spent the day here, having fun, doing whatever it is that friends do. Anyway.

While leaving, she decides she wants to go look at the shore one last time. So we do. We get into her car and drive over to the dock to get that last look.

As we approach the dock, something happens. She gasps. "Oh God!" she cries. We can't stop. "Are the brakes out?" The car just keeps speeding up, speeding toward the dock. "Hit the brakes!" She starts screaming, slamming on the brakes in futility. We're on the dock now, racing closer and closer to the edge.

This is not going to end well.

I tell her, we're going to be fine, "Danielle look at me... we're going to be fine."

A promise.

"Okay" she says.

She's my friend, I can't let her down. The car is rattling over the wooden planks of the dock. I can't help but wonder if this dock was designed for cars to be on it. Or for that matter, was this car designed to speed over a wooden dock, toward tragedy? Never mind.

The edge is coming. It's coming fast. There's no escaping it now. I try to keep my cool. Suddenly my instincts kick in. Get ready. I put my foot up on the dashboard. Brace yourself. I stretch my arm across her chest and grab her seat belt to protect her from flying forward. She grabs my hand and I take a breath. Liftoff.

The feeling of weightlessness grips me for a moment. We are free falling off the edge of the incredibly high dock. That sick, heavy feeling you get on a roller coaster. The dark roaring ocean is right below us, getting closer and closer. The waves glisten in the moon light, preparing to devour us. The moment seems to last forever. Floating, frozen in time. She looks over at me. I can see a mix of fear and trust on her face.

"It's okay" I whisper. For a moment, it's quiet. Almost peaceful.

Brace for impact.

Crashing, violent and horrible. We lunge forward from the incredible force. The sharp shrieking sound of bending steel and breaking glass. Everything that was once in the back of the car flies soaring past our heads, cracking the wind shield. I hold on to her firmly, I'm not going to break my promise. I hold on with all my might. The force of the impact seems endless.

I imagine this is what everyone who has ever been in a horrible accident must have felt like.

Danielle is screaming. The warmth of blood streams down my forehead. I look over at her, she is comforted briefly by my composure. The warmth is contrasted by the sudden rush of freezing cold water now pouring in through the cracked wind shield. She is gasping for air, panic has set in. Tears streaming down her face.

Now the rage of the impact has subsided, look out the window and realize - we are sinking very quickly. We are now completely under water, and the surface is getting further and further away. I think how funny it is that I am now longing for the surface, where as only seconds earlier I had been dreading it's arrival.

I must act quickly. Keep your cool.

"I need you to listen to me. We're gonna have to swim now."

"Okay."

"We're gonna open these windows, and it's gonna be cold. Really cold."

"Okay."

"I need you to trust me."

"I do."

"You can do it, I know you can." She is in shock, she peers over at me and nods her head.

I reach down to undo her seat belt before mine. The water is now up to our knees. I undo mine. I say "on the count of three I want you to take the deepest breath you've ever taken and roll down your window." We're gonna be fine.

One. Two. Here we go. Three.

I pull in air until it hurts. Then I pull in some more. We look at each other for a moment, and then begin rolling the windows down.

We are instantly covered in water cold as ice. Within seconds, the entire car is flooded. I look at her, and point to my window. I guide her up, over my lap, and through my window. It's getting darker, and everything is upside down and backwards. Down is up, left is right, in is out. Once I know she is safely out, I climb out and race for the dim glow that I can only imagine must be the surface.

I grab her hand, and we swim together. A feeling of hope sweeps over us both. We're going to make it. We're going to make it. Here we go.

Strange, we should be at the surface by now. Why haven't we surfaced yet? Oh no. We are farther down than I thought. My lungs are beginning to burn. I must keep going. Just keep swimming. Swim through the burn. Don't black out.

Several feet from the surface, I grab her hand and push her ahead of me. I have to make sure she gets to the surface, no matter what happens to me. She's my friend. Her feet pass my head, and I give her one final push. I watch her soar to the surface, swimming faster than me. The freezing water is slowing me down. The icy bath makes my muscles lock up. I can't die down here. I look up to see how far hope is. I can see she's made it. She's safe.

Alright, my turn. Get ready to breathe, almost there. Don't give up now old man. There's the light. Almost there. My fingers feel her hand as she's grabbing for me. Trying to find me in the black water. The cold blast of night air sweeps across my hair and face. I'm out. Once again, I breathe until it hurts. We're safe.

"Are you okay?" She's crying. "Yes! Oh my God! Thank you! I thought you were dead!"

We both look up and see the dock towering over us, at least thirty feet. And again, we look down. We can vaguely make out the glow of the headlights of her car, sinking endlessly into the blackness.

I look at her, and she looks at me. I have kept my promise, we are okay. I can't believe we're alive.

I take her by the hand and swim for the shore. We are both shaking from the freezing water and air. We crawl up onto the sand and stretch out. We just try to breathe. She turns over, shaken, but alive. I pull myself up, and we sit there quietly on the sand - looking out onto the ocean. The night is perfectly quiet except for the crashing waves. The moon is gigantic tonight.

I say "Well, at least we got that last look."

She laughs and says "yeah."

"One hell of a view."