half past nomad

The white sedan finally came to rest infront of my eyes. Driving down at 60kmph, the first thought that registered on my mind was how I was supposed to go around that. The second thought made more sense though: Somebody’s car just flipped upside down infront of me..

I slam the brakes, punch the hazard lights and take off running. Already a group of passerby’s have come to the rescue, the loudest of them issuing instructions in Arabic, a possible quiet leader working away furiously to open the door and pull out the passengers. I open the other door. It’s stuck. I yank it, pushing the car slightly. Everything is upside down, I see a man in a white thobe slowly being pulled out of the car. I speak loudly, instructing him to keep moving, to keep moving ya rafeeq. Standing up, I turn around and yell out to my dad.

“Abbu! Call 911! CALL 911!”.

I run around the car to the other dozen helpers already there. The man is being questioned in Arabic by folks trying to get a reaction from him. Somewhere, someone has already pulled out his 6-7 year old son and is comforting the child. Everybody is focused on the passengers. I’m staring at the car next to me. It’s upside down. It’s upside down man. And it registers in my mind that the engine is still running, the wheels still moving slowly. Dropping to my knees, I crawl into the overturned vehicle. I don’t even think of the broken glass spilt on the floor-ceiling. I need to kill the engine before more damage occurs. I finally find the keys, crawl back out and hand them over to someone else, I don’t know who. It’s not as if somebody is going to steal the car anymore. Glancing over at the driver, I see that the sole of his feet are being rubbed to ensure blood circulation or for some other reason. I don’t know. I know my work here is done and I slide out of the crowd and walk away.

I can do no more.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 7th, 2005 at 2:37 am and is filed under General Lee.