It’s extraordinary to think about how we take so much for granted – another belief we take for granted is that every night the stars will shine. When you wake up in the morning and make plans for the day, you never really contemplate those plans changing entirely in the blink of an eye. I had never thought much about it, personally, until I was faced with Death himself. I don’t think anyone really contemplates tragedy until it knocks on their front door.
In fact, it doesn’t even knock – it forces itself in and threatens to leave you with nothing but heartache and suffering for the remainder of your miserable life. Traumatic events can occur in numerous ways, at any time in one’s life. Some are lucky enough to get away with them. Unfortunately, I was not one of the lucky. I was behind the wheel of my new car, singing along to music. I had not a care in the world. It was late at night, but that was when I loved driving most; no police on the road to tell me to slow down, or turn down the music.
The night was soundless; no cars on the road except for mine, my flamboyant muffler the only sound breaker. Like many teenagers with their car licence, I was insuperable. I was free. At least, I thought I was. I never gave any thought to the consequences of living dangerously, or how a short few seconds can transform your world entirely. I never gave any thought to the penalties maybe being more significant than I could have ever imagined, or how the steady beating of my heart could escalate treacherously and then possibly cease to beat altogether.
I was simultaneously hoon driving and changing songs – not the safest thing to be doing. There was a sudden change in road surfaces. I looked up and gazed upon an embankment which my car was travelling towards. It seemed to happen in slow-motion, but there somehow was no time to react. The car’s hood ripped into the embankment. I sealed my eyes shut as my body whiplashed with the intermittent car movements. I was as helpless as a fly in a spider’s web. The airbag released itself from the steering wheel, colliding with my face.
The metallic and unwelcomed taste of blood filled my mouth. The car flipped over onto its right-side, as though it was weightless. The seatbelt, fastening me to my seat, tore. My shocked physique fell onto the ground where the broken glass pierced through my body. Pain ripped through me. I opened my mouth to scream, but no more than a small moan escaped me. I reluctantly unlocked my eyelids to witness the night’s stars. My arm was caught underneath the car as my body laid on the arctic ground, it sent shivers up my spine.
Anxiety pumped through my veins, flooding my mind with tremendous fear. Laying beneath my flipped car, crammed between the icy, hard bitumen. I felt like I was going to throw up my heart. My trachea felt like it was stitched shut and air was incapable of entering or escaping. The car’s extravagant mass inscribed my arm deeper into the asphalt. My body shuddered. “What happened? ” I thought to myself. No cars were on the road at this time of the morning, before I loved the silence of the road – however now it was a curse. I shrieked, praying that my voice would be heard.
All I could do was wait. Laying there, I replayed the night’s events in my mind. At first I cried. I was alone. No one could help me – how could they? Just as I was about to give up entirely and close my eyes for the last time, I looked up to the stars. Their bright lights shone down on the lake beside me, dancing upon the water. Stars are truly amazing things. They have the capacity to live for millions of years. These clusters of helium and hydrogen produce magnificent luminescence through nuclear fusion until they reach the end of their lifespan – the Supernova.
This explosive death of a star results in the star obtaining the brightness of one hundred million suns, just for a short period of time. And then, the miraculous happens. When a supernova explodes protons and electrons are forced together to combine and produce a neutron star – among the strongest and most dense stars. I was the star, at the end of my lifespan. The crash was the supernova, and the embankment is the nebula – the birthplace of a new star. I had been given a second chance. I would be better, I would be stronger, and I would be brighter.