Near-death Experience Number X

I almost died the other day. Again.

It was morning and I on my way to work. I noticed the building on the corner was coming along. They’re up to the first floor now, taking the casing off to reveal the skeleton of what will be home for some of us.

At the lights I pulled up on the left of an ambulance. I knew it would go straight on as the depot was a left turn. The morning shift would be beginning for the crew too. They wouldn’t be turning back home this early on a sunny morning when there was so much to be done.

I scratched up against her underbelly, the lowest painted bit down the side of the ambulance. Just in front of the double rear wheels. My bike slid, and was crushed a little. I slid beneath her and felt nothing. I didn’t hear anything either. It was a moment of freedom from thought, control, and decision making.

They saw me in the left wing mirror as they sat facing out with their orange sweaters and blue trousers with reflective stripes behind the knee. The driver rolled down the window and looked out at me. Was I alright? I didn’t know the answer either. There’s a thirty second gap after an accident when you are incapable of answering that question. Lie still or sit still and let the question answer itself.

I lifted the scooter off and felt my legs, arms, my elbow was aware of itself. My left hip called out for notice as did the thigh on the same leg. I stood up slowly as passers-by gathered, caught between caring and wanting to get off to work on time. I was in fine enough fettle considering. The ambulance had moved a little further off the road to the left.

The scooter had taken a bashing, loosing her back light and an indicator, the plastic panel on the left where my leg was, had come away from its anchor and jutted out just enough to need replacing.

I dwelled on the irrelevance of these details as it was clear I had been pardoned. I had been given a slap on the wrist and shown how easy it is to do away with me.

We searched for insurance forms and laughed about the incident. Together we pieced together the details for the insurance companies. They called me John and I called them by their names. The morning sun warmed our conversation and I unzipped my jacket as we settled into our roles.

The side sliding door of the ambulance stood open. Pumps and chairs, a stretcher with wheels, small drawers containing everything needed to keep you alive on a short trip.

“Could you take a look at my hip” I enquired. “I might as well, as you’re all set up and that”. I sat into the ambulance and lowered my trousers. The ambulance man applied antiseptic to the two superficial grazes on my leg. He cleaned them off nicely “So as not to dirty your trousers” he said. A nice chap indeed.

We shook hands and wished each other well as I set off for work, they set off home, they had seen much suffering. It was time for bed.

It was nine o’clock, I noticed. I started the bike, which still worked in spite of her appearance. A block from home, I decided to ride around to the crèche where I was just in time to meet my wife dropping my eighteen month old son off for another day of life. That I nearly missed.