Chapter 3

Karen had taken off, driving like a mad person possessed, almost causing an accident at the first set of traffic lights. Her world was rapidly collapsing around her. She had just slapped several times, with all her mighty strength and hurt the only man she had ever truly loved.

“Oh Daniel, how could you ever forgive me now after what I’ve done to you?” The tears flowed freely. She drove aimlessly through town, continually wiping her blurry vision. Her eyes stared ahead empty of thought or emotion, every car length lost to total depression. The darkening clouds within her mind had finally consumed her. Karen had become numb to reality and to life. She came close to causing several more accidents, and someone called the police, thinking she might be a drunk driver.

Highway 2 led her east towards Bellville. She had at long last had enough of her miserable life and put her final plan quickly into action. She remembered an old dirt road that she and Dan would walk along from time to time. It ended at a locked gate and an overgrown path that stopped at the cliff overlooking the abandoned rock quarry. She knew the estimated 150-foot drop and impact with the ground below would be fatal to her.

Karen broke down, sobbing uncontrollably as she turned onto the dirt road. Her face contorted in wretched grief for what she’d become: “I fucking hate you!” She hit her head several times with a clenched fist and yanked hard on her hair, saying, “I fucking hate you!

“I’m so sorry, Dan; you deserve better than me. You deserve Wendy instead of me to be your wife. At least she can still have babies. I’m so sorry I hurt you. I’m so sorry, kids. I love you, but I hate myself to death!” She confessed her sins, unable to be heard by anyone alive. She wiped her eyes to clear her vision and unfastened her seatbelt to maximize her injuries upon impact with the ground below.

The bumper of her Maxima broke the rusted chain and metal post keeping the old gate locked, damaging the right front bumper and fender. Her car swayed from side to side over the potholes on the old, overgrown path, making it difficult to maintain control. She pressed the gas pedal to the floor, and the transmission downshifted to gain power and speed.

Fifty-sixty-seventy, the speedometer increased!

“A few more seconds, and you’ll all be free of me ... forever!” Her lower lip trembling, tears blurring her vision, and gripping the steering wheel tighter, Karen kept the pedal to the floor. Eighty kilometres per hour matched the fifty-mph mark on the speedometer. Now beyond the point of no return, the Maxima sped towards the cliff’s edge and certain death for Karen!

No rock songs of hope and inspiration, nothing on earth was going to stop Karen from her date with destiny and impending death. Her thoughts were all spent. She didn’t even care that the day she’d kill herself was her husband’s birthday.

Ahead of Karen, two white puff balls filtered down from above and materialized before her. The shadowy figures grew more and more life-size, yet they seemed wispy and semi-transparent. They materialized into two strikingly beautiful visions, one blonde and the other brunette.

“STOP, WE COMMAND YOU!” Was directed at her.

Karen drove through the ghostly figures that seemed made of smoke, their outstretched hands motioning her to halt. The wind concussion from the passing car turned the figures into swirls at the back bumper. They turned, pointing their outstretched hands toward her car.

Karen slammed on the brakes, instinct telling her she’d just struck someone, then resumed her speed. The car seemed to be slowing down, but she wasn’t using the brake pedal. She pressed the accelerator to the floor, trying to increase the speed past eighty.

The Maxima’s suspension couldn’t handle the rough road at such a high speed, with one tire or another lifting off the ground. The brakes on all four wheels locked, and the car skidded closer and closer to the edge, but it was too late; the car was out of stopping distance! A large cloud of dirt and dust enveloped the car, blocking her view ahead. Was she flying through the air? It sure felt like it! Was she going to succeed in killing herself?

A gentle breeze partially cleared the air, and Karen saw the only sky straight ahead. Was she flying? She couldn’t tell. The car had somehow stopped only one foot from the edge of the cliff, and the overworked engine sputtered and stalled. She slammed the gearshift into park and, shaking uncontrollably, pounded both fists as hard as she could on the steering wheel, then her head, pulling hard on her ragged hair.

“You fucking, fucking chicken shit! You don’t even have the fucking guts to kill yourself! I hate you! I fucking hate you!” She screamed.

She broke down sobbing, leaning her head against the steering wheel, and cried like she’d never cried before in her life. Completely consumed, she slumped against the door frame, passing out from her tormented condition.

The blonde and brunette figures silently approached the driver’s door, leaving no footprints on the dusty ground. The blonde’s left hand pierced the window glass as if it weren’t there and lovingly caressed Karen’s chin.

“Is she still alive, Laura?” The brunette asked.

“Yes, Maryanne; thankfully, she only fainted. I didn’t think we’d be able to stop her car in time. Did you feel her trying to drive faster when we caused her car to slow down? She was really determined to kill herself.”

“We couldn’t let her end her life like this. It’s bad enough that Abby has to live without me, even though we know that Vicky is doing a great job raising her. I’d hate to see Brad without his mother too,” Maryanne said sadly.

“And to end your life on Dan’s birthday, how could he ever forget?” Laura asked, feeling so much pity for her lover.

Laura’s angelic hand gently tilted Karen’s head to face her. “Oh, my honey, what have you done to yourself? I can barely recognize you. Haven’t you punished yourself enough? Apparently not, from the thoughts I read in your mind. Go and finish torturing yourself. We can only help you so much to live, my love, if you aren’t willing to try and see better days ahead.”

“Do we watch over Karen all night like we’ve done in the past?” Maryanne wondered, taking Laura’s hand in hers.

“No, unfortunately, some destinies must be left to a higher power than angels. Karen, my love, if you don’t kill yourself tonight, life can return to your eyes and love to your heart. We love you.” Laura’s fingers gently combed Karen’s hair, and then she gave her a kiss with her fingers from her lips to hers.

“Your family loves you and needs you, Karen,” Maryanne said, placing a kiss on her left cheek. Moments later, they shrank to the same tiny puffballs and vanished.

Seconds later, Karen moaned, beginning to regain consciousness. _”Karen, it is not your time,” she thought she heard a faint echo say. She slowly opened her eyes, squinting and trying to focus. She looked up, not seeing anyone around. She double-checked again—nothing, no one.