copyright © 2002 Brandon Allison

The Sky was Blue (BONS III)
Brandon Allison

     It happened one evening after a play rehearsal. I remember getting up that morning and feeling surprisingly refreshed. The day went smoothly and successfully. I felt so complete with my job, my car, my J. Crew shirt, my family, my friends, my play, my school. I was driving on rt. 29 north, heading home. It was dusk, and the light was slowly seeping behind the mountains. I was listening to an old Cake CD. I actually remember the exact song lyric, because it was appropriate for the setting. "Watching all the reds and oranges slip away, letting go of yet another dirty day." I was driving behind a black Mercedes Benz, a pretty new one. I'm not sure exactly how the pickup lost control. Out of the corner of my eye I saw it bounce off the guardrail, and then slam into the Mercedes, sending it into the median. I hit the brakes, and miraculously didn't touch the red pickup that was directly in front of me, where the Mercedes was. Those people had been replaced. As the truck pulled over into the median, I followed suit. My chest felt crushed, and I could barely breathe I was so scared. After I got out of my car, I walked over to the truck, to check on the driver. He was a man in his upper forties. He looked terrified. Blood matted his beard. A large sheet of metal engulfed his left calf. He tried to move, but it only agonized his leg further. I looked into his eyes and I knew he felt nothing but pain. There was a growing puddle of blood on the floormats that read, "keep on truckin'." I winced in horror at the site, and turned around. That was when I saw it. The Benz had been pushed all the way into the south bound lane. It hit a tractor trailer head on. The car was crumpled in like soda can. The birds were singing. Cars whizzed by. The sky was blue. A woman, in a black party dress, tears running down her face, diluting the the blood seeping from a gash on her forehead, limped towards me, her dead family trapped in the car. "The Sky was Blue" IS COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL AND MAY NOT BE DOWNLOADED, TRANSMITTED, PRINTED OR PERFORMED WITHOUT THE EXPRESS PERMISSION OF THE AUTHOR

"The Sky was Blue" debuted June 7, 2002, performed by Brandon Allison.

Performed at Best of No Shame on June 27 & 28, 2002.


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