My Accidental Deal With The Mystery Man

The accident wasn’t my fault.

For a second, a small white light flashes before my eyes.

My car is wrecked, and I’m banged up, but thankfully, I’m alive and awake. A car driving nearby pulls over the side of the road.

A man jumps out and rushes over. “Hey! Are you okay?”

“I think so. Can you help me get out?”

“Yeah, of course.” He takes my hand and gently pulls me out of my vehicle.

“What’s your name?”

He hesitates. “I’m Dan. And yours?”

“I’m Hailey. Nice to meet you. Thanks for helping me out.”

“Of course. Do you need a ride somewhere?”

“Actually, yes. Could you just drive me home?”

I wouldn’t normally get in a car with a stranger, but something about this situation and this man feels safe.

“Sure. Let’s go to my car.”

He guides me to his car with his arm around my neck. I can’t help but wonder if this is a genuinely sweet man.

That’s when I realize I know this man. As we walk toward his car, I start to panic internally, but I know I need to play it cool.

“Hey, have we met before?” I ask.

“I don’t think so. I think I’d remember your face.”

I awkwardly smile.

He opens his passenger-side door for me. My trembling body slowly enters the car.

“Where do you live?”

“517 Walnut Road.” This address is across the street from my house.

He puts the car in drive, and we speed off.

“Hey, can you slow down? I was just in an accident. I’m still a little jumpy,” I say.

“Sure, I’m sorry.”

He slows down. A few minutes go by in complete silence.

As we creep into the driveway, Dan says, “Remember to stay strong, and I’ll be here waiting for you when you come out the other side.”

“Huh?” I say, with a perplexed look on my face.

“Good luck, Hailey.”

I step out of the car, and just like that, he’s gone. Like, vanished.

This is a puzzle that I had to piece together.

I start to walk back toward my house. But I can’t seem to cross the street.

The sweat drips down my body as the sun shines, my vision becomes blurred with tears, and I drop down to the curb. I sniffle and take a deep breath.

I scroll through the photographs on my phone. I see pictures of my daughter’s father. He was the love of my life. I look up at the very road where he was taken from us. I still hear the sound of the sirens and my daughter’s horrifying shrieks. I never thought I would move on from that day. But I’ve needed to maintain a strong front for our young daughter.

I wipe my face and stand up. I start to cross the street toward my house when I bump into a wall.

“Ow, what the hell?” I say as I rub my forehead.

I walk back over to the curb as I hear in my head, “Remember to say strong, and I’ll be here waiting for you when you come out the other side.”

What could he have possibly meant by that? Why can’t I cross the street?

Before I can even sit down, I see my life flash before my eyes. My childhood, the face of my father and the trauma I endured from him, my daughter being born, her father dying, and everything in between.

The flatline starts to jump. I gasp deeply and spring up in the hospital bed.

“What happened to me?” I say.

“Oh my gosh, you’re awake. Honey, what do you remember?” the doctor asks.

“I remember being in a car accident and being rescued by this man. Wait, where’s my daughter? What time is it? She probably needs to be picked up from school.”

“Your daughter is fine. We saw that your mother was your emergency contact, so we called her, and she has your daughter. Anyway, somebody did see your car and called 911 for you, but nobody was there when the ambulance arrived.”

I look at the doctor with a pout.

The doctor turns away and leaves the room as the nurse walks in. The nurse is…Dan.

“Hey, I’m Dan, your nurse. We’re so glad you’re awake.”

“Dan?”

He winks and smiles.

I smile back and let out a chuckle.