MY MIRACLE

People often wonder about miracles in the world. Could there be religious meaning? Is there a guardian angel watching over us? My story is not meant to convert anyone to any religion or to answer spiritual questions about the heavens and how they work. This is my story that I am sharing about my life journey.

I had just turned nineteen and with some money, scraped up enough to buy a car. It was an old relic. It had a leaking radiator, no suspension and handles that rolled up all the windows. There wasn't much engine power and definitely no power steering. It built my arm muscles, but it got me from A to B, at least that was something.

It was yellow and I loved it. It is one of my most loved colours. Besides, it had comfy seats and a nice smell. This was my entire knowledge about cars at the time. As a backup I had asked my grandfather to come to the markets to see if I could nab a deal on a car. I didn't realise that he had no idea about second hand cars either. He was just happy that it held together when we went for a test drive. There was a lot of hands waving around in the car from both men and eventually I got the tick of approval to buy it. In a nutshell, I had bought a wreak.

I obtained my licence the year before. I trained on a V8 motor vehicle, which I named the beast. The beast had power and sensitivity. A slight touch on the accelerator felt like I had entered warp speed. Our heads would hit the head rests to the dismay of my driving instructor. "Gently, gently!", he would yell as I regained control of the car.

My driving test was even more entertaining with the instructor talking about how all morning she had baked raspberry muffins. She started to eat one whilst I was driving and opened the window. Bits of muffin would fly past me whenever I turned a corner. How I got my learners licence is beyond me but I even managed to pass the final exam.

My friends and I would often go to the beach in my little wreak and any steep hill needed all the passengers to get out of the car. They would all run up the hill along side the car. Once it reached the top everyone would jump back in. Oh yes, a lot of good memories about this car.

I travelled everywhere, that is, in a radius of twenty-five kilometres from where I lived. I drove mostly during the day and would catch a taxi for a night out with my friends. There was this one evening where I chose to be brave. I decided to drive to my family's home, which was on the other side of my suburb.

I was hesitant to go out at night. The police advised the residents in our block of apartments that a male streaker was reported in the area. He was sporting a beige coat and lurked in gardens at night. He was spotted opening his coat and and revealing his nudity to women. I guess that intrigued a couple of women in our block as I often spotted them standing around the garden bushes at night chatting.

This evening was cold. I stepped outside to check that my petrol cap was still on my car. Some petrol siphoning was going on in the area. Petrol cap, check, petrol in the tank, check, no male streaker, check, so I was ready to go. It's okay. It wasn't far anyway.

I left the driveway and drove about fifty metres until I came to a T-intersection. It was pretty dark as some of the street lights weren't working. I looked left and then right. The street was empty. There were no cars. I checked. I indicated right and accelerated slowly.

Unknown to me there were a couple of hoons speeding in a black sports car further up the same street I was turning into. They were burning rubber and their engine was roaring. Where did they come from! Fast approaching. They turned on the high beam. I couldn't see. The light was too bright. I was blinded. They must of seen me. They weren't slowing. In my panic instead of hitting the break, I hit the accelerator. Their headlights were upon me. Impact was imminent. Speed was too fast. I was going to die. It was going to be messy. "Lord, help me!", I cried.

At that moment I fell into slow motion. Everything around me slowed, I could see their astonished faces like a slow moving picture. I could feel like the decompression of air in my car. My body felt like it was tied to weights. My car lights were directly on the speeding car in front of me. Only a couple of inches away. I could see the car speeding past me. Then it was over. I was released from the energy. It was like this weight had vanished. Everything went back to normal. My car was accelerating with my foot on the pedal.

My heart was beating madly. My breathing was rapid. My hands were clammy and wet. I drove to the nearest curb and sat in the car waiting for recovery. Engine off. I was trying to make sense of what had happened. Was I still alive? Yes, I am. I had no answer. I calmed myself by concentrating on my breathing . An eternity had passed, I was ready to start the engine. I was given another chance in life and I was going to do something with it.

I arrived to my family's home. Everyone mentioned that I looked so pale. Little did they know what had just happened. I was constantly asked throughout the night if I was well. I never mentioned to them what had happened. Until this day I have never had an explanation for it. It will always live in my memory. I can only thank that I was blessed that night and I am here to write my story.