{"id":887,"date":"2011-06-22T10:12:17","date_gmt":"2011-06-22T14:12:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gadflyonline.com\/wpblog\/?p=887"},"modified":"2012-07-15T20:12:33","modified_gmt":"2012-07-16T00:12:33","slug":"passenger-by-melissa-r-mendelson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/passenger-by-melissa-r-mendelson\/","title":{"rendered":"“Passenger” by Melissa R. Mendelson"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The window was down, letting the cool air in.\u00a0 The morning was dressed in beauty with the sun brilliant in glory.\u00a0 Silence were the passengers beside me, lost in thought.\u00a0 The road was open, no detours to change the way, and the tires eagerly moved forward to destination.\u00a0 And the cool air continued to flow in, serenity instead of fear.<\/p>\n

My back pressed into the seat.\u00a0 If I were driving, I would have turned around, but I was only a passenger.\u00a0 My mouth opened for words to fall through, but nothing was said.\u00a0 There was nothing to say for no minds would be changed today.\u00a0 This was going to happen, and there was nothing for me to do.\u00a0 I was only a passenger.<\/p>\n

The neighborhood was one out of television soaps and drama.\u00a0 Cars shined in driveways.\u00a0 Windows were open, letting life flow in and out like a gentle breath.\u00a0 Music echoed because after all, it was the weekend.\u00a0 Kids laughed and played on green, freshly cut lawns, breaking my heart.<\/p>\n

We were getting closer now.\u00a0 Serenity could no longer hold back my walls of fear.\u00a0 Death was waiting in dark blue.\u00a0 The van picked up speed, and the road remained clear.\u00a0 I was never one wanting a car accident, but I begged for it now.\u00a0 Instead, we continued on, and she remained calm, in charge.\u00a0 No, there would be no changing her mind today.<\/p>\n

The impact was hard, nearly knocking me from my seat.\u00a0 The seat belt tightened, holding me in place.\u00a0 My heart stopped, and my breath caught in my throat.\u00a0 Tears stung my eyes, and my mouth snapped open.\u00a0 But no words could be said.\u00a0 There was only shock as the driver-side door snapped open, and she jumped to safety, full well knowing what she had just done.<\/p>\n

The window was open, letting the water in.\u00a0 No cool breeze could save me now, and I was gasping for air.\u00a0 I struggled with the seatbelt, but it was stuck.\u00a0 Fear drenched me in sweat, and terror clung to a frantically beating heart.\u00a0 I was going under, and there was no stopping it.\u00a0 I had reached my destination, but if I was driving, she would have failed.\u00a0 But I was only a passenger.<\/p>\n

My eyes snapped open.\u00a0 Warm sunlight streamed into a small bedroom with four, white walls.\u00a0 The mattress softened under my body as my head lifted from the pillow, and I reached down under the bunk bed, looking for her.\u00a0 My hand fell against her black fur, and my heart broke.\u00a0 I cried not for her but for them.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t save them.\u00a0 Their lives fell out of reach, so I cried harder, burying my face into the pillow to not alarm my parents.\u00a0 As I laid there with sorrow beside me, a cool breeze flowed through my open window.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

About the Author:<\/em><\/p>\n

Melissa R. Mendelson worked for the Smithtown Messenger Newspaper and its sub-issues, Brookhaven Review, Ronkonkoma Review, and Medford News as a newspaper reporter.\u00a0 She later freelanced for Hudson Valley’s Photo News and the film-making website, WildSound.\u00a0 Her short stories and poetry has been published online and in print, and her poetry was included in Names in a Jar: A Collection of Poetry by 100 Contemporary American Poets.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The window was down, letting the cool air in.\u00a0 The morning was dressed in beauty with the sun brilliant in glory.\u00a0 Silence were the passengers beside me, lost in thought.\u00a0 The road was open, no detours to change the way, and the tires eagerly moved forward to destination.\u00a0 And the cool air continued to flow […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,200,223,219,220],"tags":[142,143,139],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=887"}],"version-history":[{"count":13,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3287,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/887\/revisions\/3287"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=887"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=887"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/gadflyonline.com\/home\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=887"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}