Intersection

The light turned from red to green and I slowly accelerated into the intersection, a glint of sunlight off a windshield my only warning

Then the screech of tires, a smell of hot tar and diesel fuel, and the desperate screams of car horns assaulted me – or were the screams mine.

In a split second a flood of emotions sped through my mind – disbelief, love, fear, resignation, then acceptance.

A crude wooden cross, adorned with faded, fake flowers, was pounded into the dirt at the corner of “oh, shit” and “too soon,” my name and memories lost to the years.