
(January 16, 2007)
I was with my college friends – Arvin, Victor and Sam. We decided to go to a certain mall. Before entering the building, I saw Tammi, one of my classmates, sitting outside and she waved at me. When I was already inside, the interior amazed me because the ambience was enlightening. There were only a few people inside. Decorations were everywhere; it was as if they still had some hangovers from Christmas. I remember seeing a shop from afar, selling big pots and vases. We strolled around until we reached to the highest level of the building. Big window panes hanged on the walls and ceilings of the building and sunlight passed through and lighted everything inside marvelously. Restaurants were everywhere, plants and many things of aesthetic values. While I observed the place with admiration, Victor inquired about the concert of Sponge Cola. It would start in just 30 minutes he told me. Arvin ran onto the fountain and played on it. Sam had seen my aunt and brought me to her. She invited me and my friends to eat on a Italian restaurant for a while. We joined her and went to the restaurant which she promise me far better than Trattoria. Each of us had a meal consisting of meat, side dishes, and a handful of chips with holes in the middle all over the meal. I totally disliked the food so I just told them that it was time for me to go because I have someplace else to go to. I walked out and kept wandering around the mall when I unexpectedly met my dad. We walked together and I asked him if he could buy me some stuff that I wanted. In just a few minutes he brought me to the exit and told me that we were going home. I totally objected because I didn’t want to go yet. I didn’t want to go home empty-handed and it was too early to go as well. When he had already called a cab, I ran back inside. He followed me and he chased me wherever I go. I ran through shops searching for a place to hide. I kept running when suddenly I met a dead-end. He grabbed my arm and pulled me, and ordered me to go home. I surrendered since there was nothing I could do. We went through the mall exit again and rode the cab. The sky was still clear when it slowly turned darker as we were heading home. Then it was complete dark when we passed by and saw an accident on the highway. I saw a woman lying down on the road. People were just standing there and were not even raising a finger to help. Seeing the horrible picture, I hurriedly went out of the cab and approached the scene and tried to help the unconscious woman. I held her in my arms, and realized that she was a woman in her late 20s, wearing a brown blouse and light brown slacks. People told me a car hit her. But there were no wounds on her body though. Somebody told me she was still breathing and so I lifted her up and asked for help. Somebody offered his car and we carefully carried her inside it. They took her away to the hospital. A few meters away from where I stood, I saw the car which hit the woman. It turned over and crashed in the middle of the highway. Glass windows were broken; the whole of it was completely damaged. I looked inside and saw a woman terrible injured. It was a bloody mess and her body was stuck in the blades and torn metal. I shouted for help and the ask the people around if there was something we could do to save her. Even the people were scared too, speechless, in panic, and frozen on their stance. I tried to get the woman out of the car, but a lady stopped me. She told me not to do it because my mother would get mad at me and kill me for that. Then I heard loud footsteps nearby, until someone grabbed me and pulled me away. I realized that it was my father, telling me not to interfere with others’ business, and scolding me that it was already late and we needed to head straight home. I went back inside the cab and it drove us home. After paying the driver, dad immediately went inside the house. I slowly walked to the gate – the image of the woman in the car flashed on my mind. Before I could enter the door, I thought, “I failed to save her.” It was a feeling of terrible regret. I went inside, trying to forget what happened.











