Have you ever been reeled in to someone's driving mistake? Reeled in? Is that really possible? I asked because I've been conditioned that everything that is happening to you is your own doing. Is it really?
It was Saturday, I wasn't up to get up as early as 7 am just so we could meet the schedule that was planned for that day.
Leave at 11 to get to my hubby's mom's place to pick her up and go to the beach. Not really excited about it though I've been looking forward to taking my boots and socks off and just walk on the sandy seashore. The heaven was neither happy that day, it was wailing all the way to his Mom's place. I fell asleep in the car because it's the time of the month and the second day is the dizziest and the laziest. Ooops! TMI! The windy beach would probably prick your face plus it would be such a short stay because we have a party at 3 to attend.
One pee stop and we finally got there after an hour and a half wet ride. The heavens look so gray but it has stopped crying. My husband stepped out of the car to get his Mom and I lay half awake in the passenger's seat. I need to take a leak but the heavens did it first. Shoot! I should have stepped out of the car earlier, I thought when the bush puked my husband out - running back towards the car because the heaven's tears were some huge drops.
"Get off, let's go up and take a leak."; he said.
" Honey, don't forget the wine in the trunk."; I said.
He opened the trunk and took the wine out for his Mom, opened and handed me the umbrella and did something more while I looked at the car behind ours. It was an Opel and there's a silhouette of a man in it. I wonder whether he was also waiting for someone. My husband took another look at the the driver's door and checked whether it was well locked and we finally headed to his Mom's apartment.
While walking hand in hand tucked under the umbrella, my husband asked whether it's my phone that was peeping so I reached for it in my huge bag. It can't be I thought. Must be some car outside probably parking and is too close to the next car I thought. Sounds like it ~~~ then suddenly we heard a BAM! As if a huge crunchy plastic broke. My husband and I looked at each other and shrugged both our shoulders at what that could be. All I could think of is to get inside and get relieved.
His Mom let us in the hall door, we took the lift and I ran to the loo. My husband had his turn and his mom and I chatted a bit about the heavens crying then we all went down. We were greeted by what seemed to be shattered car light glasses.
"What the hell happened here? " ; I blurted out.
To my right was an old red Citroen with a missing left rear light.
"Holy shit! Was that the BAM?"; yeah that's what my husband saw and made him see red - his car's been reeled in.
I went on blabbing while my husband ran to his car to check if everything was okay. I prayed hard that it is but I saw his face turned red and for the first time, my very composed better half let out pepper cussed words - loud in the bush.
He went to the men busily talking on the phone in front of the red Citroen and looked at the cars that seemed to be involved with what happened to his favorite toy. The old man seem oblivious of everyone plus I thought he must be in shocked so I approached the guy on a gray shirt and asked.
"Who did all this?"
He pointed at the old guy. I tried asking for the details but they were both busily calling their insurance or the police it seemed. I gave my husband my phone because I barely use my credit so he could call the police - it's SOP here. He did and I heard him acknowledge that they are on the way. I was already stressed out because in the Philippines if something like this happens - the car owners normally settle it with their fists first. All four car owners all seem to be bottling up - I could tell from their red faces, except for the old man who's face must be red out of embarrassment. He told me it was him indeed and that it was stupid. Deep inside I have to agree but blurting it out won't help the very confused old man so I just said - "Shit happens." and shrugged my shoulders.
Police arrived and they asked the old man if he's alright or should they call an ambulance. I was amazed cause that's how humane they are here. Yes, the old guy ruined our cars and for that reason we are no longer allowed to drive it and it would have to be taken to an impound and be towed. Two other cars were badly destroyed specially the one that rammed the old man's car - its right front wheel exploded and its right front light is totally broken.
Still, he wasn't treated harshly - which I think is very humane. It was an accident. Nobody wanted that to happen specially if your car would get dented, scratched on both doors to the right and have a broken front lights.
He's fine. I finally got to ask what has happened. He said he was getting out of the parking and saw the white car coming but it looked far from his mirror and he still tried driving away. The next thing he knew is that he was rammed and dragged while he dragged the red Citroen, too and finally stopped and the white car's right front wheel exploded and stopped in front of his. He freaked out when the airbags on his rear windows came off and there was quite a stench and he couldn't get the door beside the driver's seat to budge so he actually went out on the other door in panic.
All of these happened while we were upstairs. Thanks be to God cause I was supposed to be seating in there and would have seen it all happened. It would have caused me some trauma and would discourage me to ever love driving. Thanks be to God that it didn't happen while my husband was stepping out of the car nor while he was getting something out of the trunk because he was standing so close to that car then. Thanks be to God none of those guys were dead nor wounded nor badly hurt.
Yes, my husband's car may actually be irreparable but people are more important than cars.
The good side of it.
There is? Well... surely, my husband's heart was broken because he really loves this car and it has brought us safely and comfortably to many of our travels abroad and around here so he'd probably see otherwise.
What hurts the most is that - it's never been scratched for all the 8 years that he's had it - not a single scratch and ultra clean inside cause am not even allowed to eat bread in there. Yes, that's how much this car is loved. It was neatly parked and was innocently standing there waiting for us just to be reeled in some old guy's driving mistake. The fact that he's upset hurts me the most! I hate to see him looking like he did that day!
So the good part? I get to ride in the tow truck. Yes, am that shallow or maybe I was trying to make the most of what's left of the ruined day. Perhaps it wasn't sinking in to me that our plan will no longer push through and I could kiss the beach goodbye. His mom went back home and was thinking we'd be up there, too and just go home by train or still go to the party by bus or with the tram but no, we had to go to the impound with the cars to sort things out. On the way to the impound, my husband rang his mom and his friend up to apologize that our plans would no longer be pushed through while I listen and thought deep inside... we could still go by train.
The thought of how drained my husband probably felt after seeing his car made me realize - it's over so I might as well enjoy this tow truck ride to the impound. It's pretty comfy up there plus you feel elevated and could clearly see them black birds with wide spread black feathers on the street lamps. It's my first time ever so I might as well try to enjoy it and I did.
After a 20 minute ride, we got to the impound. I went straight to the loo. I was more nervous than the old man. I could feel the tension in the room and even before that. The lady who owns the Citroen didn't have to go with us cause she lives near but all the men came from another city. The guys were drinking coffee when I got back to the hall. The guy on the gray shirt asked me what coffee I'd like to have cause he was sitting next to the machine. I haven't had lunch so having coffee would make me shake because I'm already nervous. The old man was probably the most nervous among us that he took out all the contents of his bag looking for papers and he was restlessly calling everyone to probably avoid confrontation.
A guy came out and called the name of the guy on the gray shirt. He was handed a car key for a replacement car and he bid us goodbye after signing some papers. My husband went to the toilet so I got to ask the old man what happened again. Same statement except for he added that before all of that - he was tinkering on his navigation system because it wasn't working properly. A thought hit me - that must explain the tooting sound. Wait! Did he drive off while busily typing on his nav? I didn't bother asking because - the fact remains - I didn't see what happened.
Deep inside I was sulking and thinking shit the car is wrecked and I might not get to my scheduled events which am looking forward to next weekend. How the heck am I going to do the groceries this week? With the bike? In the cold and this wet a weather? Grrrr ~~~ and more grrr~~~ What if the car doesn't get fixed?? I wonder what was going in my husband's head. He was really furious and have said things that you won't usually hear him say. Worse - he's very quiet now but his face is screaming he wasn't happy but hey! Who would be - if this happens to you ?
The old guy's son arrived to pick him up while my husband and I were waiting for the cab that would bring us home. It's amazing - what service you could benefit from having your car insured here. His son asked what happened so I told him what I saw. I also told him that I don't get it how his dad was dragged from being behind our car to 4 more parking slots. I also get to ask how old the old man is. Eighty five so I got curious cause ge said he saw the white car coming and it was far away so he still drove off the parking.. At his age, he must be pretty slow and if its true he was busy with his nav - then he was really meant to crash. His words still ring in my ears; "Dom heh?" - which literally translates - stupid.
I kid him that he'd better just take the bike next time. He laughed and said this accident won't stop him from driving. That joke is really half meant but I guess he hasn't realized that because of his mistake three other cars are now badly damaged. The car he is driving is a lease car so it'll just get replaced and everything is taken care of. I don't know about the other two but ours is ours so we will have to wait for whatever assistance we could get from the insurance then.
Okay, so I also admit that a bit of me was starting to get pissed off at the thought of that plus I hate to see how upset my husband is. The car - it's just a car - irreplaceable but the cortisol probably building up my husband's body who's probably trying to contain his boiling blood inside is not easy to take in. His son apologized for what happened and the old man shook our hands and they both left. Somehow I felt relieved because I saw that my husband's face softened. He's human, too. He may be keeping his poise but deep inside he must be so angry.
I asked my husband how he'd like to have a kit - kat which is the only one that seems okay to take in the vendo beside the coffee machine. Oh yes, he knew I was trying to give the shrink in him a cheap theraphy but he won't bite. I asked if he's got food in his bag which he usually has. He handed me a three day old cookie. I indulged because my anacondas are all on strike in my tummy. I was already having migraine despite that I already drank my bottle of water up. I was hungry - it was past lunch time. Finally, after three long hours the cab arrived. We stepped in and leaned on the seats. I noticed how very very drained we both were.
On the way back home, the driver chatted much and somehow I thought - okay .. another good thing. I get to ride a cab here for the first time. I was always curious what it's like because the cabs here just so you know are expensive cars. The one we had was an E - Mercedez. It's very very expensive to ride a cab here specially if you're more than a 100 km bound. You'd probably pay through the nose but this was part of the insurance compensation. The cab smells like smoke so I had to adjust to it for a few minutes. That's the hard part about having a dog's nose. The driver asked us many questions about us and shared much about himself, too that we somehow forgot what happened during that whole cab ride.
The whole cab ride was a joy and he must have done his best to cheer us up we really for the whole ride were oblivious of what happened a few hours back. He and my husband got to talk about cars which seemed to brighten him up a bit plus the guy gave him a tip of what to do and which company to consult and go for a second opinion since he already have had such an experience so we were but thankful.
We got home pretty exhausted specially my husband so when he said - he wants pizza for dinner, I couldn't help but give in to cheer him up though I know that nothing I could do nor say would make him feel better. We both ate quietly and after dinner, I surfed the net for cars to replace it just in case it's irreparable. The ones that I like costs thousands of euro. Another sssshhh...t thoughts flashed in my head but my husband said wait for what the insurance would offer and whether it is fixable or not. I checked out how much a new one of the same car would cost and let out a "ffffff~~~!" in my head because I am not up to spending a 5 digit amount for a car. That's a house in the Philippines, one with a garden in the country side or an apartment with a good view in the city that you could get rented and could go up in value in the long run. A rather good investment than to buy a car that goes down in value. I am so not up to the thought but I am not the only one to make the decisions on it later.
The thought of getting a 2nd hand version is welcome but my OC was so on that I was getting more worried because the thought of buying a second hand car with a textiled seats haunt me. Ours have leather seats and very very tidy you could lick it. I guess I've watched too much car shows in the past that the idea of whatever bacteria or dirt is in another person's car - is just dreadful. You must be asking now, why not buy a new car. It's easy to do that but the idea that it could just be bumped too like this - is already a turn off. It's pointless having a very expensive car when this could happen even if it's a ratio of 1:9 possibility to happen. Okay, so I admit I was just thinking too much ahead again but that's only cause my Twingo is no longer in the picture. Fingers crossed, everything is going to be okay.
The next day, we woke up late and tried to have fun. Not a discussion of what happened a day before till during coffee. Never again. Somehow, we were going out for the sake of the other people. Perhaps, unconsciously, we were both not so happy with our plan that day. Who knows whatever played role that day.
What matters is - we are both whole, safe and sound! That's all that matters. It doesn't matter that what we planned for that day didn't turn out as we wanted it to. What matters is that ..We are alive ....
The visit to our garden lifted my husband's spirit up. We went back home with our bike bags full with freshly harvest veggies. I wanted to Steemit and post about this but was hesitating because I also have a planned posting series but - the heck! You're still reading? This has turned out to be a very very long post.
Life isn't always as perfect as you want it to be, okay! No matter how positive you are - shit could still happen to someone else and you could be innocently reeled in. It's a possibility and a reality..... the question is how are you going to deal with that?
However, I guess, we are so loved by the whatever good force there is - it must have been trying to cheer us both up that when we did the grocery yesterday (on foot ) the cashier told me I won't have to pay because I was the 4th costumer and their campaign is whoever is the 4th in line gets their shopping spree for free. Awesomeness galore! My cheeks turned red from delight and I blurted out ; "Thank you!" pretty loud because for so many months, it was the first time I walked in that store again and yes, I had much in my basket so damn - I guess lucky me! First, I evaded death and now this - free groceries! My husband asked whether I declared that I was 4th and I said no - and that I was oblivious of it I just wanted to get done and go home before it gets darker and colder. Oh well...
I guess.. it's all - PRONOIA :). We may have to live with the fact that the car may no longer be salvaged but Cest la vie. It's not the end of the world. Well, it would probably take us days or weeks to process and accept the whole reality but hey, I was brought out in this world - butt naked and car less and aren't we all? It's not the end of the world - life goes on :)
I took each pic with my Samsung Galaxy A3 2016.
You! Yes you, do you also think that everything that happens to you is your own doing?
Why or why not?
Have you ever been reeled in such a driving mistake?
How bad was the damage to your car?
What did you do? Did you sulk or did you just - shake it all off?
Spill in the comment, you mind?
edits: added and replaced tags
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