那一場呼嘯而過的青春

搭車 Hitchhike

字體:16+-

佚名/Anonymous

My mother had just died from cancer, and I was a wreck. We hadn't been very close and it had killed me that I never got to actually know who she is. Sometimes I feel it is worse that I didn't know her than if I actually did and cared for her much more. So I was on my way to the funeral home and suddenly my car broke down. I pulled over onto the shoulder and began to feel sorry for myself. It felt to me that God was punishing me, first my mother dying, now this!I slowly stumbled out of my car and checked to see what the problem was. It turned out my tire was flat and I did not have a spare. It seemed my luck was getting as worse as it could be. Then it began to rain. I quickly hopped back into my car and began to cry. I turned my emergencies on and just sat there crying.

Then it seemed out of nowhere this older woman pulled up behind me. I got out of my car and she asked what the problem was. I told her and she said,“Well dear, I guess I'll just have to take you to the funeral myself.”Then unbelievably she ushered me into her car and began driving. Soon I could feel the sun beaming on my face and felt my luck was suddenly changing. I smiled to myself. I was telling the lady the directions as we went and she told me she was headed to her sister's house for dinner the exactly opposite way. I felt bad making her go out of her way but she would not stand for it. She told me she wanted to help me. So I just went along, telling her the directions, and eventually we came to the funeral home. I asked her for her name and number. She wrote it down for me. I thanked her for her help and felt a tear roll down my cheek, not for my mother, but for the kindness of the stranger I had just met.

I attended the funeral service, but always in the back of my mind was this old lady that had helped me. I hitched a ride with my brother back to my house and arranged for my car to be fixed. Everything became back to normal for me and soon I forgot about this lady who had helped me. Yesterday I was looking through some old shoeboxes and stumbled upon her number and decided to call her. A younger woman answered and she said she was the older woman's daughter and that her mother had recently passed away. I was so shocked by that, and didn't talk for a minute or two. Finally I asked where the funeral was and made plans to go to it.