I wanted to see my little nephew, Dr. Kryptonite, and my sister.  It was a gorgeous sunny day, perfect for opening the sunroof and enjoying the warm air.  I took the same route that I always did.  It was automatic at that point.  A friend called, so I sat at the light while talking to her.  I noticed a black SUV with tinted windows pull up to the light across the intersection.  Nothing out of the norm.

 

The light turned green.  I proceeded slowly into the intersection and then everything went by in slow motion.  Before we crossed paths, the back passenger window rolled down and I could vividly see a hand holding a handgun come out.  Shots were fired down the street that I was crossing.  Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!  I slammed on the breaks and my hand hit the horn.  The truck sped off down the street and I gunned it to get as far away from that scene as possible.

 

I could feel the adrenaline coursing through me.  My hands were shaking so hard that I had to pull over.  I didn’t know what to make of what just happened.  Was anyone hurt?  Were they shooting at someone?  Who does something like that?  My mind was racing a mile a minute.

 

I started thinking about the things that I did and questioned my own actions.  ”What were you thinking about blowing that horn like that?  Why did you stop?  Where are the police?  Why are you still sitting here?”  These were just a few questions I had.  The thing is, I had no control over my actions at all.  I don’t remember doing anything except driving away.  Something else took over completely.  I don’t remember throwing or dropping my phone.  I can’t tell you why I blew the horn.  Nothing. 

 

Suddenly it hit me.  I could have died!  Everything happened before we passed each other.  I wasn’t directly in the line of fire, but they could have easily shot and killed me right there.  I called my sister to tell her that I wasn’t coming over.  Right after the words were out of my mouth, I burst out into tears. 

 

I cried, because I was in shock.  I cried, because I had to release all of that nervous energy and adrenaline.  I cried, because I realized that I didn’t want to leave this world at that time and in that way.  I had so much to do.  I had so much to give and I hadn’t done much to fulfill my purpose.  I felt… regretful.  It was one of the worst things that I have ever felt in my entire life.

 

To be continued…