With a loud screech, a car came to stop at an abrupt halt, just a hairbreadth away from Brad. His brain was still buzzing from the shock. He thought that he would be hit by the speeding car. But in the next moment when he saw that he wasn"t hit, he was relieved. His brain took so long to process it. It seemed like a slow-motion movie. Everything happened so fast that he wasn"t even able to react to it. But a high pitch scream exploded from their house. It nearly caused his eardrums to vibrate hard. When he turned around, he saw his mother running towards him crazily. "Thank G.o.d! You are okay." She said as she ran and crashed herself onto Brad. Brad was still unable to process anything. Two scares simultaneously. One by the driver of the car, another by his mom. He was speechless. He lifted his hand, and patted his mother"s back, as he continued sobbing. He saw his father coming grim faced towards them. As he thought back to the incident, he was scared. He had so much to do in his life. He didn"t want to die. That was the thought that came to his mind when the car was about run over him. Thankfully, he did not die.
As he saw his father approach him, tears welled up in his eyes. His father came in front of him and patted his shoulders. He did not say anything, but that silent consolation helped. He came in front of the car driver and stood in front of him with his arms crossed. There was a deep chill in his voice as he asked, "Why were you speeding through this lane? Did you notice that?" He pointed ahead. The driver noticed the movement of his fingers, and his eyesight followed to the traffic sign ahead mentioning the speed limit. He did not answer his question, but said, "You are Stephan Holman. I know you." Stephan"s eyelids twitched, as he got angrier. The chill in his voice could not be mistaken, as he said, "Since you know me, why don"t you answer my questions?"
"Um… About that… Sir…" He paused with every word, then continued in a flow,"IwasbeingchasedbysomeonesoIdrovesofastandalmostcrashedontohim." He pointed at Brad.
"What? Don"t speak gibberish. Speak clearly. I did not understand a single word of what you spoke." Stephan coldly looked at the man. The man was scared out of his wits. He said slowly and carefully, "I was being chased by someone so I drove so fast that I almost crashed onto him." This time he pointed at Brad with his chin. He continued nervously, "I didn"t mean to. Believe me. They were chasing me. I saw the road was empty. I did not know that someone will come so suddenly. Even I was scared. Please, I mean no harm." The driver tried to make his stand clear, as he apologized to Stephan consecutively.
Stephan did not force the matter anymore. He could see that the driver was telling the truth. Being a politician himself, he was adept at reading people. So, he warned the driver and let him leave. He said to Brad, "Don"t go to college today. Don"t go to work, too." Brad nodded his head, and hugged his mother as he got back to his room. He was sitting in his room in a daze when he heard a very slow, drowsy call. The voice was almost drawling out in a magical voice, "Come… Come to me. This is your destiny. You have to accept it. Come… Come to me…" It was a slow, almost rhythmic voice which could calm down one"s soul. The surrounding chatter seemed to have stopped magically.