Canyon Drive

I had a dream the other night.

I was riding in a car that my family hasn’t owned for years. It was a really old mostly blue suburban. I say mostly blue because at least a quarter of the paint had chipped off over time revealing brown rust. I sat in the passenger seat of the vehicle while my brother Jace drove. We were in a canyon that was unfamiliar to us. It was snowing outside and the snow was just beginning to stick to the road as we entered the canyon. The further we drove, the deeper the snow became. The snow and our nerves were both increasing exponentially. We were driving quite slowly but eventually it didn’t seem to matter. We were going downhill as the road turned to the right. We just continued on forward despite the car’s efforts to turn. It was at this point that we realized there was nothing to stop us. There was an old fence made of only wood that looked quite feeble. On the other side of the fence was a cliff that was so high up we couldn’t even see the bottom. And just like that we hit the fence and continued over the cliff. There was a moment that the car seemed almost weightless. In that moment, so many things went through my head. Fear was clouding most of my thoughts, but I remember thinking that I could potentially open my door and jump to the side of the cliff and perhaps live. I then realized that only I would live and Jace would plummet to the bottom of the canyon. That thought froze my body. After that instant was over, I knew we were both dead in a matter of seconds. We started to gain speed. My stomach wrenched into my chest. Not because of fear, but because we were falling so fast. Surprisingly, I wasn’t afraid at all. I knew I was going to die. Dead doesn’t seem to frighten me. The thought of not knowing when death will come frightens me. I still couldn’t see the bottom, but I knew it had to be close. Death was seconds away and I was as calm as ever. I cleared my head and closed my eyes. I was ready to die.

Then I woke up.