In A Heartbeat

I was on the phone Saturday night, talking with someone who is in the reading group that I'm in. The phone beeped through to let me know that someone else was calling. I checked, it was my sister calling from Hawaii, where she is vacationing this week. I said to her, Hey, I'm in the middle of something, can I call you right back? She said, "I guess so, are you having dinner?" I said, No, are you okay? She said, "No, not really." I said, Hold on one sec, I'll be right back, don't hang up.

She told me this story.
After spending the afternoon of kayaking and playing with a sea turtle, she and her friend got into his car to head home. They were driving along the coast highway when she looked up to see another car cross the line into their lane, she yelled for her friend to swerve, but it was too late. They were hit head-on. It was the worst car accident she has ever been in. The other car's airbags inflated, the driver bit through his lip. He had airbag debris in his eyes, but he was safe. Both cars were totaled. People ran from their houses after hearing that sound of car metal slamming into car metal.
She and her friend walked away.

Their bodies ache terribly from the damage of being tossed around. She knows they're going to feel much worse on Sunday. Her usual upbeat sweetheart happiness was missing from her voice. She sounded hollow and scared. I could hear how afraid she had been, how close she knew it was for this call to have been placed by someone else telling me that there had been a terrible accident.

Imagine the snap of a fingers here.

Just like that she could have been gone.

There are two people who comment here whose loved ones are battling very difficult cancers right now. They are looking at losing people they love very dearly. Sometimes it is really worth remembering to love those we really love, and to hold them close when we can.