I CAN’T seem to stop thinking about that other day. It was AWFUL. I really want to forget about it, but that thought and image keeps on coming up in my mind. I guess if I blog about it and clear my mind, I will feel better, so I’ll just give it a try.

It’s a Thursday morning and we’ve got a few minutes before the second bell rings. We’re on the road, rushing to get to school. Going downhill, I see a dog. A stray dog in the streets running around and is indecisive about where to go. As we pass the car in front of us, the dog dashes right in the middle of the street. I hear the penetrating screech of the breaks. I feel the seat belt holding me back from flying out. The car comes to a sudden stop.  My heart stops for a second and then beats rapidly. I drown my face into my hands. NO, I said to myself. This can’t happen. No, it’s a mistake. Quickly, I look back as we accelerate and go on. I see the cream white stray dog limp its way to the other end of the road. I take a deep breath and sigh.

This was the start of my Thursday. I tried not to let this incident come up in my mind so that I would be concentrating on school work. But that task is incredibly hard. Yes, there were a few times when I wasn’t thinking about it, but there was always something that would trigger it and then I would start thinking about it again. It was such a shocking experience. Even though this poor dog is still alive, it kind of left a stain on my heart. I feel really bad, although I wasn’t the one driving. I could have done something and whatever happened to being generous and letting other people-animals-go first? I mean, if we just stopped, let the dog cross the street, and then go on, nothing would have happened. That would have only taken about one minute. I would have rather gotten my third demerit for getting to school late than injure a poor dog. But the past is the past, I don’t think you can change it and the only thing I can do now is learn from other’s mistakes. Every time I pass that place, I look for the dog. But I haven’t seen it since. I truly hope that it’s alright and doesn’t have any broken bones. I blanked out in that moment and I’m really not sure what EXACTLY happened. I was pretty sure the dog was under the car, but I guess it wasn’t and it miraculously got away. I will never forget that moment and I hope it doesn’t haunt me. I feel guilty for some weird reason. I’m so thankful that the dog was still alive. If it wasn’t, I don’t think this post would have existed because I would have been too miserable and I wouldn’t have said a word about it. I noticed that the feeling of seeing a dead dog on the side of the streets is different than believing that you were there witnessing the death, but then realizing that it was alive. Well, before I get too caught up thinking about this until the point that I won’t be able to sleep, this is where I cease to talk about it… ever again I think.