Chapter 3

I remember feeling relieved that your Dad was trying to move, which was really hard to do, as not only were we injured badly, but we were also stuck under the roof of the car, compressed in our seats, and all around us were tiny pieces of glass splinters.

I called out to the Malay man frantically. My voice, coarse with all the shouting, and from the crouched position I was in, I could hardly breathe.”

Stacy listened, feeling all the emotions that her mother was expressing at that moment. Indeed, it was a miracle to have that Malay man turn up at an opportune moment!

She got up from the dining table and went over to hug her mother. “I am so happy that we made it alive, Mom,” she said, consolingly. She felt sorry that her parents had to go through all that trauma.

Her mother had finished cooking by this time. Stacy helped her set the table, at the same time, asked her to continue with the story.

Her mom continued.

“Well, that kind man who heard my shouts, spoke in Malay and gestured from outside of the car that he was going to go and get help for us.

I then saw him cross to the other side of the road and watched while he frantically waved down a passing car, shouting at the driver to stop.

The driver had another passenger in the car, which turned out well for us.

The Malay man and the two gentlemen quickly rushed to help us out of the car. I heard the Malay man tell them to help the mother and child first, “Tolong ibu dan anak keluar dulu,” he said.

The three men broke the hinges to the door which was jammed shut tight, against which I was leaning, and dragged me out of the car with you cuddled in my arms.

You were inconsolable. The loud bang, the shattering of glass, plus the strangers who were trying to pry open the door, was just a little too much for you, so you screamed your lungs out, Stacy’s Mom said with a smile on her face.”

“My God, what a nightmare,” Stacy commented.

Stacy took a bite of the chicken she was holding in her hand and thought about her flashbacks which got her sweating and feeling fearful once more. She wondered if she had ever recovered from the trauma of the accident. It is something that would have been subconsciously imprinted in her mind from the time it happened. Perhaps, that was why it was coming back to her in snippets of flashbacks.

“I remember that I couldn’t feel my legs after a while due to the impact of the crash but had clung on to you with dear life. My hands too were so numb holding you! I don’t know where I got the strength to hang on to you like that, because the car went spinning, turned turtle twice before it stopped," Tracy was brought back to the present when her mother continued with the story.

I was so thankful that you were safe, alive, and without sustaining any serious injury. In fact, I was so thankful that all of us were alive!

I kept checking to see if you were okay, my head heavy and spinning. In a way, your cry was the most joyous thing for me to hear. It meant that you were alright.

After the three men had carried us to their car, the two gentlemen rushed us to the hospital, while the Malay man got on his motorcycle and went on his way. We never did meet him after that. A good Samaritan he was.

When we reached the hospital, we were rushed to the emergency room. I managed to feed you while on the way to the hospital, because the Malay man had grabbed the bag of baby essentials with your milk in it, and handed it to me. I was so thankful for that.

At the hospital, I refused to let go of you. Though tired and distraught, I clung to you even when the doctors and nurses came to attend to me. I think they had to literally tear me away from you. I was so scared for you. But then, they put you in a baby cot right next to me, so I was pacified somewhat.

Your dad was in the next ward with more injuries on him than me. I was glad that his injuries were not fatal.

The hospital doctors and staff who attended to us said that it was such a miracle that we survived that crash without sustaining grievous injuries.

Anyway, we were hospitalized for about five days before we were discharged.”

Stacy looked at her mom hard after she had finished the story, thinking how her Mom had been so courageous at a time of such trauma.

Stacy suddenly got a premonition that her Dad’s car had been a red one, so she asked, “Was the car red, Mom?”

“Yes,” replied her mom clearly surprised that Stacy mentioned the right color.

“How is it that you guessed the color of the car to be red, Stacy?”

“I had a fleeting flashback of the incident while you were telling me the story, Mom,” Stacy informed.

Her mom stared at her confounded, a look of disbelief etched across her face.

Stacy then went on to tell her Mom that she always had déjà vu moments when associated with certain events or when talking about her past. She felt that certain incidents seemed familiar to her. Her Mom had a puzzled expression on her face at Stacy’s revelation. She looked disbelievingly at her daughter, especially since she could tell the color of the car.

Suddenly, Stacy felt herself go cold. She heard those screams once again at the back of her head. Her Mom was saying something, but Stacy couldn’t make out what it was. She felt like she was going back in time.

“Mom, could you excuse me for a moment, I need to go to the bathroom,” Stacy said and without waiting for a reply, she went into her room.

Her head swimming, she sat down on the bed. She put her head in her hands and looked down at the floor. The floor seemed to be moving.

Events of the accident kept coming back to her in blurred images.

The baby in the car was screaming. Someone was clutching it close to her bosom. Loud screams were vibrating in her mind, and the surrounding was pitch black and overwhelming.

A car kept spinning without stopping!

It was a red car. It kept on spinning and turned turtle a couple of times before it came to a sudden halt.

“Stop! Stop!” cried Stacy.

Then, just as suddenly as the events gripped her, they left her muddled thoughts. Stacy felt exhausted.

She got up from the bed and went into the washroom. She looked at the reflection of her face in the mirror and noticed her teary eyes staring back at her - wide and fearful. She looked frightful, she thought a little petrified.

She quickly washed her face and went back to the dining room.