Historia: The Crashed Car

There were no other cars on the road that night. Adrian was driving home through a large forest, feeling sad and lonely. Between the trees it was completely dark.

He turned on the radio, but there wasn’t any signal. So he started to sing an old song from his youth. He sang the final line at the top of his voice: “My heart will – always – be – with you!”

When he finished, the silence seemed the loudest sound of all.

Adrian stopped the car suddenly. A car had crashed into a tree on the side of the road. Adrian got out.

“Are you alright?” he shouted.

He looked inside the car. It was empty. The driver’s door was open.

Adrian called the emergency services.

“Hello, what is the emergency?”

“Someone has crashed on the side of the road. They’ve left their car and I don’t know where they are.” He gave his location.

“Thank you sir. We know that road. A lot of crashes happen there. We’ll be there soon. Were you driving alone, sir?”

“Yes, I – I was just driving home.”

“And where is your home, sir? I need the information to file a complete report.”

After Adrian gave his address, there was a long pause.

“That address doesn’t match any of my records, sir.”

“What? — Oh, maybe you have my old address.” He gave it.

“That’s a nice town, sir. Is that where you were driving from this evening?”

“Yes – I was visiting my parents. That’s my parents’ address. Is this important?”

“You said you were driving home, sir. But that’s not true, is it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You were driving to the place where you live, in the city. But the city isn’t your home, is it? You didn’t grow up there. You didn’t learn to ride your bike there, or play in the fields with your parents, or sing with your friends. The truth is, you were driving away from your home.”

“What is this?” shouted Adrian, feeling frightened. “Who are you? Is this the emergency services?”

The other person ended the call.

Adrian was terrified. What was going on? He looked all around. Was someone watching him? But he was still alone in the dark.

Then, Adrian heard a sound that made him freeze.

“— heart will always be — heart will always be —”

It was the broken radio in the crashed car. Adrian turned quickly. He looked at the car again. He could see the driver now, in the car’s mirror. The man was dead in his seat.

Adrian looked at the man for a long time. Then he stared along the road, towards the city. Finally, he turned around, and began to walk home.