Hit The Road

One second. The least amount of time that we can count. That’s all it takes for our lives to spin 180 degrees. The people we are with now might not be there the next moment. What we are feeling now might be the total opposite to what we might feel immediately after. It is foolish to think that our lives are stagnant, that we know what’s coming next. Because we don’t. We never can. All we can do is make sure that we are ready for whatever happens in the next second.

Jonathan Strucker. A 23 year old college senior. A brother, a son and a friend. These were roles Jonathan always fulfilled. The past 15 years were a breeze, spent without a care, playing in the sun, living as though he had forever. Yes, Jonathan Strucker had a wonderfully charmed life.

Apart from his grades, the one thing Jonathan was most proud of was his bike: a BMW R 1200 GS. Jonathan always considered himself a self-starter, and that’s exactly how he went about raising money for the bike, saving up from his 2 jobs for nearly 3 years. Even after that, he was $2,400 short, but the bike’s owner decided to sell it anyway, and now, just in time for his final spring break, he owned it.

“Dude, you have any plans for break?” Steve Harper, Jonathan’s best friend, asked. 

“Nothing yet man. You?” Jonathan replied.

“Actually, I was going to go on a road trip to Vegas. I was hoping you would come with. Besides, Reina’s coming too, so...”

“Wait, Reina? Hell yeah I wanna go!” Jonathan exclaimed, nearly jumping, and then sitting back in his chair.

And so the first day of spring break, Steve, Jonathan, and Jonathan’s crush Reina Harrelson, set out on a road trip from the quiet, lifeless suburbs of Chicago to Vegas.

There was something about riding on a motorcycle. It was different from a car, bus or train. Being in a car put a screen between you and the world. A motorcycle took it away, revealing the beauty, ugliness, joy and sadness of the world.

Their first stop was Nashville, the music city. The beautiful bridges over the Cumberland River, towering buildings made of glass that reflected the three people as they zoomed through the cars, and the giant LP stadium. Jonathan could not believe what he was experiencing.

As though that wasn’t enough, he was with Reina. The wind, cold on his face, was contrasted by the warmth of her breath on his ear. The feeling of her arms as she held onto him was something he couldn’t describe. All he knew was that it was the most beautiful day of his life.

“Reina.” Jonathan said.

“Mhm?”

“You ever do this before?”

“Not really. Honestly, I thought you guys were crazy, going on such long distances by the most inconvenient mode of transport possible. But I guess I can see why. I actually kinda like it. Thank you, Jonathan.”

Jonathan looked down at his side-view mirror to find that she was looking right back. She stared for another couple of seconds before smiling and turning her eyes away. Jonathan knew that she was falling for him too.

After eating a well-deserved lunch, they decided to get back on the road. 

“Where to next?” Jonathan asked Steve.

“New Orleans”.

“That’s a way off, man. Like 7 hours or something. Anyway, which highway?” Jonathan said, rubbing his face. 

He was slightly tired. 

“I-65” Steve replied, checking the map on his phone. 

They got back on their bikes and rode. They made pretty good time, hitting the highway in less than 5 minutes. Now it was just a straight line. With almost no traffic, it was going to be a breeze.

Reina was very close to Jonathan now. He could feel her chest rise and fall with each breath. She moved closer, and put her hands on his, interlocking fingers on top of the handlebars. Jonathan gasped. Reina laughed at his surprise.

He couldn’t hold it in any longer. He had to tell her. What he felt for her was greater than friendship. She meant more to him than just a good friend. He really liked her. He wanted this moment to last forever. Him, Reina, his bike. The rest of the world didn’t matter.

“Reina.” Jonathan started.

“Mhm?” 

Reina whipped her hair, sending it into Jonathan’s eyes. Jonathan held the handles with one hand, while using his other to move her hair.

It was only a second. 

Her hair in his eyes. Him taking his hand off the handles, the bike speeding up, about to crash into the side of the road. Jonathan frantically braking, swerving, and ramming into the truck beside him. All of it was in a single second. 

One second to change a life.

After that, time seemed to slow down drastically. Jonathan was sure he could hear his watch. 

Tick. Tick. Tick. 

He could hear each second as the bike slid from under their feet and they were flung upward by the impact. 

Tick. Tick. Tick. 

He looked on ahead, as Reina fell to the ground, and rolled off to the other side of the road. His own flight was interrupted when he got hit by a car. He could hear the glass crack as he was thrown headfirst into the car, and he could feel the glass as the car braked, and he fell out.

Jonathan looked up to see where Reina was. It was all he could think about. 

Tick. Tick. Tick. 

It was as though his watch was telling him that he was almost out of time. He couldn’t die. Not yet. He didn’t tell her. He didn’t just like her. He loved her. He couldn’t find her. 

He screamed. “REINA!”.

He looked around, saw Reina on the side of the road, and crawled toward her. 

“Reina? Reina!” 

Jonathan straddled her head on his chest, and lightly tapped her cheek. She opened her eyes.

“Jonathan?”, Reina said groggily. 

“Reina! Are you okay?”

“Jonathan.”

“Listen Reina, I need to tell you something. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if I die without telling you. I love you Reina. I wanted to live my entire life with you, and I suppose I have. I love you.”

“Jonathan…”

Now that he told her, Jonathan was ready to go. He laid his head down on the asphalt, held her face, and as he closed his eyes, he saw lights flashing.

Jonathan woke up in a bed, in some sort of flimsy robe. The light from the window was nearly blinding to his eyes. Was he dead? How would he know, considering he had never died before? He tried to sit up, but trying made his head hurt. He figured he was probably alive, considering he could still feel pain.

He checked to see where he was. A TV, 2 chairs, flowers on a drawer, and a monitor that beeped with wires attached to him. He was in a hospital. He went back to sleep.

The next time he woke up, his head hurt a lot less. He picked up a folder, and it said ‘Nashville General Hospital’. He wondered how he got here, then remembered the lights. That was an ambulance. He looked around to see Steve asleep in a chair. His head started to hurt again, so he slept.

Jonathan woke up again. He was feeling a lot better. Now that he could at least think, he remembered Reina. Panic overcame him, and he started to shake, when a hand took his. He looked at it, and then looked at the person to whom it belonged. 

It was Reina.

“Jonathan.”, she said.

“Mhm?”

“I love you too.”