The accident that erased my life

The rain drummed against the windshield as I drove through the night.

My hands trembled with anger. My vision blurred with humiliation.

I barely noticed the sharp turn that was looming ahead.

Then the headlights appeared.

A horn.

The squealing of tires.

And the darkness.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying in the mud on the side of a remote service road, outside the city.

My head was hurting terribly.

My handbag had disappeared.

My phone had disappeared.

My coat was torn.

And worst of all…

I had no idea who I was.

Becoming invisible overnight

For hours I wandered aimlessly until I reached a crowded street, filled with gas stations, cheap stores, and trash littering the sidewalk.

Hunger was twisting my stomach so much that I felt dizzy.

I sat down in front of a closed shop and asked a passerby if she had any change.

She hugged her daughter tightly and gave me a dark look.

“Stay away from us.”

The next morning, my clothes were stiff with dirt and my shoes were falling apart.

People had already decided on my worth.

Some ignored me.

Some people laughed.

Some offered insults instead of coins.

As night fell, hunger burned so intensely that I could barely stand.

That’s when I saw the boy.