A Night Collision

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As the sun slowly started to fade, and red and orange streaks swept the sky, Stephenson’s rocket arrived at the station. The man-made monstrous creation began to reduce speed, and its heavy breaths became slower and softer. The train finally came to a halt, and soon all the passengers were in a frantic hurry to board the steam engine.2

The corridors of the locomotive were very small and tight, therefore making it impossible to pass while all the passengers were busy looking for their cabins. Finally I reached my room; seemed I was going to be bunking with another person, a male in his early thirties, roughly my own age. As we got aquatinted and ordered a cup of coffee, the train gradually began to move. Robert and I spent half the night talking away; it seemed we had a lot in common. We both were engineers, had the same destination which was Liverpool and we both enjoyed going to the races.3

When the weary feeling of sleep started to fall upon us, we decided it would be a good idea to have a couple hours rest before breakfast. I spent some time thinking about my journey and its significance to my life. This interview in Liverpool would mean a new life for me and for Emmelene; this would mean quite a substantial sum of money and a step up in our level of society. Before I knew it my consciousness started to wander and I was off to the land of nod. Dreams flooded my mind. I dreamt about a picnic that Emmelene and I were on with who appeared to be my sons. It was a glorious day, the sun was shining ever so brightly and the food looked amazing. Suddenly one of my two sons turned to me and screeched; I woke up instantly.4

I found myself lying on the floor and looking at my cabin, which looked like a hurricane hit it. As I attempted to get up I fell and felt a searing pane in my back, which then instantly died out. As I yet again attempted to rise from the floor and see what happened, I couldn’t. I couldn’t feel my legs. I saw them in front of me, but it felt as if I didn’t have any legs at all. As I started to focus and assess the situation, I began to hear various voices screaming, people crying out for help. I couldn’t understand; I was in complete dismay. Slowly but surely I crawled out of the cabin and into the corridor. The sight which I saw would have haunted anyone’s dreams for the rest of their lives.5

There were lifeless bodies everywhere; mothers and children covered with blood crying excessively, crying like nothing I had never seen or heard before. A group of people were gathered in a corner, panicked by the sudden halt. The smell of fear was in the air, and if you couldn’t smell it, you certainly could see it in people’s eyes. Something was very wrong. All of a sudden I clutched my chest. Pain, pain like nothing I had ever felt before choked me, captured my breath. I couldn’t breathe. I began to shake. I was overwhelmed by agonizing cold pain. Suddenly, life began to fade around me, my eyes were blinded by a heavy blur and I took my last breath.6

One hundred and thirty one people died that dark devastating night. The train had malfunctioned and gone off its tracks and crashed head on into some sort of cliff. There was a memorial service a few days later. My Emmy was there, she was crying and even though she didn’t know it, but she was two weeks pregnant.7