When Mitchell Berrios leaves the house on Monday morning, he can’t see a thing through the fog. He stops at the stop sign, puts his blinker on, and rolls the windows down. He squints. It doesn’t appear as if any cars are coming. Mitchell pulls out to make a lefthand turn and is instantly slammed broadside, nearly head-on, by an incoming pickup truck that doesn’t have its lights on. Tires screech as metal on metal roars into the waking world.
There are lapses in Mitchell’s memory. He remembers horns blaring, blinking blood out of his eyes, and watching jaws chomp through his Honda, scraping and clawing.
He remembers not feeling his legs.
When he finally comes to, he is in a hospital bed. It’s later that night.
His wife, Janice, is there, in tears. She doesn’t say anything, at first; he doesn’t, either. He knows his life will be different now, and she knows hers will be, too.
“But I have you and you have me,” she whispers, fingers getting lost in his hair. The smell of his aftershave is faint, barely discernible through the antiseptic and hours-old French onion soup that sits nearby.
Silent tears fall down his cheeks. He can’t help but glance at his useless legs, his dead lower half.
“We’ll figure it out, Mitch,” Janice says. “We’ll find a way.”
He believes her.
It’s messy. It’s far from easy.
But as time passes, they adjust. And as life trickles by, he realizes something: the simplest, most profound truth.
She was right.
Thank you for reading “Through the Fog” — I hope you enjoyed it.
I’ve passed the 200 subscribers mark! Over the next few weeks, I’ll be shouting out some writers and publications who recommend Along the Hudson. Without their support, I wouldn’t be anywhere near this mark. Thank you all very much. I appreciate it more than you know!
The first writer I would like to thank is Mark Starlin, who sends out a weekly newsletter, Mark Starlin Writes. His writing is witty, lighthearted, and always fun. If you don’t subscribe to Mark’s newsletter, be sure to check it out! I always look forward to seeing it pop up in my inbox.
Take care, everyone. I hope you have a great week!
That was sweet, Justin, and yes, I love Mark’s writing as well. I’ll be sure to subscribe!
Last night at dusk, as Mark and I turned left to drive into our neighborhood, he shouted "Whoa!" Then I, the driver, saw it...the black car without its headlights on, right in front of where I was headed. I pressed the brakes as it sped past us. We "dodged a bullet" last night, a vehicular bullet. If we hadn't seen that car, it would have slammed full speed into the passenger side of my car, where Mark sat. All this to say, this story grabbed my heart. Well done, Justin.