Dear Drunk Driver,
There are very few individuals who have caused such a significant effect on my life like you have. Your choices that epic night led up to an event that would connect us forever.
Your decision to drive, however much of an inebriated decision it was, set in motion a set of invisible dominos I never could have imagined.
It seems only fitting that I write to you in the middle of the night as I sit here sobbing.
I heard it again.
That haunting sound of screeching tires and colliding metal.
Luckily, it was not my turn again tonight; it was my turn to be a witness calling for help. It was my turn to anxiously wait to know help is coming for a stranger I will now never forget.
The sound of sirens, that universal sound of hope and help is now a trigger for me.
I forever hear these sounds and feel my eyes welling up with tears.
It is because I know the sound from inside the ambulance.
I know that sound means someone is in pain.
I know that sound means someone’s life just changed in ways they can’t even fully comprehend or imagine yet.
Years have passed since the fateful night linking us together. But in a weird way, you’re still here. If you’ve ever wondered what lasting change you’ve left in the world, I’d be happy to share tons of examples.
From months of rehab to the numerous times I could not hug my toddler, from losing my income to losing my home, your presence has haunted me every day since that fateful night.
I only hope you are unable to sleep some nights, still haunted by your decision too. It only seems fair for both of us to lose some sleep over the same event that brought us together in the first place.
And in some weird way, thank you.
Thank you for also being the reminder to live for today because we aren’t guaranteed tomorrow.
Thank you for helping me to enjoy the little things I took for granted before.
Thank you for this trauma, so I can better empathize with other’s pain.
Thank you, but don’t do that again.
Sincerely,
The One You Hit
