Thanksgiving

We have left- hand driving here. I’m on my way to work. I’m at the roundabout. 3 lane roundabout and I’m in the inner-most lane. I need to go right. The car on my right wanted to go left. I was almost there, almost reached the right lane. The car hit me from the right. Hit me near the back door. My car tilts from the right, and is on two wheels, at what seems to me (since I’m on the inside) like an impossible angle. I’m thinking it’s going to flip, but miraculously, it falls back and just kinda shudders and ends up hitting the pavement.

Horns blaring, people shouting, it’s all very confusing. I get out. I look to the right and note (in my mind) the number and make of the car passing by thinking that that was the car that hit me ( I don’t remember it anymore other than the fact that it was a silver car). Then I look at the far end of the roundabout and see the car that actually hit me. An old Indian lady is standing outside. Her daughter was the one driving the car.

I’m thinking several things at once. I need to call the office and tell them I’ll be late. I need to call the cops. DO I need to call my dad? Dad’s gonna kill me!

I’m standing outside now, and my car is blocking the road. I look at my car and see it shaking. Weird! Then I realise that it’s still in gear! I run to the car turn it off. Then I realise I was supposed to take it to the side so that the traffic won’t be blocked. So I turn it on again and park it to the side. I’m just sitting there cos I can’t do anything else. I’m just shaking all over. Don’t know why I was shaking cos I wasn’t feeling scared or anything. I fact, I was feeling nothing.

I try to call the office, but I don’t remember the number and I can’t dial anyway cos I’m shaking so bad. I remember that I have my manager’s number stored in the cell, so I call her up and tell her I’ll be late cos of the accident. She’s shocked, “take your time, take care blah blah…”

I walk over to the lady and she asks me if I’ve called the cops. She had already called them but she couldn’t give the directions properly.
I call the cops and they come by in a few minutes.
I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again. Dubai cops are VERY nice. They ask me if I tried calling them just then or did I call before. I tell them I called them just a few minutes ago cos I was talking to my dad (a lie, but they’ll think I’m nuts for calling my office first and not my dad) so they oh ok!
They ask me and the other female what happened.
When we get to the part about my car tilting and almost falling, they say “Oh ok, so that’s why you’re shaking like this! They smile, ask me if I’m ok. Everyone’s thanking God cos nothing more serious happened. The lady and her daughter keeps saying how lucky I am and how God is with me cos the car hadn’t flipped to the side. Both our cars are insured. So that’s not an issue. And by some miracle, nothing is wrong with either my car or her car other than a few scratches. The cops laugh and tell me I should think of becoming a stuntman for the movies! I’m laughing too. Everything’s fine. They give me a red ticket (it was my fault even though they hit me, cos I was on the wrong lane) gave them a green ticket. No fine, no black mark. They tell me to take it easy. They hand me my license and watch me drive off.

I am lucky.

I have friends who care about me enough to call me ISD and listen to me cry and console me. I have blog-friends who care enough to write to me and tell me everything will be ok. I have a blogfriend who calls me up ISD ( thanx again Jithu) to make sure I’m ok.
I have God who keeps reminding me there are bigger things out there than just me and my little problems but He thinks the world of me all the same.

So from the bottom of my heart - Thank you!