The River

Distant Memories

Was it a dream or was it a past life memory? It seems so real. I no longer know. I was in a car with three or four friends. We were by the river. We were playing chicken. We wanted to see how close to the edge we could drive without the car falling in. This was many years ago but I remember it well. I remember it as though it had just happened yesterday.

Ramapo River

The car went over the edge of the bank into the river. Once it landed on the bottom, I started rolling down the driver’s side window. In those days, you did this manually. Water began gushing in. Someone asked me what I thought I was doing. I said I was opening the window so we can swim out. I continued to roll down the window until it was completely open.

I remember taking a deep breath and exiting the car. I swam up towards the light. I climbed up onto the shore and looked around. I saw an ambulance and a dive team ready to attempt a rescue.

There was a building close by. I went inside and sat down. A few moments later, I saw my friends. They were all wearing robes. I got up and said, “Oh, I am so glad you all made it!” They looked at me and one of them shook her head and said, “No, we didn’t make it. Neither did you.”

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