To Do or Not To Do

“Sh**!”, I cursed under my breath as the light turned red. Swarms of vehicles went past me like a wave of water when floodgates are opened. The water reminded me of the sweat beads flowing down my nape. It was a hot day. I was feeling thirsty – a glass of water is what I needed. And time, of-course – more time. I couldn’t be late today. No reason could justify being late for an interview – that too for a referred one.

The loud noise of cars honking their way through the traffic brought me back to the scene before me. The road was almost all clear – no sign of any vehicle in my proximity. I stretched my neck, looked in both directions  – as far as I could – no vehicles in the vicinity. But the traffic light was still red.

Me: It’s all clear. Why do we have to wait? We could just run and cross the road.

Me: Is that the right thing to do?

Me: Oh, sure! Let’s do the right thing. Forget about the interview. And of-course we will do the right thing – becoming late for the interview? It’s not like we are stealing. 

Me: Yeah, but..

Me: but what? Loose this opportunity? After 8 months of struggle, we have got this interview – it could be the last one. We could put an end to all of our problems.

Me: Mmm, I don’t want to loose this opportunity but what if someone sees us..

Me: We could just run off and bang! on the other side of the road – no one will see us. Don’t overthink. 

Fear got better part of me as I started to walk. Few seconds later, I could see something moving from the right side of my eye. I turned to realize a car was speeding this way. Fear took over me again but this time only to leave me too numb to even move an inch.

All I could feel or think was – regret. Hearing the screeching sound of tires my heart skipped a beat. Indeed, it did stop – the car. It came to a sudden halt as the light turned red. The traffic light for me was now green. The overwhelming feeling of gratitude took over that of regret as I started to walk to the other side of the road.

Written for Literary Lion. Prompt: Edge.

Image by Stephan Geyer.