This car has travelled this same seemingly endless stretch of road for years. One could imagine as the tires grip to the ground it is similar to embracing an old friend, for if feet were to make the same walk one could reach their destination based on muscle memory alone.
Within the car the volume had descended far lower than its peak just mere hours before, but that was to be expected with the pent up excitement and hype from the newcomers spilling their enthusiasm onto those who've experienced this trip before. It was draining to be so close to an experience, but to not quite have reached it yet. Thus the chatter about the crisp autumn leaves that fluttered endlessly around the car as they embarked down the roadway was overtaken by silent snores as twilight turned to dusk and dusk was overtaken by the dull night sky.
Only those who had been part of the trip since it had first been taken were able to stay conscience and enjoy the peace and serenity of the brightly illuminated night sky. An image far from that of which they'd find from the very same sky in their suburban home.
Amongst those was the eldest daughter in this company of family and friends. Estelle, or Stella as her friends would call her was lost in thought as she felt suffocated being trapped in the stuffy confines of the large van for another year in a row. Not that she hated the trip or the company, but doing something enough times in repetition gets old. Estelle had enough repetition in her everyday life.
She could tell you exactly what she would be doing everyday. It starts with getting up every morning slightly after dawn and eating one of the three choices of premade breakfast her Mom prepares at the start of each week. Followed by taking a quick shower under lukewarm water and scrubbing mercilessly at her already damaged hair with nourishing shampoo. Quite counter effective, but it was habit. Conditioning and shaving were always a priority and thus showering in the mornings are always a half hour ordeal. emerging from behind the glass doors of her personal waterfall she would embark on her simple routine of washing her face, brushing her teeth, and dressing for the day. From there she would simply attend school or read a book until the afternoon time where everyday without fail she would meet with her three closest friends at 3:30 P.M. sharp where they would simply talk and mess around at the nearby park enjoying each others presence until they each returned to their own homes at 5:30 P.M. for dinner. After dinner any school work would be completed followed by reading again until she went to bed. Then she'd wake up the next morning and the cycle would begin again.
It was extremely boring after a while. There was no excitement elicited from a scene you had seen a thousand times before. She wanted something new to come into her life she just didn't know how or where to find it, and truth be told she was scared of the change something new could bring. Yes, she found her life boring, but it was comfortable and she wasn't sure she would be able to exchange comfort for excitement.
She desired it more than anything though. A new experience, and thus the thought of such was constantly plaguing her mind especially at times like this where the quiet leaves her alone with nothing but her thoughts for company.
Eventually these thoughts drained her enough to lull her into an eventful dream of living a life far different from her own. One where there were new experiences to be had and adventuring was the daily routine. However, dream world has no consequences. The real world is far different.
Estelle did not believe in fate. She never had and she never will. It just went against everything she believed to be true. Impossible she found it, there was no way that everything no matter what actions were taken were meant to find you on a single path. An inescapable fate was very much so impossible in her eyes. However, she did believe in irony, and perhaps karma for as her eyes were surged open and her senses awakened to the shrieking of the screams of her friends and family and the unsettling view of the vehicle she was strapped in swerving off course she couldn't help but feel that this was a message from the cosmos punishing her for not being satisfied with her comfortable life.
The whole concept of one's life flashing before their eyes before they died must have been dreadfully false because the split second between Estelle grasping to reality and the tree branch piercing through the windshield and in to her, was just that, a split second. She didn't even have time to scream as she looked down at the winding tendrils of the sycamore that had been thrust through her abdomen. Whatever scream that she attempted to release came out instead as a pained choke. She tried to calm herself, but she couldn't. She knew there was no hope, she was bleeding out and quick if the blood that was quickly spreading across her grey sweatshirt was any indication.
She looked up feeling nauseous at the sight of her draining blood to see the sight of the unconscious bodies of everyone she cared about. Her father had been sent through the windshield, her mother seemed to be knocked unconscious against the dashboard. Each of the rest of her friends seemed to be in similar states, not in a good state, but alive, very much so alive and not being tempted by death. No they'd survive she thought, but at this moment she had no hope.
She was done for and so as she drifted off into unconsciousness she thought it very much felt like entering a much needed sleep, except this time she thought it would last forever.