sideswipe

Yesterday afternoon, I was walking down Annapolis St towards EDSA to get a ride home. Annapolis gets quite congested, given the number of restaurants and offices that dot its length.

Along a particularly narrow area, I had to walk onto the street itself because the sidewalk was occupied by some parked cars. I checked to see if it was safe and it appeared to be so - the closest vehicle opposite me, an incoming SUV, was a good distance away. I thought that it would maintain its slow speed because of the tight spot it was about to enter.

It sped up just as I was in the most vulnerable spot, a parked car to my left and the road to the right. I was alerted to the danger by the sound of the vehicle's engine. When I looked again to decide what to do, it was a split second away from me. Without thinking, I flattened myself against the car next to me and averted my face.

I felt the side mirror of the SUV strike my chest. No slow-mo, no bullet time, just the unyielding push of an object against me as I expelled breath to be as flat as I could.

It happened to fast I had no time to curse, react or do anything apart from think "Oh fuck."

It was over in moments and I walked onward as if nothing happened (I think I immediately wanted the world back to normal instead of my usual impulse of running after the vehicle and smashing the driver's face in - I didn't even give it a backward glance, so strange). However, my legs felt like jelly and my body was shaking with a chemical cocktail that was at once both exhilirating and unpleasant.

I'm just glad to be in one piece.