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For now, the open road and the gentle hum of the bicycle beneath me are my solace, a temporary respite from the turmoil, as I exert my body to the limit. As I continue pedaling along the sun-drenched streets, a sudden commotion up ahead pulls my attention away from my swirling thoughts.
Two teenage kids, a boy and a girl, are standing on the sidewalk, their young faces twisted in shock and confusion. From what I can see, it looks like they were about to cross the street on their skateboards when a car, seemingly oblivious to their presence, cut them off, narrowly avoiding a collision. They almost hurt themselves as they had to jump off their skateboards to get out of the way.
Before I can fully process the unfolding situation, the driver, a burly man, angrily jumps out of the car. His face is contorted with rage, and it’s clear he has no intention of addressing the situation calmly as he approaches the startled boy.
Without thinking, I slam on the brakes of my bicycle, my feet hitting the pavement with a sudden jolt. In a few quick strides, I’m at the scene, just as the man lunges toward the boy, fists clenched and ready to strike. I seize the raging driver from behind, wrapping my arm around his neck in a practiced Jiu-Jitsu grip.
The man struggles and thrashes, but I have him immobilized. His gasps for air grow desperate as he realizes the futility of his efforts. The onlookers, including the skater kids, stand frozen in shock, their surprise mirrored in the driver’s widening eyes.
“Enough,” I hiss into his ear, my voice cold and stern. “You’re not going to hit a kid, are you?”
With one final, desperate gasp, the man’s eyes roll back into his head, before he loses consciousness and slumps down in my arms. I can only support his fall, as he crumples to the ground. Shit, I went too far.
“Dude!” The skaterboy shouts, before he starts clapping applause. “That was sick!”
But I don’t feel quite so amazing about what just happened. I could have seriously hurt this man because I momentarily lost my temper.
I turn to the skater kids, my expression softening. “You guys okay?”
The boy nods, his wide eyes filled with a mixture of gratitude and awe, while the girl just stares at me.
“Will he be okay?” she asks.
I offer a reassuring smile. “Yeah, he’ll be back up and shouting in no time, don’t worry.”
However, there’s more conviction in my words than there is in my mind. I check the man’s pulse, just to make sure, and release a sigh of relief, when I realize that he’s in fact just unconscious.
“Thanks for stepping in, man,” the boy says, kneeling down next to me, as his hand lands on my shoulder. “I would have been in big trouble, and it’s not like anyone else would have stepped in.”
My eyes follow his as he scans our surroundings. I hadn’t even realized how many people have come to a halt on the sidewalk around us, some of them holding up phones. Great, this is just what I needed.
“Oh, he’s waking up!” the girl pipes. She’s standing next to us, having picked up her skateboard from the ground and carrying it with one arm, while she uses the other to point at the man on the ground.
He’s groaning when I look down at him, and blinking with confusion as his eyes slowly open.
“What… what’s hap—”
“You’re alright, sir,” I say in the most polite tone available to me. “Looks like you became dizzy behind the wheel, and collapsed when you tried to step out.”
Both the boy and the girl regard me with looks of confusion, but I gesture for them to go along by casting them a pointed look.
The man tries to get up on his feet, but I stop him half-way.
“Take it slow, buddy,” I say, adding a well-meaning tap on his shoulder. “Let’s just sit for now, your body needs a minute.”
“Alright,” he mutters, still utterly confused.
Hoping that he wouldn’t remember what just happened was a long shot, but it seems to have worked. There’s no anger in his eyes, when he looks up at the two kids who just enraged him with their presence moments earlier.
“We… er, we just wanted to…err…” The boy starts stuttering.
“We wanted to help,” the girl pipes. “We just wanted to make sure you’re fine, sir.”
A trembling smile adorns her face, revealing that she’s not much of a liar. But it appears to work, as the man, who is still sitting on the ground, just nods, before he thanks all of us for our help.
I’m still tense, however, still feeling the aftermath of the adrenaline rush and the way I almost went overboard just now. I didn’t think, I just acted—and I almost seriously hurt a man because of it.
Just like I did with Madison. Could things have ended differently between us, if I had just taken a moment to think and reflect on a solution that’s actually good for both of us and not just me?
