It was Sunday, my team was announced the champion for this year's utp sports carnival for bowling, so we went on to celebrate till the wee hours of the morning. We were heading back, just about reaching Tronoh where the road is pitch dark with nary a street light, then it happened.
I was in a drowsy state from sleepiness when the driver suddenly exclaimed "What's that?!" Before i knew it, our car slammed into something hard, followed by loud screeching, then our car hurtled forward violently and unsteadily, almost seems any moment it will swerve and crashed into the adjacent divider. Luckily, it finally came to a stop. Everyone's sleepiness instantly evaporated as we took in what had just happened.
Our car had been ensnared by some thick wire that had been hung across the road. The 1st instinct was this was a trap, and someone might be waiting to ambush us if we stepped right out of our disabled car. So we stay put in the car and called for help. Our friends in another car soon came. It is only then that we dared stepped out of the car. Closer inspection revealed that the wire was actually a cable that has gotten loose from the power grid and it hung across the whole length of the road. No one dared to touch the cable. The cable has cut deeply into the bumper of the car but luckily was not entangled in the wheel.
Soon, the police was called over, then some men from the TNB also came to remove the cable. Then, we drove (yeah, amazingly only the bumper was damaged) to the batu gajah police station to file a report. The police's theory was that someone was halfway stealing the cable and was lowering it to the ground when we happened to drive past, therefore getting caught by it. That would explain why other cars before us were not affected. It was a bad-ass cable indeed. Strong, sturdy and used in cranes to lift heavy loads, which made it lucrative to steal i guess. The accident happened at 4am, and by the time we were done with the police report and finally get to go back, it was 7am. Needless to say, I took a really long and deep sleep.
Thinking back, we were indeed very lucky to be alive and the car suffered only a minimal amount of damage. So many things could have gone wrong that we might end up in scenes akin to those in Final Destinations.We could have swerved and crashed violently into the divider, or the whole car could have flipped over. I shudder to think if it was a motorbike that was tripped by the cable instead of us. Kudos to my friend for gripping the steering tightly and keeping the car steady in that spur moment of accident. There is so much more: If the cable from the power grid was alive with current, we could have been electrocuted. Or if it was hung higher, it could have smashed right through the windshield and cut into our flesh. Or if there really was a cable thief, he might be violent and decided to robbed us instead. Indeed, we can count on our lucky stars neither one of worst-case scenarios actually happened. We escaped unscathed, traumatized maybe, but safe and sound in one piece. Pitting all this against the Ipoh Run that I'd missed, it seems minor. Of course, it was really a letdown for me because I had been looking forward to this run for a very long time. Nevertheless, here I am, still breathing and alive, so I am eternally grateful.
Life is so fleeting wasn't it? We could lose it all in just that one moment, with all those unspoken words left hanging, all those things to do never accomplished.
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