The Lonely Years

It was very hot, and perspiration beaded Mindy’s forehead that night five long years earlier. She and Mark had been at Sunridge Mall for a good portion of the day. They had walked over to Franklin McDonalds for a light supper. Mindy felt at ease in Mark’s presence, something about Mark intrigues her.

“After supper, they walked across the street to the Moviedome and saw two movies.” During supper there were four young adult males, eighteen to twenty years old Mindy had estimated. They were all being very loud, cursing and asking customers for money.

When they approached Mark and Mindy’s table, Mark looked at them saying nothing. This same group was hanging around the exit doors at the Moviedome when Mark and Mindy left the theatre. The group recognized them and started asking them for money.

As they were walking across the parking lot towards the C-Train, Mindy was gazing at Mark. At Twenty Seven, two years older than herself, he was tall like his father, and thin. His unruly hair hung across the tanned skin of his boyish face.

“And just what is so funny?” he demanded.

“You look like a scarecrow!” She giggled, edging away as he reached for her. “No!”

Mindy started running but Mark caught her ankle as she reached some grassy area, preventing her escape as they slid across the grass. Holding her down, he tickled her mercilessly until tears ran down her hot cheeks.

“Mark!”

“What did you call me?”

“I’m sorry,” she gasped, laughing so hard she could barely say the words. She wriggled and twisted under his teasing hands. “Oh, stop!”

“Say please nicely.”

“Please nicely.”

“Mindy!” He warned, laughter dancing in his eyes as his fingers found the very spot on her side that was the most sensitive.

“Ok, Ok, please,” she conceded, weak from laughing as he finally released her and she rolled away from him.

The laughing expression that had been on Mark’s face changed to one of horror as the group of four young men attacked the two of them. Mark managed to escape and ran away leaving Mindy to fend for herself. Mindy had a fourth degree Black Belt in Tae Kwon Do. She had disabled three of them with lightening kicks and punches.

All of a sudden, the fourth attacker pushed her in front of a moving late model dark Blue Chevette. Mindy lost the last, precarious fragment of her balance. She screamed as she fell, tumbling down under the right front tire. She heard Mark yelling her name, then she hit something solid and pain shot through her back and her right hip.

The bouncing movement of the vehicle tossed her aside like a rag doll, and she hit the ground with a thud.

When the fact that the car had not stopped impinged on the fog in her brain, Mindy tried to drag herself out of the way. Her right leg refused to move. Shocked, numbed to any of the pain, she watched helplessly as the rear wheel of the car ran over her thigh.

“Mindy! Mindy!” Mark shouted hysterically as he ran towards her.

Mindy watched, almost as if this were happening to someone else, as the car took off at a high rate of speed with the four young men. She was aware of Mark kneeling beside her, holding her hand, but all she could see was the terror on his face when he looked down at her.

“Holy Mother of God,” he whispered as he backed away from her.

“Mark, go get help.”

Mindy watched as he turned and ran, barreling down to the Seven Eleven store across the street.

The time dragged by. A stranger stayed with her, talking to her soothingly. Strangely, there was no pain at all, just a weird sense of nothingness that frightened her. A Blue blanket was rolled gently across her body.

When Mindy opened her eyes, her parents were there. She had no sense of time, no idea how many minutes or hours had passed since her accident. If only her parents would hold her, talk to her, tell her