Board Thread:Writer's Workshop/@comment-25170312-20141201233017

''Question: If I actually post this story, can I put the title in all caps since it's a traffic sign? Technically, it should be in all caps. That is, if you guys don't think the story is crap, lol.''

It was well past midnight as I drove home from my new job. I was exhausted from working a long first day, and I just wanted to get home. I thought I knew the way back, but I had arrived in the daytime when it was easier to manage new surroundings. Streetlights were scarce, which I hadn't noticed in the light. Somewhere along the way I must have taken a wrong turn, and soon I was completely lost.

After driving aimlessly through unfamiliar neighborhoods, I finally came to a traffic light. I was relieved, as it meant the highway was nearby. I was almost positive it was to the right, but the light was red. A sign on the corner stated: NO RIGHT TURN ON RED. Who was I to argue with all capital letters? Yet, it was so late that none of the houses I passed had lights on, and there were no cars in sight. Surely, it was okay to make a right turn.

"Screw it," I said, and started to make a right. Halfway through, something darted out in front. A loud, dull thud echoed through the car, and I slammed on the brakes. At first, I didn't react. I just shut off the car and sat there hoping it was an animal.

"Of course, the first time in forever that I make a right turn on red, something like this happens."

My hope of it being an animal soon turned to assumption, and I exited the car after turning the headlights back on. As I rounded the front of the car, I saw the legs of a child. My heart sank into my stomach as I fell to my knees, sick and ashamed. My foolishness had killed someone, as I always feared it would.

I stood up, but not straight, and walked closer to the child. It was a girl, possibly around eight years old. She had a cute little blue backpack, and must have been holding a sleeping bag that was now lying unravelled a few feet away. She lay face down, her blonde hair covered in dark red blood. In the headlights, she resembled some kind of fallen angel. I felt I was being taught a lesson; a harsh one at that.

I returned to the car and called 911. As I waited, I went over in my head what I would say. Though it was a minor violation, I knew I couldn't tell them I made an illegal right turn. Especially since it resulted in such a tragedy. As far as they were concerned, it was a green light.

The police arrived with an ambulance, and I went to greet them. When I tried to show them the girl I had hit, she was nowhere in sight. There wasn't even blood on the ground or damage to the front of the car.

"You say you hit someone and they were right here?"

"Yes, I saw them! It was a little girl! I swear to God!" I had no idea where she had gone, or why there was no evidence that anyone was hit by a car. I probably looked crazy.

"Well, they must have run off. You checked to make sure they weren't breathing?"

"Um... no. I saw the blood, and they weren't moving. I was in shock," I said, feeling like an idiot. Of course I should have checked, but I was too busy thinking of how to cover my ass.

"Chances are they walked off while you were calling 911 and you didn't notice. They could be in a daze after being hit. We'll search the area. They couldn't have gotten far."

I stuck around until they told me I could go home. The whole way I drove under the speed limit, stopping at every intersection even when the light was green. I didn't get much sleep that night.

The next day, I wasn't thrilled about going to work, but I was a new employee so I really had no choice. Afterwards, I got lost again. I had meant to print out some reverse directions, but I was too preoccupied with whether or not I had actually run over a little girl. Again, I drove through parts unknown, and eventually came to an intersection.

"Is this the same intersection?" I asked myself. At the time, I wasn't sure. But it did have the same sign: NO RIGHT TURN ON RED. I was correct about the highway being to the right, so I knew I was going to have to make the turn. This time, I would wait until it turned green.

I'm not sure how much time passed, but it must have been at least fifteen minutes. For some reason, the clock on my phone had stopped at 12:47, so I wasn't sure. For the first few minutes, I just stared at the light. Then I got impatient.

"Are you kidding me? What the fuck is going on here?" I didn't want to make a right on red, but I figured I had no choice. Even if I really hit someone the previous night, the chances of it happening again were astronomical at best. I began to make the turn, when something darted out in front of the car.

"Shit!" I shouted as I slammed on the brakes. "This can't be happening!"

I jumped out of the car and rushed to inspect the body. My jaw dropped when I realized it was the same girl. She had the same cute little blue backpack. The same sleeping bag was lying unravelled just a few feet away. And her blonde hair was stained with dark red blood. I didn't know what to think. My mind went completely blank while I stared at the horrific scene. Whether it was real or not, it was far worse the second time.

Back in my car, I wondered if I should call the police again. Then I remembered what the officer had said about making sure she was dead. I went back to check, but she was gone.

My third day at work was awful. I couldn't concentrate under the circumstances, and no one was going to understand or be sympathetic. Different scenarios kept playing out in my head. I imagined a little girl going to a slumber party. She's having fun with her friends, until they play a cruel prank on her. She calls her mother in tears, but her mother says she's too tired to pick her up, and that she must walk home. On the way, I hit her with my car. That's just one of the scenarios, but it seemed the most plausible. I started to think she could be a ghost who was hit by someone else. Perhaps it was a hit and run and now she needed someone to find out who killed her. But why me?

When my shift was over, I had the brilliant idea to drive in the opposite direction as the previous nights. The plan was to drive until I hit a highway, then find a roundabout way to get home. Surely I wouldn't come to that same intersection, right? I drove all around, merging onto unfamiliar highways in an attempt to make it back to my neighborhood. My eyelids were getting heavy, and for a moment I almost fell asleep. As I took an extended blink, I was suddenly somewhere else. The highway was gone, and in front of me was an intersection with a red light. A sign on the corner read: NO RIGHT TURN ON RED.

"What the..." I started to say. I looked around in disbelief. It was that same intersection. How I got there was completely unexplainable. Was some otherwordly force trying to tell me something? Was it my destiny to help this little girl? All I wanted to do was go home. This time I would wait until the light turned green, if I had to wait all night.

I think I sat there for a few hours, but my phone read 12:47 all night. I wondered if perhaps the little girl died at that time. The light was still red, and I knew it was never going to change. Something was reaching out to me for help, but I didn't care. All I wanted to do was go home. I shouted at the traffic light, "Just change already, asshole!" as if it was going to be intimidated. As I became more irrate, and delusional, the thought of killing the little girl a third time became almost desirable. But then I remembered how I felt each time. I knew she couldn't be real, but the experience felt just as real as anything. I shook the notion and put my hands firmly on the wheel. I couldn't sit there all night, so there was only one thing to do.

"Screw it," I said, and I made a left. 