Collateral Damage

She careens down the highway intent on her destination. Her vehicle responds only to her own signals and needs. There are no side mirrors, no rear view mirror, no headlights. Even the windows lack transparency. She sees only her goal ahead. She sees no one and nothing around her. And no one can see her coming.

Cars veer to avoid her. Some are forced off the road, and their drivers sit in stunned silence. Some collide with her and sustain unspeakable damage. There are other drivers on this road. Other vehicles that are being ruined. Other lives that are being destroyed by her carelessness. She leaves nothing but chaos in her wake.

No one can make her understand the danger. No one dares get in front of her, because she will run them over. No one can signal to her to slow down, because she does not see. No one can tell her to stay in her lane, because she does not hear. No one can tell her to watch out for other drivers, because she does not care.

She continues blindly at high speed until her energy is spent. Only then does she exit her vehicle. But she does not look around her and see the mangled bodies and broken souls of those she has left behind. The suffering of those that have crossed her path. She sees only her goal, and she has reached her destination. She smiles. For her, it is over.

But we have only begun to grieve.