Making A Desicion

• Mark Birbara, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2008

I can recall the worst decision I have ever made in my life. This decision killed my brother and I will never forgive myself for what I have done.
It was a bright and sunny day, the birds were out, and even the grumpy old neighbours were on their veranda looking at the view. My mother asked me what I would like for dinner. I thought about it and then said, “How about we have nachos tonight, I’ll go and buy the ingredients with Josh.” So my brother and I got into my second hand car and drove off to the supermarket. We lived in an area with very few shops, so it is quite a bit of a drive to get to the shops. After ten minutes of driving, we reached a crossing, where we stopped to let the pedestrians walk across.
Unexpectedly, a car coming behind us crashed into the back of the car, pushing debris into the front. Josh was hit by a piece of metal from the car door which almost crushed him. I managed to get out of the car and call 000. After roughly one minute there were ambulances pulling up in front of us. The paramedics moved the car door that was now crushing my brother, but I later found out that Josh had died instantly in the collision.
Why did I have to have to pick something for dinner that we didn’t have the ingredients for? Now I know that such a small decision could be a matter of life and death.