A Glimpse Of A "What if...?" Moment

After having dinner and some walking around at the mall, Millie, Loi and I together with our friend Aaron got into the car since Loi and I had to go back home. Aaron was driving and I was seated behind him. The first few minutes on the road was rather uneventful although I knew that we were driving relatively fast on a rather busy highway. Suddenly the car in front of us stopped. Aaron hit the brakes but for some reason it didn't hold and we kept on moving. We tried to swerve left but there was an oncoming car and in those split seconds it dawned on us that we were going to hit the car in front. Screeching sounds then bam! Full stop.

We didn't hit hard. No burst airbags (our car didn't have one) and no broken windows. No blood gushing out of foreheads. We were riding a 199(?) Proton Saga and we hit a 2002+ Porsche Cayenne, a mid-size luxury SUV. Wonderful. Our headlights were smashed and pushed inwards while the Cayenne just had a big dent on the lower bumper and some scratched paint.

I will digress a bit first. Malaysians have this national driving habit of tailgating. And I'm not generalizing, I dare say it's true. Tumatakbo ka na ng 120 kph didikitan ka pa rin. They also almost never use signal lights but change lanes quite often. Filipinos are safer drivers. We may not follow the rules, but hey, we're safer drivers than our Southeast Asian neighbours. For one thing, car/driver/passenger/pedestrian safety and education ads aren't shown in cinemas or on national TV back home unlike how it is here. They even have ads that show people bloodied in a post-accident scenario. Automobile accidents are simply a national concern here and I'm not surprised.

Anyhoo, this event happened just a few hours ago and it gave me a glimpse of a "What if...?" moment. Those moments that you just think or daydream about. Moments that are hard to practice for because it rarely becomes a reality to anyone. I think of these moments a lot for the sake of being aware of the, albeit tiny, possibility of it happening. Also to prepare myself if ever it does happen. And sometimes just for plain fun.

In my case, it includes getting into a car accident (though normally I imagine getting into a bus accident as I ride on one more often than cars). What if I fall down a flight of stairs? What if I win in the lottery? What if I get attacked by an animal? What if I become President? What if I figure in a plane crash and survive? What if I get shot? Or stabbed? What if I get stranded on an island? What if I get into a fight?

And with all these what ifs, what would my reaction be? What would I do?

The incident that occurred wasn't a serious accident but it could have been in many ways, hence, I got a glimpse of one. Upon recalling, I realize that I reacted exactly how I thought I would if I figured into one. At the time when we hit the brakes, I leaned forward to get a better look at what has happening in front. When I knew we were going to hit, my hands were holding on the seat in front and the handle near the top of the window beside me. The moment we hit the Cayenne, my eyes were wide open. This is exactly how I thought I would react. In the bus accident that I think of, for example, I always think about how I should be aware of what's happening to the bus so that in case it spins or turns turtle, I would know how I should adjust my positioning or where to hold on to.

A strange reaction though, or lack thereof, was that I felt no fear whatsoever. No life-flashing-before-my-eyes kind of moment. No goosebumps. For some reason, I knew it wasn't going to be serious and that none of us was going to get hurt. Even when the backside of the SUV was getting bigger and bigger as we moved closer before (lightly) smashing into it. That's the strange part and I didn't expect that. The only time I felt a little bit of fear was when the guy in the Cayenne got out and I saw that he was larger than Aaron and I so just in case he goes ballistic and we get into a fight with him, we actually might lose. Hahaha. I obviously haven't been preparing myself for that other "What if..." moment. Thankfully, they were calm and agreements were made with them and everything was fine afterwards.

Of course I hope that these events will never happen, except maybe winning the lottery and becoming President. Hehe. But the curiosity in knowing yourself better by looking at how you would respond to strange and rare events begs you to continue to think about these scenarios and what ifs. And after getting a glimpse of one, it really makes sense to do so.