flying people

On the way home from Lily's swimming class last week, I took a different route than normal so that I could stop at the post office. As I drove along I noticed two teenage kids coming towards me on a bike. Even though they were on the other of the street (and on the sidewalk) they caught my eye anyway. The boy was peddling and the girl was standing on the back of it, but as they started down the hill I could see the front of the bike starting to wobble around.

For a second, just one, I thought maybe the boy was doing it, but then the girl started screaming- and I just knew it wasn't going to end well.

With the bike shaking, they picked up speed, hit the curb on the corner of the sidewalk at the bottom of the hill and both of them launched up off the bike. They flew, in what seemed like slow motion (the girl screaming the entire time), up over the handlebars and all the way onto the other side of the street- landing, crumpled, next to a large pole. From my angle I couldn't see if they actually hit it or not, but it seemed like they did.

I slammed on my brakes and pulled over. Neither one of them moved for a few seconds. Had Lily not been in the back of the car and us on the other side of the street I would have been over there instantly, but I just waited a second to see if they got up. They did. Slowly- just as another car on their side of the street stopped by them as well. The woman jumped out and ran towards them as the kids sat down on the curb.

I couldn't hear what any of them were saying, but as the woman turned back towards her car, I called out to her- asking if they were alright. She sounded doubtful, but shrugged and replied "they said they are."

I looked over at the two of them, just sitting on the curb, not talking or even looking at each other. Just sitting- in shock. And I thought, what am I going to do? Other than offer to call someone for them. (But, two teenagers? I'm sure at least one of them had a phone.) I had two car seats and a jogging stroller in my car.. I couldn't have taken them to the hospital. And there was another adult person right there with them, so.. I looked back at them one more time and drove on.

But I couldn't stop shaking, thinking about what I had seen- flying human beings. And the mom in me just had to make sure they really were okay.

After I went to the post office, I turned around and went back. They were gone. But as I drove on down the street, I finally saw them. With the bike. Walking.