Her car launched into the sky. She felt it, she feared it, she braced for it. Thud! Her body jolted. She landed stuck in the guts of a steep sand dune.

She just had your ‘run of the mill’ hatchback. She  couldn’t have done anything if she tried. She was stuck that’s for sure. She scolds herself. “Man, how did that happen, you weren’t bloody paying attention.” It wasn’t really true. She was out of her comfort zone, driving along a suburban street up the coast, not suspecting that when the road hit a bit of sand that it would drop off suddenly. Ooops!

What would you do? Me, well the first thing I’d do is to scope out my surroundings. That’s just plain logical right?

Logic has done a runner. It escaped upon the way. Logic has done a runner and I thought it was here to stay.

Get a grip girl. No point making little  rhymes in your head. Let’s do the next best thing…panic!
The panic rises like her ‘heart is in her mouth’. Her stomach is squeamish. “What should I do, what should I do, how did this happen?” It is a totally curly predicament.

Help! A mental call with no volume. 

She sits in the car and takes in a breath and does some positive self talk. “Breathe, ‘take a step back’ count to ten. The beach is straight ahead. To the left more dunes and that  little beach coffee shop. How do I get there, or for that matter how do I get out of the car?”

Help! Another mental call. She hasn’t even picked up her mobile ‘go figure’.

‘Blow me down’. Help came. Not in answer to her inaudible plea as she sat in the car with her mind reeling. She couldn’t even put it down to some cosmic connection. No, purely ‘the luck of the draw’. The timing, so quick. She hadn’t even had time to freak out properly. 

He had a truck he had a  crane, he saw her plight, and he just came.

“Lucky you got a lightweight car ya know. Couldn’t have pulled you out of this mess otherwise” he said.

She was almost in tears. It was so kind and so ‘going above and beyond’. This big burly bloke was her ‘knight in shining armour’, her hero. But it didn’t stop there. 

He eventually coerced the car up that steep sandy slope like it was a grasshopper. Each time getting a bit closer. Some locals are there at the top cheering him on and relishing in his skill.

“Awesome mate, that’s how it’s done. Could a been a write off”.

She breathes a sigh of relief. She is safe. Then some locals come up, “Come on girl. Looks like you could use a stiff drink. Hop on in. We’ll sort out the car later”. 

The kindness of strangers you don’t see it everywhere. The kindness of strangers they really care.

A short story by Dee Grant

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This is my first short story of fiction. It was based on a dream I had the previous night. We go 4WD driving on the beach so maybe I was missing it. The grammar might be a bit ‘left of centre’ but I have used my rhymes along the way. ‘Force of habit’. I’ve highlighted phrases that are often used here too. A little bit of fiction to go with my Saturday morning coffee.