Water up to my eye balls; I keep my open just to feel the sting. With a steady blink I try to take in my surroundings. Flashes of light caught my eye as I stared into the water. Opening my mouth the ice blue water poured in and I found myself choking for air. Gagging I thrashed about finding myself stuck.

It was coming back to me. And it wasn't very good.

The road, the thin layer of ice.

My pounding head pulled me back reality. My thrashing about had ceased and I pulled at the thin strap holding me down. The water was cold. My fingers moved slower than before, my body shutting down. Closing my eyes I saw the black darkness which fate assigned me. The black darkness followed my vision as I reopened my eyes, black dots everywhere. Trying not to breath was hard, every time I opened my mouth water flooded in.

My arms were numb. It was a new feeling to me. There was no way to really explain it, I knew they were there but I had no feeling in them. With one last tug I found all my effort in vain. Releasing the strap I let my arms float weightless in the water.

With a jagged breath I swallowed more water. Only one small spot of color remained. Blue. The water danced in that one spot. Giving out a faint smile I closed my eyes.

The road was slippery. The rain that fell the night before froze quickly in the fresh morning air. There was no one else to blame but me and my own stupidity. Those speeds were to much for the simple road. The only thing I cared about was getting to work on time. Well look at me now, now I'm floating at the bottom of the river in my small car. The details grow fuzzier, but those last few moments of my short lived life flow gently in my head.

My head was spinning and I was spiraling down. I had paid enough attention in health to know that my brain was shutting down, along with the rest of my organs. The lack of oxygen was killing me.

When I hit the ice I had no idea of what to do. The car skidded right past my turn and went off the road and broke the fresh layer of ice. My body had jerked forward, my head slamming against the wheel. Lifting my numb hand I touched my forehead, my brain finally trying to process the pain. But I couldn't feel that pain. I couldn't feel anything really. Just the bleak existence that awaited me, like I said, I couldn't feel anything really.

Then again, what I felt was not something I could describe. It just felt wrong. When the car filled with water I freaked, and I was taking one last large breath as water seeped in through the web of glass that was once my windshield. And then it was all just ice blue, my eyes stinging with the winter water. But I already mentioned that didn't I. My thoughts drift together and soon I won't have any left.

XxXxXx

Death would be nice.

XxXxXx

Death wouldn't be that harsh I think.

XxXxXx

Opening my eyes again I saw another, someone else was in the water with me. My vision had focused, the bleak darkness faded and I had a new burst of life in my chest. Thrashing about I wanted to scream for help, but that only fed me more of my untimely doom.

XxXxXx

Life was only in short burst for me.

XxXxXx

The man was next to me, yes it was a man. Is hair was flowing with the water. What I didn't understand was what he was doing there, in the icy water next to me. Fuck, everything was going down the drain. My short burst of life was short lived, because I was falling hard.

XxXxXx

Everything was black now.

XxXxXx

And then I crashed.

The dark cover of my eyes just over took me, and before I knew it the pain had left me. No longer did I fear anything, the only thing I feared was that the pain would come again. But it didn't. The fear was what brought me back. My mind still lingered about, feeling the heavy water holding me down. Letting go was so easy. The darkness called to me like a siren in the wind.

XxXxXxXxX

The hospital was warm, everyone seemed to be cheerful. No one dared to mention my recent dance with death, not that I didn't want to but rather I couldn't. Only those brief flashes of memories danced in my head. After I blacked out nothing seemed to matter. The man who saved me left me with the paramedics and I held only the faint memory of his floating hair.

That tango with death took so much out of me. It took everything really, but I just couldn't bring myself to admit it. When the brain shuts down, sometimes when it’s rebooted it looses memory just like a computer would. So in nerd’s language, I was fried.

A name danced on the tip of my tongue, but it would never come. My identification card told me everything I needed to know, but none of it stuck. The scene of my untimely doom played over and over in my head like a broken record. My own scream gave me a headache and sometimes it felt as if I were bursting out my lungs at the same time.

Months passed before I saw the green grass below my feet again. My body ached but I moved on.

And I saw him again.

He sat in his car waiting as I exited the hospital. Smiling I walked up to the car. My legs felt so foreign to me, laying in the same spot for months can do that to you. "Sorry, I always wanted to visit you. But I couldn't bring myself to actually stepping into that dreadful building. I just got too scared." His eyes traveled to my arms where I held a bouquet of flowers to my chest. "I see you got my flowers."

Smiling I chuckled. "Yeah, I guess I did get a little carried away. I felt bad, so I thought I could at least make up not visiting you with a bouquet of flowers every week. I suppose you'll find out anyway so I might as well tell you, I'm afraid of hospitals. The only way I'll end up in one is if I'm dead."

Nodding I watched as he carefully got out of his car. Reaching the passenger side door he opened it. Looking at him I gave out a nervous smile. Mumbling something about a cab I looked away from his piercing eyes. He seemed so appalled. "A cab? No, now get in. I've been waiting ever since I heard you were going to be released today. And do you know what? I've been waiting for three hours. So let’s just take off. Leave this place in the dust."

Backing away I tripped on a crack on the sidewalk falling backwards. His hand pulled me up before I crashed against the cement. "Don't, please don't touch me!" I screamed, my senses finally popping back. He released me and I fell, and I fell hard. My head cracked and I could feel the blood again.

There was a strange sound popping in my ears, a crackling. Actually, it reminded me a lot of a time when I once dropped a bag of marbles. They fell with tiny clinks, hitting the hard floor and rolling all around the kitchen. A memory.

Opening my eyes I saw blood falling over my eyes and I cried out in pain. The man was there again, holding my hand whispering sweet nothings into my ears. Groaning I turned my head away. "What's happening to me?" I groaned as I held my head.

This man purred more sweet promises into my ear, and I began to drift off listening to him. "No," I groaned, less persist at than my last words, "leave me alone. Who are you? What are you doing to me?" My cried were fading away. And I realized my body was soaked, and I couldn't feel my body.

He laughed loudly sending chills down my spine. "Will you just succumb to my will? It would make everything so much easier."

Opening my eyes I found myself still in my car. The water filled the vehicle completely and the heap of metal settled in the sandy river bank.

Finding my own strength I unbuckled myself and kicked for the surface. Breaking through the surface I gasped for air finding the snow falling from the dark sky above. Everything was quiet. Climbing out of the river I threw myself on the snow.

Breathing hard I opened my eyes finding that the snow was frozen to my lashes. Crying I lifted myself up to my knees, crawling away from the icy death that almost claimed my soul.

Reaching the black pavement I fell down once again. Crying I tried to call out for help, but no voice came. My head hurt, my eyes hurt. Everything just hurt.

My heart was beating hard in my chest and I couldn't do anything to stop it.

His icy voice was calling for me, I could hear it in the wind. The chill ran up and down my spine, but I had to keep moving. Like a deer, I froze when two bright lights flashed in my direction of the deserted road. Like a fool I shot up holding my bleeding head. The car stopped of course, and an elderly man stepped out of his car.

He eyed me over before stepping closer. "Miss? Miss? Are you okay?" he asked. All I could do was shake my head. The pain was paralyzing. But that voice still called out for me.

I had escaped death, and I think he was very mad about it. Smiling I fell back as the elderly man stepped forward to grab me. I heard the crack of my skull as it hit the pavement. Staring up I tasted the metallic blood pooling in my mouth, a strange sensation for me. Watching the snow fall I began to breathe normal, calming myself with the peaceful scene about me.

My hand went to reach out for the snow, but it was too heavy for me to lift. Leaving it by my side I stared up with wide eyes. My mind was wandering and I was beginning to drift off. The back of my mind kept tugging at a memory in school, health class. Falling asleep could be fatal, if I had a concussion I could die. So I tried to pry my eyes open, and I focused on the snow falling on my face.

The old man was talking.

It wasn't until I heard the sirens, the lights flashing all around me, that I knew I was safe again.

My jaw was rigged, and I found no strength to talk. I tried to tell them about the other man, the man who was in the water with me, but something in my mind clicked. He really wasn't there.

Allowing them to place me on the stretcher I was gently placed into the ambulance.

At least I knew one thing: This was real.

Run ins with death can be heard about frequently, but people really aren’t that close to death. No, few actually escape death, and when it does happen, it's a big deal.

Perhaps that's why he became so interested with me in the first place.

Death hardly deals with the actually subject itself, just over looks the few complications that come along, like me.

The ice in his eyes still paralyzes me with fear.

The car crash was the first time I saw him, the first time I escaped death.

Tip Number One: Don't drive like a mad woman when there's ice on the road. Especially when by a river.