You gather your keys and coffee off the counter and head to your car with your phone to your ear. With the last lock of the door you head down the steps.

“Hey babe, I know this is the sixth time I’ve called this week. I know you have to go dark for this mission but I just want to say I love you and I’ll see you when you get back. I hope you get these voicemails soon and call me when you can.” You say into the receiver, when you finish your message you end the call and unlock your car.

The drive to work isn’t a long one. About 15 minutes but there’s always this one junction that seems to be never ending traffic each day which prolongs the drive. Taking a sip of your coffee you bob your head along with the music on the radio and pull down your visor to block out some of the newly rising sun. When the visors fully opened you can’t help but smile. A small pinned note lays tacked inside with messy scrawl reading; “Be home soon. Drive safe. Don’t crash. -Johnny”

A small huff of laughter leaves you as you read it. It’s been there for over a year now since he first placed it. A little ward of protection you think.

The drive continues as you slowly creep your car through the crowded junction and finally finally it’s your turn. You roll down your drivers side window to get a better view of the traffic coming from the left before you make your way through. When you pull forward the stringer winds from today pull the small note off your visor and suck it out the window.

“Ah fuck, come on-“ four words falter as the world turns on its axis.

Everything moves in slow motion. From the note flying out of your window, to the sickening crunch of your door folding under the impact of another vehicle, to the glass shattering of your windshield and the loud pop of the deploying airbags.

The world grows silent.

And outside the wreckage a small paper flutters to the asphalt just beyond the glass and mangled metal.

“Be home soon. Drive safe. Don’t crash. -Johnny.”