On Time

by Lisa Williams

a double brandy

The scream ceased after sixty seven seconds. The memory of it went on forever for all those that heard it.

The precise moment it began her life ended. As she watched her only child rise up into the air. Like the weightless astronaut he dreamt of being.

Those dreams finished then with the dull bump that shattered the windscreen. The thud they all relived over and over. If only she hadn't shouted for him to hurry up. If just once she'd let him be late. Then her thoughts turned to sobs and she crumpled in a heap on the pavement.