Page 210 - Reason To Sing by Kelita Haverland
P. 210
Reason To Sing
fading into the distance. This was our chance at rescue! I can
feel panic starting to rise. I now realize this is going to happen
to every single trucker who sees us. None of them will want
to attempt a stop on black ice and how can you blame them?
Who knows how long we’re going to have to wait out here?
Twenty endless minutes later, another set of lights cuts
through the distant blackness. Sure enough it’s another trucker.
To our amazement, this one applies his brakes much sooner
and is able to stop near us. Calling down from his window, over
the roar of the engine, he brings immediate relief.
“Hey, you two doing alright?
“Yeah, we’re okay. Nobody’s hurt.” I am shivering so hard I
can barely speak.
“The rig that drove by a while ago radioed me and said
he’d call the RCMP. He wanted me to tell you someone will
be on their way soon. The nearest town is Moosamin, about 20
minutes down the road.”
“Thank you so much. We appreciate you stopping. Be
careful.” Hudson is most gracious.
Trucker #2 takes off and once again we are alone and
freezing. But what can we do? We continue waiting. The big
old yellow moon still high in the winter sky. Morning is a long
way off.
Finally, flashing lights can be seen in the distance. Heading
toward us. A young RCMP officer exits his cruiser and
approaches us slowly. Undoubtedly, he’s been summoned out
of his bed. I swear he’s still rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.
Still in shock and definitely cold, we explain what happened.
After grabbing our personal belongings from the mangled van,
we are grateful to settle into the back of his warm cruiser. Ever
so mindful of the extremely icy conditions on the highway, the
officer drives us into the little town of Moosamin, dropping us
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