It was a beautiful spring afternoon. The sun shone on the horizon, the wind blew in my face, and I loved the ride on my 750cc machine. With its steady, quiet hum, the Boxer engine made me forget the world and enjoy the moment.

I was going to my parents' house; it was my father's birthday, and we wanted to celebrate with the family. I had managed to finish some work quickly in my home office and was driving at 90 km/h on the country road, which wasn't overly busy.

Thoughts were swirling through my head. Lena, just her name, filled me with a warm feeling of joy. My girlfriend, with whom I had lived for over seven years, got along just great. We wanted to get married soon because we were sure we wanted to spend our lives together. My work, which was very exhausting at the beginning, was running smoothly like my bike's engine. I had become self-employed just over two years ago, and without the support of my parents and Lena, I probably wouldn't have made it through. For almost a year, small jobs kept piling up, which were overly demanding and exhausting and barely covered the costs. The jobs became more frequent in the second year, and I even got an important contract that kept me busy almost the entire year. In this third year, I had three major contracts that would keep me busy for another two years. I had even started looking for support. Everything seemed to fall into place. I focused on delivering good work. But that wasn't all; somehow, clients particularly liked my flexibility. When necessary, I pushed through even on weekends, I didn't bill every little thing, what the heck, I was already earning very well. I also always thought proactively and came up with new ideas, trying to provide more solutions than pointing out problems. Everything was good now, and it felt good too. I had been able to repay my parents quite a bit, and Lena and I were living in a very nice apartment in the city center.

I was pulled out of my thoughts! Not that I hadn't been attentive, maybe just a tiny bit distracted, but it was definitely too late to get out of this situation without consequences. I saw him too late just to hit the brakes. It was a large water tanker without any special noticeable features, just behind a gentle curve; it looked like it was parked there so quickly I was racing towards it. Trees on the right and left had hidden it until the last moment. At that moment, a car was coming from the opposite lane, and braking was no longer an option; the speed difference between me and the tanker was too great. In front of my eyes, it seemed as if time slowed down. The possible options opened up to me, and they all sucked. If I tried to swerve into the other lane, I would drive into the oncoming car, and who knows what was behind it? How would he react? It could cause fatalities because of me, and my chances weren't good. Ramming the tanker with my bike seemed very painful, only for me; the water tanker probably wouldn't even notice that I was sticking to its back. With a car, I would have taken the collision; it would have damaged my car, but I would have had a fair chance of coming out unscathed. And then there was the forest on the right. Guardrails, ditches, bushes, and rotten half-fallen trees. The forest seemed to me the best solution, a soft landing seemed like the best outcome to this situation, and multiple fractures as the worst, it wasn't my first fall with the motorcycle after all. I decided on the forest and flew through light railings with the machine. I tried to get away from the bike, but everything happened so fast that I didn't even know what hit me. I thought I landed well, almost rolled, and hit something hard. My head was throbbing. A tree, I thought. I couldn't move, and it hurt everywhere. "I think I'll just stay leaned against the tree for a bit," I thought. But then the urge overcame me: "I have to get up and go to my father's birthday." I thought, "I have to get up and congratulate him." After all, he is turning 73 years old, and he has achieved so much. Tears came to my eyes, and I tried with all my strength to get up. Lena was supposed to be there too; she would come directly from her work. Breathing was difficult for me; I still couldn't move, and I knew that something hadn't gone as I had hoped. It hurt in my chest. Many thoughts raced through my mind, and I prayed that prayer my father had taught me as a little boy. Everything went black. And suddenly, I felt free.

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From above, as if I were flying, I saw myself lying there. My body leaning against a half-fallen tree trunk, a branch stump sticking out of my chest. What were the chances of hitting the branch just like that? I saw how the car on the opposite lane had stopped, and people were approaching my body. The water tanker seemed to have driven on. The driver probably didn't even notice anything. My bike lay a good seven meters away from me, probably only slightly damaged.

A deep sadness overcame me. I knew my parents and Lena would be sad; I didn't even get to say goodbye.

I watched sadly for a while. The police and an ambulance appeared. One lane was closed, and paramedics surrounded the body, leaning against the trunk. An electric saw cut The branch stump from the tree, and I was lifted onto a stretcher. I saw how they cared for me and took me to the ambulance. The police searched my pockets and found my wallet with my ID. My beloved leather jacket that I had worn for so long was ruined.

Why now? Everything was going so well. I still had so many plans, many of them with Lena. It felt like a loss. Could I even feel anymore?

Suddenly, I felt warmth, a sense of security, and a light surrounding me. My vision blurred, and somehow, I switched off, let myself drift, and knew nothing more.