A Sorrow Road

“Hello, old friend. Where have you been?”

I looked up at a familiar face. It was like seeing a ghost, really.

“Tommy?” I said in confusion.

What was Tommy doing here? Where even was ‘here’?

My eyes began to wander, looking past his face at all the surroundings. It was foggy with what I thought was a forest around me. I looked down at my feet to see a paved road that was freshly rained on. It didn’t explain anything, especially not why Tommy was here.

“Where are we?” I asked him.

I saw a small grin overcome his face as he looked outward for an answer.

“You really don’t know?”

I tried to recall if I did or not, but nothing seemed to jog my memory. All it was, was a foggy forest road, nothing that really sprung an idea to mind.

“I don’t… Am I supposed to?”

Once again, that silly little grin overcame his face. Why he had that grin, I don’t know, but I couldn’t help thinking it was from some irony I wasn’t seeing.

“No, not yet, at least. Here, follow me.”

I obliged reluctantly, following him down the road.

Tommy looked different from the last time I saw him. He seemed happier and more lit up than he normally was. And it was there I actually stopped to question myself. When was the last time I saw Tommy? It wasn’t — recent, I know that much. So, when was it, the last I’ve seen him? And why was he here?

Tommy called to me while walking, “So, Richy. How have you been?”

“Good. I’ve been — ”

I stopped myself, forming a puzzled look on my face as I really couldn’t remember how I’ve been. I couldn’t even remember what happened before this. All my memories were just as foggy as the forest around me. For a second, I got a little scared and tentative, unsure of how to proceed, but it was there I heard Tommy’s voice interrupt me.

“It’s okay. It’ll come back to you. Just give it a little longer.”

I felt myself go quiet inside. How did he know what I was thinking? I would like to believe he just somehow picked up on the subtle unsureness in my voice, but still, it didn’t seem like that was the case. Something was not right here.

It then occurred to me, as we continued walking, that we hadn’t seen a car come by the entire time. Not a single one in the few minutes we’ve been here. It wasn’t like this road was any secret or anything, people travel on these two-way roads all the time. Maybe there was less traffic because of the fog? I really couldn’t tell, but nothing about this seemed normal.

We walked for a while longer. No cars, no words, and not a single clue to what was going on. Through the fog, we came up on a ridge overlooking the forest below. It was a clear drop that went about twenty feet down the side of the cliff.

“What about now? Is anything coming back to you?” Tommy asked.

I looked off the side of the cliff, but still, nothing came to my mind. Everything was just blank for me. It felt almost like a dream; nothing seemed real, yet it somehow felt like it was at the same time.

“No, I don’t know what’s happening. Why are we here, Tommy? Why are you here?”

Tommy looked at me with a sort of disappointment over his face.

“The real question is, why are you here, Richy?”

Concerned and a little frustrated, I told him, “I don’t know why I am here! You make it seem I’m supposed to know, but I have no idea, man. Stop being cryptic and just tell me.”

Tommy looked down and sighed at his feet.

“Do you remember this?” he said, while pulling off his ring.

“You gave me this to give to my wife, remember? I told you my plans to propose, and you ended up getting me this as a gift to do so…”

He chuckled to himself.

“And I told you to take it back, but you insisted I keep it. Said it was a gift for the brother you never had. Do you remember that?”

I felt something come back to me as I pictured the exact moment he was talking about.

“Yeah… And all I asked for in return was for you to finally go out bowling with me and the boys again. Yeah, I remember that.”

He smiled lightly.

“And do you remember the wedding when it finally happened?” he asked.

I thought about it for some time, but eventually that too came back to me.

“Yes! I do, I do remember. You and Michelle, yes. I remember being your best man that day.”

I laughed happily, finally remembering something about my past.

“Yeah, so how are the two of you? I can’t remember the last time I saw y’all.”

His face glimmered down, not looking as ecstatic as I was. His tone became more serious, and his face revealed his failed attempts to get me to see something.

“You still don’t remember, do you?”

I was confused, as my expression quickly went away.

“Let me show you something once more,” he said, while leading me further down the road.

As we walked through the fog, I saw tire marks burned into the asphalt. They led down and off the road with all but a broken guard rail in its place, like a car ran right through it.

“What is this?” I asked him.

“A mistake, my friend. Your mistake.”

“What do you mean, ‘my mistake?’”

He walked over to the edge where the car must’ve flown off.

“Take a look for yourself.”

I walked over to the edge and peered down at the forest below. Through the layers of fog, I saw the headlights of a car at the bottom. It looked like it was caught up in one of the trees below, all scratched up and damaged, smoking from the engine.

“Do you know what that is?” Tommy asked.

“A car,” I responded back to him.

Tommy let out another sigh.

“Yes, but it’s not just a car.”

I looked closer, trying as hard as I could to remember something that would make this make sense. And as I stared and stared, growing impatient at the nothingness I was getting from my memory, it finally clicked.

“That’s my car… but why? Why is it down th — ”

My eyes widened as I started to realize what had happened. I crashed, gone too fast in a time I shouldn’t have, and ended up running my car off the cliff. But why am I here? And not in —

A disturbing thought crept into my brain, and I was almost fearful to ask.

“Am I dead?” I asked Tommy.

“No, but you got close.”

My heart seemingly stopped as I realized what that must mean for —

I looked at Tommy with a panicked gaze.

“Does that mean — You’re dead?”

His face was straight and sincere as he nodded his head.

“But — no. How?”

I felt my whole world collapse upon me once again. My bones felt weak, and I couldn’t believe him. My dearest friend couldn’t just be dead. We had all these memories, and he was standing right in front of me. It can’t be real.

“But it is,” he stated.

The hard truth poured back in as he answered my very thoughts.

He sighed and walked over to me, seeing the heartbreak on my person. He then put a hand on my shoulder and began to speak with his calming, wise voice.

“It is true, Richy. It’s been true for a while now. And yet, you’ve refused to believe it. You’ve let the truth run you right off the road, and look where you are now. Is that what you want, Rich? Do you want to cut your time short just to be here with me? Because I don’t want that for you. Don’t let the truth take away from what you have. Do you even know what you have, Rich? Do you?”

I was speechless as I didn’t know what to say to him. I felt a clog in my neck, and it held back my words. Pressure kept building inside me as he asked me over and over if I knew what I had. But as I stood there teary eyed, I recalled the last thing I saw. It was the picture of my family I had clamped to my car’s visor.

He elevated his voice to get a point across as he continued to ask me the same question.

“Do you know! Do you remember!” Tommy said one last time, before going silent for my response.

I looked down and sorrily said to him, “I — I remember.”

His face eased up and matched the regret I held behind my eyes. He gave me a hug to comfort me one last time.

“Well, if you remember, then don’t let it all go to waste. Just because my life is over, doesn’t mean yours should end as well,” he told me.

I held my friend tightly while I could, whispering in his ear…

“I’m going to miss you, Tommy.”

“Me too, Richy. Me too. But it’s time for you to wake up.”

“Wake up?”

He suddenly began holding me tighter than before. An overwhelming pain came from his tight grasp. My ribs felt broken and my body started to flame up in agony. It was hard for me to breathe, which made me gasp for air and open my eyes.

I awoke and immediately looked around me.

I was in my car with my airbag taking up most of the space in the front seat. The front windshield was broken, with smoke coming from the engine. I was perched up in a tree that only held me up by a few of its branches. I was covered in cuts with blood on my face as I looked into the rear-view mirror. My ribs were most definitely broken, and maybe even my arm, I wasn’t sure. But regardless, I was alive.

I looked up at the picture of my family, grateful I was still breathing, even if it was just barely. I didn’t know how or when I’d be rescued, but to me, that didn’t really matter. I felt like either way, I would wind up safe and sound. The taste of alcohol was still in my mouth, and I knew my mistake would not come with a lack of punishment. However, as I sat still thinking of my friend, all I felt was relief to have a chance to keep going, knowing he gave me exactly what I needed to finally see the truth with open arms. And as I looked out the window next to me, I listened to the sound of sirens coming closer and closer, as I reminded myself of my friend’s words, and not to waste the life I still have.

© 2025, John Henry. Published by WhisperPublications. All rights reserved.

— John Henry

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Feature to Reedsy’ prompt for inspiring the Story: https://blog.reedsy.com/creative-writing-prompts/.

Contest #311: Write a story with someone saying “I regret…” or “I remember…”