The Punch by Noah Hawley

Author:Noah Hawley
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Grand Central Publishing
Published: 2018-10-15T16:00:00+00:00

He wakes in a puddle. People are standing over him. Everything is cockeyed, skewed.

“Don’t move,” says a man, kneeling beside him. “You’ve been hit by a car. An ambulance is on the way.”

Behind the man’s head a traffic light turns from red to green.

“I’m okay,” says David, sitting up. And he is. Miraculously. Not even a scratch. He gets to his feet. How long has he been unconscious? It can only have been a few minutes, but somehow he feels rested, rejuvenated, like he has slept for weeks.

“Are you fucking crazy?” says the cabdriver. “This is what I want to know. Are you a fucking nutjob running out into traffic?”

David straightens. He sees the taxi’s windshield is cracked from the impact of his body. The smell of burning rubber hangs in the air from when the driver slammed on the brakes, and yet David doesn’t feel a thing. He takes a deep breath, exhales. There is no pain.

“I’m sorry,” he says. “Really. It’s my fault.”

“You heard him,” says the driver. “He admitted it.”

David steps up onto the curb. He feels elated, redeemed.

“Maybe you should wait for the ambulance,” says the man who was kneeling beside him. He is tall, well dressed. His wife or girlfriend stands on the curb, a look of concern on her face.

“No,” says David. “I’m fine. Really.”

He walks away, leaving the scene of the accident. His hat is gone and the cold air musses his hair. He has no idea what happened, can’t really remember the moments before the accident. All he knows is he feels alive, deeply, truly alive.

It was a test, he thinks. It’s all a test.

The words taste strange in his mouth. They seem familiar, like there’s an important thought in there trying to get out, but he can’t remember what it is. What kind of test? Then it hits him. The feeling starts low in his belly, spreads through him. He knows what this is all about, his life, his problems, the taxi.

God.

The idea of it is so simple. He smiles, embarrassed. Can it really be that simple? He stops walking, stands on the corner catching his breath. He touches his chest, his arms. He has been struck by a car and emerged without a scratch. It feels like a miracle. This is how it happens. You hit bottom and then there is a light at the end of the tunnel that shows you the way. He wants the light to be real. He wants the way to be righteous. He is so tired of remorse, so tired of doubt.

I believe, he thinks.

He wants to shout it, actually has to cover his mouth with his hands to stop himself. The words rise up inside him. He pictures his son in his animal-print pajamas, praying on his knees. What is that line, And the children will lead us?

He wants to hug everyone he sees. He is man who has built a life on keeping secrets, and now he has the biggest secret of all, and he wants to yell it in the streets.

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