Fears do exist — so she will never be on wheels again

ISLAMABAD: “Fears don’t exist”, she used to tell herself since childhood, and especially as a teenager she had a firm faith in this statement.

“Living my life fearlessly and enjoying every single moment of it, I never imagined any fear or guilt until my 18th birthday. Alas, that day brought about an immense transformation not only in my feelings but also in my smooth life,” is what Aamna Yousaf wrote, narrating her sorry tale.

Inhaling the cold air, the fresh scent of red roses and witnessing the twinkle of the stars in the naked sky, she flew away like never before. It had been a while, so she was looking forward to spending quality time with her best friend, Lia. And finally, she got the opportunity to travel by road with her from one city to another in Canada.

It had been a while since Aamna Yousaf had last driven on the highway. She was a little reluctant at first but not unsure of herself. “I sat on the driving seat. Racing, I drove super-fast on the highway like never before. We had planned to visit Toronto two weeks ago since Lia had returned from London. She was overwhelmed with the idea of us travelling. And there we were, together.”

With her feet going firm on the accelerator, her passenger going backwards on her seat, fighting the air resistance, she had forgotten completely about the traffic and the road. “I drove at a speed, crossing the speed limit by a huge margin. “Both of us were super excited while I drove as fast as a hungry lion on its chase.”

She narrated that with her hands in the air, she lost control of the car, and “suddenly the twinkle in Lia’s fathomless eyes was gone. Silence, darkness, pain, blood, thunder and twilight took its place.”

Aamna Yousaf said Lia was gone and they had experienced the worst accident of their lives. She had lost not only her legs but Lia as well.

Remorse overtook her and she drowned in the sea of guilt, fear, loss, and helplessness. Deciding to never drive again, all her hopes and dreams were shattered with Lia’s body. At the end, she wrote about her nightmare: “Unequivocally destined it was; Verily, excruciating it was; But! we had to move on; Thus! Benumbing it was.”