The street was alive with chaos. The blue and red lights of the emergency services flashed, but their sirens had stopped their deafening clamour. Mother.s held their children close and protected their innocent eyes. On lookers clamped their hands to their mouths to suppress their gasps, others held a hand over their now heavy hearts. No one could seem to avert their eyes from the horror. The horror of the now lifeless young woman lying cold in the street. A man sits on a curb across the street with his head in his hands and tears streaming down his cheeks. Hushed voices fill the air, “what’s happened?”, “How did this happen?”.

Now, I suppose you’re probably wondering the same thing; what happened? We’ll, reader, let me fill you in.

Just a half hour before, the man on the curb side sat before the wheel of his trusty Ford. He hadn’t seen the girl in the mustard-yellow raincoat; hadn’t been able to stop the car in time. How hadn’t he noticed her? Had he closed his eyes; he didn’t remember closing his eyes. But he had been tired. He had next to no sleep the night before and was paying for it today. Little did he know how much he would pay for it. If only he’d had a little more sleep. Maybe his reflexes would have been faster. Maybe he would have been able to stop the car in time. Maybe the girl in the mustard-yellow raincoat wouldn’t have died. Maybe.

But why was the man behind the wheel so tired?

Just the evening before, the man behind the wheel had dropped off his roommate to meet a girl, in his same trusty Ford. He dropped him off at some trendy Cuban bar to meet a girl he’d met on an app. The roommate grabbed a table and waited. Ten minutes came and went. Then another. He ordered some sort of rum cocktail and sent his date a text. She was just running a bit late he supposed. The roommate glanced around the crowds and accidentally caught eyes with a pretty brunette. The brunette smiled a sympathetic smile and lifted her glass. The roommate shot his no-show date one last text and then headed to the bar to settle the bill.

“Stood up?”

The roommate turned around and came face to face with the pretty brunette. They both smiled.

After a few (maybe too many) more rum cocktails, the roommate and the pretty brunette flagged a taxi to continue the party back at his place.

Now, the man behind the wheel could have got up. He could have told his roommate to turn the music down and let him get some sleep. Maybe if he had, the man behind the wheel wouldn’t have been so tired. Maybe he would have stopped the car in time. Maybe the girl in the mustard-yellow raincoat wouldn’t have died. Maybe.

Shall we keep going, reader?

So, what happened to the date that never showed?

Earlier that same evening, a nervous young woman poured herself a glass of cheap wine and pressed shuffle on her favourite Spotify playlist. She was basically ready for her date, and with time to spare! She had decided to keep her makeup light but painted her lips with her favourite red lipstick. If anything was going to give her a confidence boost, it was a bold lip and she always received so many compliments whenever she wore it. Her curls were being uncharacteristically obliging she’d bought a brand new outfit for the occasion, that fit her like a glove. Everything was going so smoothly… what could go wrong? As the woman was getting ready to call an Uber, just an empty wine glass later, her brother half fell through her door, crying and heartbroken. The woman sat her brother on the sofa, promised him a cosy night in filled with blankets and snacks, and then rushed around her flat in search of all the supplies they would require for a post-breakup comfort night in. In all the dramatics, the woman forgot to message the roommate, who assumed he had been stood up and nursed a bruised ego.

Now, maybe if the woman had sent a message, the roommate’s ego wouldn’t be left quite so bruised. Maybe the roommate wouldn’t have taken the pretty brunette back home to his flat. Maybe the man behind the wheel wouldn’t have been quite so tired. Maybe he would have been able to stop the car. Maybe the girl in the mustard-yellow raincoat wouldn’t have died. Maybe.

Life is made up of so many moments, however big or small. Moments that can change the course of life as we know it, and we would be none the wiser. How many lives have we impacted- good or bad- that we simply have no idea about? All of our lives are intertwined by all these invisible moments that go unnoticed. The universe gives us all a chance to make a change each and every day. So, dear reader, just know that you have a power inside you. Next chance you get, smile at a stranger; you may just change their life.