Richard could hardly wait. Next week he would be a free man. Amelia had visited him in prison every week. Before the accident she was only his girlfriend. He was confident she would soon be his wife. He was serving a sentence for manslaughter. He had been driving a parcel van when he phoned Amelia asking for a date. His attention was distracted when she answered his call. He smashed into a stationary car, killing all four of its passengers. Killing Elaine who, in the alternate universe, had an affair with Philip. In this universe they lived miles apart, their paths never crossed, and now she was dead. 


Richard was having a pleasant dream in his prison cell. He dreamt he was driving his car, Amelia in the passenger seat. The dream changed. Amelia was still in the passenger seat, but it was a van he was driving. Horns blew as they travelled through the town. Amelia was no longer in the passenger seat. He swerved. The dream became very realistic. He felt the bump as he glanced against a parked car. Children were screaming as they walked on the pavement towards their school. He could feel the steering wheel. He could feel his foot on the brake. No; it wasn’t the break, it was the accelerator. A monument was in front of him at the centre of the roundabout. His wheels caught the pavement surrounding the memorial. The van spun into the air. It crashed on its roof. Richard was upside down, held in place by its seat belt. Before anyone could come to his rescue, the van exploded. He died instantly.


***


Richard, in the alternate universe, was glad his night shift was coming to an end. He pulled into a layby before reaching the town of Thornhill. Hidden by a nearby tree he relieved himself playing his pee on its trunk. It was a long trip from Inverness just to make one delivery, but if that’s what the boss wanted - so be it. He took in deep breaths of fresh air before getting back into the van. At this time of day, parents would be dropping their children off at the school he was about to pass, so he wanted to be fully alert. He had learnt his lesson. A while ago he nearly crashed into a car while trying to phone his girl friend. In this universe, Amelia was in the toilet at the time so couldn’t take the call. Richard wasn’t distracted. He swerved away from a parked car. Emily lived.


Refreshed, he started his van. Then a strange thing happened. As he passed the school he suddenly found himself in a prison cell.