Blessing in Blizzard (PART 1)

The wind drifted snow from the shoulder onto the highway and Jack Preston could barely see the road. He perched closer to the wheel of his 1996 light blue Geo Metro. Jack struggled to keep the car on the highway, which seemed to slide off the highway by the sheer force of the wind. He was driving little Emilie back to Vanessa's house after she had opened her Christmas presents. Vanessa and Jack had split after nine years of marriage.

Suddenly the windshield started fogging up. Jack turned the heater dial to its highest level. The windshield got foggier and foggier. "Damn it'', he yelled while turning the wipers on. No luck. The fog stayed. He moved his finger across the inside of the windshield and could see his finger trace a smooth line amidst the surrounding fog. Maybe I ought to open the windows, he thought, while opening the front driver side window. A substantial wave of drifting snow landed on his lap and he could barely bear the cutting cold. Jack rolled up the window. The windshield fog was all but gone, but was reforming at an alarming rate. This time, he decided to turn the cold air on while rubbing the windshield with the elbow part of jacket. His upper thighs were covered with powder snow, which was beginning to melt. He could almost feel the moisture. Jack quickly moved some of it off with the flick of his left hand and glanced back at Emilie. She had brought up her pink jacket all the way to cover her ears and mouth and was obviously cold and shivering. "Hang on Emilie, we will be there soon," Jack said, while looking hurriedly at the road in front. His car was sliding to the side as if sucked by a great big vacuum. He tried getting it back, but it kept going to towards the embankment. He turned his wheel all he could and the car spun around and accelerated straight off the road. "O My God," he cried, while looking in his back seat. Emilie was grabbing the door handle from inside, while the car flipped over once, and then twice and kept rolling downhill.