Truth

Author's name: Colin Hovardar Publisher: Dar Al-Mada for Publishing and Distribution Year of publication: 2022 Literary classification: Novel Brief about the book: I hear the sound of his skull shattering before the spray of blood reaches me. I gasp then take a quick step back toward the pedestrian sidewalk. My foot sinks, and the heel of my shoe does not complete the walk with me, causing me to hold the stake of the "No Parking" sign, afraid of losing balance. The man had been standing in front of me just seconds ago. And we were among a crowd waiting for the crossing signal to flash, when suddenly the man crossed the street prematurely, causing a speeding truck to collide with his body. I rushed forward trying to stop him, I couldn't hold onto anything, and I saw him fall to the ground. I closed my eyes before his head was under the wheel, but I heard something crack like the sound of champagne cork. All the blame, all the blame, falls on this man, as he was looking indifferently at his mobile phone, perhaps because he had crossed the street many times before, without any incident. Maybe death is caused by routine. People gasp like me, but no one screams or shouts. The driver of the offending truck jumps from behind the wheel and immediately kneels before the man lying on the ground. I step back a little from the scene as some people rush forward to help. I didn't need to look at the man lying under the wheel to know he didn't survive the accident. It was enough to look at my pure white shirt – now stained with blood – to know that the coffin nail would serve him better now than an ambulance. I spin around trying to distance myself from the scene – maybe I’ll find a place to breathe a sigh of relief – but the traffic light now says "Cross," and the crowd is paying attention to the green light, making swimming against the current and going back impossible in the midst of this flowing river of Manhattan residents. Some of them do not lift their eyes from their mobile devices while crossing near the accident site. I stop walking forward, waiting for the crowd to thin out. I glance back toward the truck, avoiding watching the man lying there. The truck driver is now standing behind his vehicle, staring at his mobile phone in his hands.