The Seat Belt Saved Me and Broken Me

My shoulder, collarbone and sternum were all broken from the force of the seat belt. I imagined this line as a perfect crack through my body - like the crease down the spine of a book or the line of fate on a palm. The tears fell down my cheeks and onto the pillow, making it wet because I couldn't wipe them away. A nurse massaged my hand open because my fingers were still so tense from where they had dripped the seat. My father was in a different room. He had fractured his skull.