A Time I Thought I Was Going to Die
My response to Amy Tan’s writing exercise
I was reading through the posts that Masterclass Notes provided and found a Summary of Amy Tan’s Masterclass.
Having loved the novel The Hundred Secret Senses, I was eager to hear Amy Tan’s advice.
She provided a writing prompt:
Remember a time when you thought you were going to die. That’s not what you’re going to write about. Remember another time when you thought you were going to die. Don’t write about that either. Think harder again, and ditch that idea too. Now go deeper into your memory one more time. Remember a time when you thought you were going to die. Now write about that time.
Following her directions, I made a disturbingly long list of the times I thought I was going to die. As I crossed out each of the phrases representing a story Amy Tan wouldn’t want me to write about here, I made a mental note to appreciate how amazing and statistically unlikely it is that I’m still here to write this story! Eventually, I came up with something far down that list that I actually feel comfortable sharing.
The Nearly Fatal Rainbow Gummy Worm
Your 4-year-old child was narrating our exciting trip home from the grocery store.
“Tree, tree, tree, tree, bush, sign, red light, store, pet store! Let’s pet the baby bunnies! Tree, tree, tree.”
You were reflecting on the joys of parenthood and perhaps understandably rethinking your life decisions.
“Tree, tree, tree. Pizza! Can we have pizza for dinner? Tree, tree, tree. Are we even remotely close to home yet? Green light! Tree, tree, tree.”
Then, there was a perfect, sweet silence.
You would call a moment like this “a little bit of peace and quiet.” In return, I would usually offer “a little bitty piece of quiet”, whenever you requested this of me. I was always negotiating with you.
By the time you looked at me in the rearview mirror, my face was cobalt blue. I know this only because I saw your eyes afterwards. You thought you’d lost me.
You pulled over, opened my mouth, and pulled the rainbow gummy worm out from between my teeth.
Through the coughing tears, I could see the shiny candy in your hand. You had saved my life, and this sticky rainbow left behind was the evidence of it. Hiding rainbows inside me in the Bible Belt had nearly killed me for the first time.
“How did you know?”
“You’re never quiet. If you’ve stopped talking, you are clearly dying.”
We came to the conclusion that the best way to keep me alive was to forever avoid those rainbow gummy worms. Those rainbows are dangerous.
Today, I think I will go buy one. If I survive, I will publish this story.
If you are seeing these words on your screen, it means that I have successfully swallowed another tiny rainbow and lived to tell the tale.
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