It was our last stop of the seven-day cruise, long mornings and even longer nights living our best life enjoying vacation. As we pulled into the dock of Saint Martian, we weren’t sure what our schedule was for the day. Most families on the cruise were talking about going to the beach, going on an island tour, or even staying on the boat. However, we always enjoyed doing things we can’t typically do on a regular day back home. So, we decided to rent 4 ATV’s for me, my dad, mom, and my sister. We all have experience riding, my sister and mom not so much, especially on main roads very much different than in the US. But this was it, our last day on vacation, 4 hours of riding and creating our own tour for us personally, no tour guide, no rules, just one map and a time limit to make in back to the Cruise.

As the day goes on, I start to realize my mother and sister have difficulties with controlling their ATV’s. For one, they’re too nervous and not the best drivers, and I also notice my sister is too weak to fully pull the breaks. I decided to ignore it since everything was going so well so far, we had no major issues or worries so we continued to keep riding around the island. As the last hour approached, we were discussing whether my dad and sister should switch vehicles. Since she was already use to hers, we decided it was best for her to stay on the one she got originally, ignoring the fact about her brakes. With about 15 minutes left of riding we realize we are kind of in a rush to make it back. This is where everything went wrong, and a memory I will never forget.

It was a very steep hill we were riding up, with a lot of traffic coming from both ways. As I’m creeping to the top of the hill, as soon as I reach the peak all I see is my sister flipping. The only time in my whole life I ever witnessed time standing still, as I’m standing there stuck, I just watch her flip through the air, shoes flying off, barely getting hit by a car, then her head slamming into the concrete. Thankfully she was okay, in pain yes, but she was still here. If it wasn’t for her helmet and her bookbag landing right on top of a rock, or even if she fell three feet to left sending her off a cliff, things would’ve been much different.

Witnessing my sister almost dying, and the amount of struggle we went through following the crash. Is something I will never forget; I couldn’t sleep for days or even think right. In a strange way it’s good that happened, I’ve never been as close with my sister till after that because it made me realize I could’ve lost her right then and there. Never take anything or anyone for granted, and don’t wait till something terrible happens to change your perspective on how you truly feel about someone like I did.