Free People With No Last Names Essay Example

I like to think about the world out there as a one huge web of people's fates. Sometimes it happens that they intersect with each other and form tight knots. These we usually call close blood relations, best friendships, or passionate and long-lasting romantic relationships. Sometimes it happens that they only touch each other and move swiftly away, pulled away by the invisible forces of other threads and other places. However they behave, I believe that there is not even a tiny bit of chance as to how exactly they behave themselves. In other words, I believe in destiny. And I believe that every person appears in our life for a reason – regardless whether the encounter will result in a barely perceptible touch or a tight knot which will remain tied for the rest of our lives.
The chapter “Geraldo No Last Name” made a great impression on me because it brought back a similar situation in my mind – a sudden death when the human body with a beating heart inside clashes with a body of metal with an engine inside. What eventually became one of the most dreadful memories of mine was planned as a great and adventurous night out for three girls. Me and my friend Yvette visited Yvette's home city for several days, so she decided to introduce me to an ancient friend of her. We agreed on meeting at seven o'clock, but Melinda, that other girl, was late, so she invited us to wait at her place since we were in her neighborhood anyway. When I was invited inside and introduced to Melinda, I was amazed. She was almost ready to go – and she was perfect. Her place, too, was perfect: it made me think of my place when I was not expecting guests – I was always dreading someone turning up unexpectedly. Hers was in perfect order. Anyway, it took Melinda five more minutes to get ready and we left.
We went to a very nice night club nearby. It seemed that the city never slept. Four-lane road was full of cars that were bringing more and more guests to the party. We were having the time of our lives. By the time we left the club we had had several drinks and felt a bit tipsy. Melinda was half asleep because, as Yvette told me, it was unusual for her to be out at night. We called the taxi and waited outside the club. The taxi arrived soon, but the driver confused lanes, and we decided to cross the road quickly instead of asking him to drive exactly to the club. Now I wish we asked. We were crossing the road which by that time was empty – and the roaring Range Rover came out of nowhere. Melinda was hit. I remember her lying on the callous asphalt in the puddle of blood.
I was very interested in making friends with this girl because I liked her the moment I saw her. She was something like a better version of me – tidier, prettier, more persistent and talented. I got to know very little about her before we went to that night club except the things I could gather from a couple of words my friend said about her and a couple of minutes of being in her apartment. I could have gotten to know a lot more about her from Yvette later, after the accident. My friend, however, was hardly in the mood to discuss her friend who was hit, killed, and buried before her eyes.
The moment I met Melinda, I knew she came into my life for a reason. I needed someone to pull me up, not to pull me down, like, as I felt, most of my friends and acquaintances did at that time. I know that I can be seen as pretentious – to talk like that about a girl I have known for a couple of hours. Yvette at least has feelings, things, and memories to hold on to. I do not have that. This situation in my life was a dear price to pay for one very important lesson I will never forget: one should appreciate every new encounter in one's life because one never knows how long it will last.