Not Light At All

Thursday, around 13.00h, I switched on my pc and opened Internet Explorer. Frontpage of Google: "drama on Queen's Day". Oh my, I thought, would Beatrix' hat have been caught by the wind? Did one of the princesses break a nail? Maybe our future king threw up?

Clicked through, not very awake yet. Hmm, a video. Okay, show me!

Fell silent while watching. I think most of the people have seen that video by now and know what I'm talking about. If not, it's easily found. I don't feel the need to put it here and neither do I feel the need to show one of the horrible stills.

Usually when things happen that 'shock the nation', I'm quite calm about it and seem to be following it from a distance. This moment, there was no time to take a step back before watching the news and it hit me straight in the face.
Turned on the tv to follow the news and in the meantime I clicked on a link. Different video, in which you see the car hitting people. And there, on the concrete of the streets, this tiny person caught my eye. The brakes in my head refused; I hád to know if that girl had survived. The videos and photos didn't give much hope. Saw a photo that was taken right at the moment she smacked to the ground.

The girl is still alive, that's all I know one day later.

Seven people died, the car driver is one of them.

The royals are shocked but unharmed. Well that's a relief... :-/

We heard more and more about the backgrounds of the 'mad driver', a man in absolute despair. It makes you think: how would I feel if I had been in his shoes? And how would I have acted? I think I wouldn't have exploded. I'm an imploder, I think. At least, I hope I am.

The drama behind the drama doesn't take away the horror of the pain the victims and their loved ones are going through, not at all. Maybe it's even worse to know that if this man had been an imploder, the little girl would be sleeping in her own bed right now, maybe still tired of all the waiting and the rather boring parade on Queen's Day. I don't know.

I'm just so shocked.