Vicci glanced at her driver's side mirror, glanced over her shoulder, then merged into the fast lane as she passed an interstate sign that read 'Indiana 69 North,' smiling to herself at the fact that the interstate was number sixty-nine.
The wind blew waves and waves of snow across the street in front of her, making the road look alive and moving. The headlights of the oncoming cars, on the other side of the median, looked like glowing ghosts moving in darkness.
It was only a few days before Christmas and she hadn't seen her boyfriend for almost two weeks. In case you have never been in love and twenty-three, that's a long time.
Normally, she might not drive in weather as bad as that night, but it was only a few days before Christmas and they needed to exchange presents. Vicci's family was going to her grandmother's in Montana for the holidays and if not tonight, then they wouldn't see each other until the twenty-eighth.
Suddenly, the car slid on the icy slush and slid off the left hand of the road and spun three times before digging into some ice under the blanket of snow and flipping. The car landed back on its tires, buried up to its windows in a drift, the engine dead.
Darkness.
All that Vicci could see when she opened her eyes was pitch darkness. She must not have buckled her seatbelt because during the flip she was bounced off the back window and landed sideways in the back seat. The darkness outside exploded in a bright mix of yellow and orange that hurt her eyes and enabled her to see the inside of her car. A glowing white young man, with gold hair leaned over her, his hands griping the seat just above Vicci's shoulders. He was illuminated by the blinding glow from outside the car and dressed in a white and silver robes, with a rainbow of wings on his back.
He kissed her, deep and passionate, then moved his kiss to her neck and she moved her gaze past his shoulder to the sunroof. The light was almost blinding. It was like the sun sat down outside her car and set up a bonfire for others stars.
"What's going on?" she whispered as his hands unfastened her belt.