For Karen, every day was a normal day, until the day that changed her life came by.
Karen was always at odds with her father. They barely saw eye to eye. Karen's father, Mr Williams, always said Karen was so stubborn. She rarely obeyed his instructions. Their relationship was a really rocky one. Williams wondered how things got bad to this level between them.
Karen thought her father never understood her. He never saw things from her side. According to her, he was so dictatorial, telling her what she should and shouldn't do.
Margaret, Karen's mother, was disturbed by the fact that the relationship between her daughter and husband was degenerating. A day barely went by without both parties falling out. Margaret was usually caught in the cross fire. She knew that Karen loved her father. When Karen was very little, she always wanted to be with her father. They were the best of pals. Now, Margaret wondered what happened and how things got this bad.
On a faithful Friday, something happened.
Karen was invited to a party. It was a late night party. She knew her parents, especially her dad, wouldn't let her go to that party because it would entail her coming back very late at night, which is not safe. She sneaked out of the house that night and went to the party.
As expected, she came home late, and her dad was furious. They had a falling out. They screamed at each other. Margaret tried to intervene and calm the situation down but to no avail. Karen couldn't take her father's rage that night, so she left the house in anger. It was raining heavily. There was a huge storm. The wind was very violent.
Williams, worried that something bad might happen to Karen that night, went after her. He wanted to apologize and take her home. He got into his car and drove off. Visibility was so poor because of the rainstorm. All of a sudden, while trying to avoid a log of wood on the road, Williams crashed into a tree.
Karen spent the night at her friend's place. She woke up to a call from her mother. As soon as her mom told her that her dad had an accident the previous night while trying to find her, she suddenly felt cold. She froze for some seconds. Karen was anxious and scared. She left immediately for the hospital where her father was receiving treatment. She burst into tears immediately she saw her father on the hospital bed.
The doctor informed them that Williams suffered damage to his legs and so, he wouldn't be able to walk. This news put the family in disarray. Williams was the bread winner of the family. Without his legs functioning, he couldn't go to work.
Weeks later, Williams was discharged from the hospital. He used a wheelchair to move about. William no longer had a job. The family was in a huge financial crisis. Everything was going terribly wrong for them.
Karen blamed herself for the situation. If she hadn't been so stubborn and if she hadn't gone out that night, her father would not have had that accident, and they wouldn't be in the situation they were in. She couldn't forgive herself.
Karen badly wished that she could go back in time and change things. She wished she could go back and put in effort to prevent that accident. Every morning, she would wake up with sadness in her heart, wishing there was a chance for her to make things right.
One afternoon, while Karen was taking a nap, she began dreaming. In the dream, Karen was right at the moment when she was about to sneak out of the house. It seemed like she had finally gone back in time, as she wanted.
Right as she was about to sneak out of the house for the party, she changed her mind. She went back to her room instead. She was convinced that if she never left in the first place, her father wouldn't have that accident. However, while she was in her room that night, her mother got a call that Williams had a car accident on his way back from work. Karen was devastated on hearing this news. She thought she had prevented the accident, but it still happened.
All of a sudden, Karen found herself again at the moment when she was about to sneak out of the house. This time, she decided not to stay back home. Instead, she decided that she would go meet her dad at his work place and convince him not to drive that night. On getting there, Karen couldn't find her father. She was informed that her father left earlier for the supermarket to do some shopping before heading home.
As Karen was about to get into a cab to meet her father at the supermarket, she got a call from her mom. Her father had just been involved in a car accident. Karen was heartbroken once again.
Next thing, she was back at the moment when she was about to sneak out of the house. It was as if Karen was in some sort of loop. She tried every strategy possible on countless occasions to prevent her father's accident. But the accident always found a way to happen. No matter what she did or didn't do, her dad always had an accident on that same day.
Karen woke up from her dream. She was sweating profusely. From that dream, she realized something important. She can't change the past. On realizing this, she decided that hence forth, she would be on her best behavior and try to get the family to heal and move forward from the unfortunate events. She also forgave herself, as it was the only way she could move on.