My Fantasies

I am running across the stage with my guitar on one hand and the microphone on the other. The crowd is in frenzy and everyone is screaming. I point the microphone towards the audience and they scream, “Again!” We are performing our world renowned hit song that plummeted my rock band to fame.

I jump up and down on the stage and then the lights go out. It is like there is a blackout in the venue and then I wake up sweating. I have been experiencing these famous dreams (pun intended) since my career ended in a car crash eight years ago.

Promising endeavor

Unlike many music groups, our famous rock band was formed in reverse. Many musicians start as a group and then split after they hit. In our case, we started out as solo artists and then joined to form a rock band. The group of seven was originally composed of three members.

The three-member band was unsuccessful as were our solo careers. I was into pop music but my main strength lay in music composition. We met after all of us performed in a rather low-key event and started discussing our problems. After deliberating for a few moments, we realized that each of us had a unique talent and if we combined all of them, we would make a great band.

We did exactly that and went to work on our first album as a rock band. Within six months we were one of the most sought out bands in the country and after one year we were superstars. Combining our talents also ensured that we were able to produce music more quickly and within two years we were making serious money. That is when our promising career was cut short by an automobile accident.

The aftermath

We had just performed at a highly publicized event and were heading to our hotel when our bus crashed. Actually, the bus collided with an oncoming car and then flipped several times. Twelve people died immediately, four of whom were my band members. I escaped with a broken spine and became a cripple since then. The other two remaining band members have not managed to produce any music and the band is almost forgotten. After breaking my spine, I lost all senses from my neck downwards and I rely on a full-time nurse for assistance and I move around in an electric wheelchair.

It all seems like a bad dream to me, I mean, one minute you are alive and well and the next you are three quarters dead. Anyway, I can still talk and I have regained partial use of my arms following extensive therapeutic treatment. Immediately after the accident, I lapsed into depression for a period. I recovered after extensive counselling sessions and I have now regained my confidence. I have started writing songs and as I mentioned earlier, my real talent lies in song composition. One of the other two survivors had taken to drugs after the accident.

We have convinced him to get help and he is now in a rehabilitation center and hopefully he will recover. We have talked with the other survivor and with our administrative staff and decided that the band can still go on. I can still compose songs and the other two survivors can reclaim their roles. Our administrative staff has been very supportive and have promised to find replacements for those we lost in the accident. Despite our harsh predicament, I always embrace the words of my counselor that, all is never lost.