A Car Flipped in Pittsburgh By Kendall Sharpe

A long time ago, Alex told me a wild story he'd heard from Dan out in Pittsburgh !he story was so outrageous and unbelie"able that # dis$ounted it almost immediately % months later Dan was on this side of the state and we met for $offee late one night at !he &est Side Diner # told him what #'d heard ' and to my surprise he $onfirmed it( )e'd heard it from his girlfriend, *aura +She was there,, he told me, and she e"en had pi$tures Dan retold the story, +a guy $ame to *aura's door in South -a.land and said something had happened to his $ar -n the street, outside the house, this guy's $ar was upside down /eah, upside down, li.e the roof was on the pa"ement *aura as.ed him how it happened and the guy said he $ouldn't remember( )e had no idea how it got there !he weird thing was, there wasn't a s$rat$h on the $ar either 0o logi$al way to explain how it got li.e that(, # eyed him up suspi$iously # thought maybe e"eryone was pulling my leg but he $ontinued, +!he $ra1iest part was that no one saw or heard anything *aura didn't hear anything and man, people were e"en out on their por$hes that afternoon( #t was some total twilight 1one stuff(, #'ll summari1e the rest2 Apparently *aura sat with the guy for a while until !riple A and the poli$e showed up # $an only imagine what .ind of $on"ersation went on between the dispat$her and this bewildered twenty3something &hen the $ops showed up they were 4ust as perplexed as the dri"er himself 5"eryone was at a loss, the $ops thought the .id was pran.ing them # sat in silen$e, o$$asionally sipping my $up of $offee until # finally said, +6aybe he hit a bump or rode the side of a $ar up an in$line or something7, +0o damages to the $ar , Dan reminded me Silen$e +# got nothing, # said, +no explanation , 5"entually they righted the $ar, the .id was stu$. with a bill for the expense and the $ops rightly $ouldn8t $harge him with anything Better to brush it under the rug, instead of getting laughed at li.e they had laughed at the .id -ddly enough, the $ar started perfe$tly and Dan said, +*aura swore the guy dro"e it off li.e nothing happened , After that, the $on"ersation between Dan and # "eered in far different dire$tion &e were old friends, separated by the rolling hills of Pennsyl"ania and we had a lot to tal. about -nly mu$h later, a little before dawn, we parted ways, ha"ing finished our $offee and wal.ed around town -utside his house, # thought of the story again and wondered what the fu$. it all meant +)ey man,, # told him, +#f you hear anything more about that .id and that $ar, let me .now7, 9 &ee.s went by and Dan returned to Pittsburgh, # $ontinued my life uninterrupted # wor.ed, # went to $ollege, # saw my friends 5"en with the hyper $onne$tedness of the internet and smart phones friends don't tal. e"ery day But one Friday # awo.e from a weird dream, and forgetting what had so startled me awa.e, remembered that # had no obligations till 6onday -n a whim, # $alled Dan +&hat's up7, # as.ed +0othing really, 4ust wor.ing on my garden in this amazing weather , +#'m thin.ing about ta.ing a dri"e out west, $ould # stay at your pla$e for a $ouple of days7, # had ne"er "isited Pittsburgh before ex$ept for a rained out pirates game with my father when # was "ery young An open wee.end and this seemed li.e a great opportunity +Absolutely, it would be ni$e to see you , # heard the $lang of metal on stone # imagined Dan digging in a lot somewhere, he'd gotten into urban gardening around that time

+# ha"en't had a $hange of s$enery in a while , +&ell $'mon, we'"e got a $ou$h #'ll tell e"erybody you're $oming , 9 After brea.fast # pa$.ed a bag, threw it in the ba$.seat of my :ol"o and left !he four hour dri"e was $alming &ith nothing but open road in front of me, my thoughts drifted ba$. to that story #'d been told )ow exa$tly $ould someone's $ar 4ust flip upside down7 As # dro"e # entertained a range of ideas from ;ra"ity wells, 6agneti$ fields, Spa$e Aliens to an elaborately pulled pran. or "iral mar.eting $ampaign # arri"ed in Pittsburgh !hree ri"ers and a wonderful e"ening awaited me <eunited with old friends we did a whole lot of nothing2 drin.ing, "ideo games, $igarettes, $hinese ta.e out #t felt li.e we all had 4ust graduated high s$hool again !he next day Dan and *aura showed me around the $ity 5"entually we returned to South -a.land, $ollege town, and to *aura's house !he street that $ar had flipped on( *aura li"ed on a steep hill, but it still didn't sol"e the mystery !he in$line was not steep enough for a $ar to ha"e rolled itself o"er, and e"en if it had, what about the la$. of damage7 *aura went inside to dig up a photo she had ta.en of the $ar after the whole thing happened Dan and # wal.ed around the blo$. Pittsburgh was a lot $leaner than Philadelphia, e"en in the $ollege $orner of the $ity !here were bottles and trash, but it seemed' manageable, friendlier # as.ed a few people out on their por$hes if they remembered A $ouple engineering ma4ors $onfessed to ha"ing heard about it !hough one man in"ited us onto his por$h, ex$used himself and returned with two half $old beers +/ou guys go to Pitt7, +# do , Dan said +#'m "isiting, # li"e in Philadelphia , +:isiting huh7, he said, +!his isn't a =uiet neighborhood' a ni$e one mind you, but the younger one's get rowdy # went to Carnegie 6ellon, graduated fi"e years ago # guess # 4ust li.e the pa$e around here , # loo.ed o"er a Dan, wat$hed him wipe the sweat off the $an before $ra$.ing it open +But weird stuff li.e some yin1er's $ar flippin' o"er doesn't happen often, so damn right # remember it , +/ou didn't see it happen though7, # as.ed +0ah #t's li.e # remember it, but # don't /a .now, li.e my memory is someone elses memory *i.e it's in sepia or something #t gi"es me the $hills thin.in' about it a little # saw them flip it right 'gain and # saw that boy dri"e off /ou want my ad"i$e7 Don't dwell on it Some things are better left un.nown , -n$e the sun went down we dran., smo.ed and got all .inds of fu$.ed up -ur $on"ersation generally a"oided the topi$ that had been $onsuming me But near midnight # bro.e down and as.ed to hear the story again, this time from *aura She $orre$ted a few of the things Dan had told me !he boy had a name after all, but she $ould only remember his first, +Andrew , Beyond his bewilderment he seemed sha.en too the $ore )e did not dri"e the $ar off, it was towed away, e"en though the $ar started 4ust fine )e refused to dri"e the $ar home )e said he was afraid of it, afraid of what would happen if he dro"e the $ar again +)e was spea.ing 4ibberish the whole time, # had no idea what he was saying But he 4ust .ept saying 'that $ar was bad news, bad fu$.ing news ' o"er and o"er again # didn't get it , +!hen what happened to the $ar7, # as.ed +)ow the hell should # .now7, *aura said, on edge, wa"ing her hands !here was the last pu11le pie$e, what happened to the car. #'d gathered a whole bun$h of $onfli$ting information )ow $ould these people ha"e witnessed the same e"ents but remembered them $ompletely differently7 it was ma.ing less and less sense and # $ouldn't e"en figure out why # $ared so mu$h(

9 !he morning before # left # too. another wal. around around Pittsburgh # du$.ed into a $afe that loo.ed attra$ti"e, ordered an Ameri$ano, and began to do some digging A few google sear$hes re"ealed what one would expe$t2 $ars mysteriously flipping upside down weren't $ommon o$$urren$es But to my surprise, what happened in Pittsburgh was a far from an isolated in$ident Su$h things had o$$urred before, on at least fi"e separate o$$asions a$ross the >nited States # wasn't surprised to find that absolutely no one had any idea what to ma.e of these events. I wouldn't return empty handed after all. &al.ing down Forbes A"enue ba$. to Dan's house and my $ar # had a last dit$h idea # de$ided to $all the lo$al poli$e distri$t and see what they would say about it After being transferred a few times a $op that tal.ed to me laughed when # explained it +# remember that, or maybe # 4ust remember hearing about it But either way, there was no $rime $ommitted, so there's no re$ord &e only file something when it's a mutiple "ehi$le a$$ident or if someone's in4ured # agree it's a strange one, but # $an't help you son Sorry , !hat was expe$ted, but what happened next' # really $an't e"en say how mu$h of it is true Around ?pm # left Pittsburgh with more =uestions than answers ;ranted # was tired, but # was $ompletely sober #'d been dri"ing for around an hour and a half, 1ooming eastward a$ross the state, when # saw a $ar pulled off to the side of the road A red sedan upside down on the side of the road My eyes must be playing tricks on me # hoped !his $ouldn't be happening # pulled o"er immediately # ran towards the $ar, and loo.ed in the windows@ the $ar was empty #mmediately, # was filled with dread It's the same car. +Andrew(, # yelled, +Andrew(, -ut in the bla$.ness, there was no reply # tried again and the "oid $alled ba$. to me !he world dissol"ed and instantly # was in a reality that # had not pre"iously .nown, as if # was in a an ether 0othing felt li.e my own A figure stepped out from the nothing, and was at on$e not entirely there Semi3solid, "aporous and translu$ent, plasmati$ almost, there he was 5"en though # had ne"er seen him before # knew +&hat's going on7, # yelled, +&here am #7, +Some things are better left un.nown , Andrew "oi$ed !he mouth did not mo"e, did not e"en open !he words seemed to $ome from all around me # was paraly1ed with fear, e"erything dar. swirled around me in shades of gray, bla$. and the dar.est blues 6atter was surrounding and en"eloping me # heard dar. and si$.ly laughter !he $ar seemed to disappear, soon Andrew did and then, at some point, # lost $ons$iousness 9 &hen # wo.e up, # was ba$. in Philadelphia Dri"ing down AB 6y right hand on the shifter , going an e"en CC6P) # missed my exit and doubled ba$. through the $ity, bas.ing in the artifi$ial yellow lights banishing the bla$. night to ba$. alleys and side streets # was in$apable of e"en thin.ing # was ba$. in Philly, and my trip had only ta.en two hours # sha"ed the time in half without e"en reali1ing # stopped my $ar, went inside my apartment and fell asleep without saying a word to anyone Days went by and # didn't thin. about the $ar anymore, nor the mysterious e"ents that happened to me on the highway # had terrible nightmares, but # didn't e=uate them with my experien$e !errible nightmares of being $rushed by a $ar falling down a hill Dan $alled me one afternoon, +)ey man , he said in his normal low tone, +Did you e"er find anything more about that $ar7, +0o , # laughed +A real shame, he said, spade in hand #n a "oi$e that sounded unli.e my own # said, +Some things are better left un.nown ,