He was careful not to declare anyone guilty.

He wanted a record made before anyone had time to change the story.

That decision would matter more than he knew.

As the ambulance pulled away, I saw the house diminish behind us.

Or I imagined I did.

Later doctors would explain that memory and perception around severe brain injuries can be fragmented, vivid, and deeply unreliable.

I would never claim that I had literally watched the ambulance from above.

But the memory remained: a sense of traveling beside my own life, terrified I might not get back to it.