You know how some moments pass by so quickly that it is all you can do to keep your eyes open and hope you don’t blink and miss it? And how some others seem to go on impossibly long, as if time itself has stopped?

Yeah, this story is one of the latter variety.

It began as an ordinary day: sun shining, neighbor waving hello as I sprinted to the paper. The usual.

Then I heard this God-awful sound. It sounded more like a thousand bats screeching than the squeal of slammed brakes. The paper dropped from my unfeeling fingers, forgotten. I stood up straight and saw a terrible sight: a little girl running after a ball, running right into the path of a careening Porsche 911.

I watched as the sunlight gleamed off her yellow hair. I watched as my neighbor’s mouth slowly formed an “O” shape, the hose in her hand falling to the ground, wetting her feet. She didn’t seem to notice.

I watched as this man came out of nowhere and pulled the little girl out of the way.

That’s when my ordinary day became extraordinary.