Opal's Song by S.J.Byrne
Coming 2013 - Release date to be
announced
A horrific accident on a rain slicked mountainside and permanent paralysis from the waist down.
25 year old Lily Wade has to relearn simple, everyday activities just to live a seemingly normal life.
Opal—a precocious child in her rehabilitation group—teaches Lily about living joyfully after surviving an immense tragedy and how to find peace within the pain.
To keep a promise made, Lily must dust off her once beloved cello and connect with the music she’s kept locked inside a velvet lined case for nearly a decade.

A Teaser
The headlights of Darren’s extended cab Chevy swung from left to
right as he took the switch back curves much faster than normal. Lines of
tension formed beside his mouth, and his usually relaxed hands clutched the
black leather steering wheel in a white knuckle death grip. Something about the
way he pumped the brakes wasn’t quite right, and the momentum of the truck was
picking up instead of slowing down.
Lily wanted to ask if everything was okay, but didn’t dare
distract him from what was quickly becoming a dangerous situation. Deep
ingrained reflex made her tug on the strap of her seat belt to ensure it would
hold if the worst case scenario played itself out.
She’d ventured East with her boyfriend to explore and get away
from the stifling rules of her parents. They had come into Western North
Carolina via the Blue Ridge Mountains and immediately fallen in love with the
place. Eclectic Asheville stole her heart with its combination of forward
movement and backwards thinking. Only in that particular valley, surrounded by
some of the oldest mountains in the world, could one community find the
wherewithal to support so many varied lifestyle modalities. From the redneck–hillbilly
descendants of the original Scottish settlers, to the new agers, dirty hippies,
and flamboyant gays—Asheville catered to them all.
Lily wanted to share the exuberance of the area with her family,
but suddenly feared the chance to do so would come at the cost of a glossy
wooden box. Tears filled her eyes as she swallowed past a lump forming in her
throat. She didn’t want to die.
“Aww, FUCK!”
Darren’s barely whispered expletive caught Lily’s attention as the
tail end of the truck swung around. Suddenly they were facing the way they’d
come. On any other day Darren would’ve calmly turned the wheel until the truck
righted itself. For some reason the beast didn’t respond to his handling. The
vehicle continued to spin until something in the front end snapped, and Lily
stared in horror. One of the tires flew away from the truck, and in that
instant she realized what people said was true—in the moments before death time
slows down as the brain processes everything in minute detail.
Bright headlamps illuminated the surrounding forest as the front
end of the truck crashed down onto the road. Heavy metal screeching on asphalt
filled Lily’s ears only to be replaced with the sound of trees snapping beneath
the force of a full sized pick-up rolling down the side of a mountain.
Up became down, and Lily’s insides threatened to come out as she
was jerked about behind the increasingly tighter band of her protective belt.
If she’d been sitting next to Darren her head would’ve been spared the
repetitive abuse of being tossed against the passenger window. Lily didn’t want
to scream out her fear, but found she had no control over her vocal cords—her
screeches of distress echoed in the confined space until the imploding
windshield drowned her out. Shards from the window flew towards them, cutting
her neck and face as they tumbled around inside the cab.
Everything stopped all at once. The crashing roll of the truck,
the cutting of the glass shards, even Lily’s screams. The Chevy landed on its
side with her hanging by her seat belt, staring down at the unconscious form of
her boyfriend. The smell of gasoline filled the air and Lily felt the spike of
adrenaline wash through her nervous system.
“Darren! Darren, wake up!” She yelled as loud as her constricted
lungs would allow behind the crushing force of the nylon strap. “Darren, we
have to get out of this truck!”
Darren remained unconscious, and Lily refused to give into the
blind panic threatening to take over. Breathing deep she quickly surveyed her
position and the quickest escape route. The windshield had completely
shattered, making that the only way out of the wreckage as the door above her
wouldn’t budge when she tried pushing it open. Grabbing hold of the oh-shit
handle, she pulled the weight of her body off the belt and pushed the release
button. Blinding heat zipped through her body as she crashed face first against
Darren's side and was knocked out cold by the force of their skulls connecting.
****
Something wet trickled down the side of her face just before an
excruciating pain exploded behind her eyes, and Lily knew she was about to have
the mother of all migraines. She thought to press the heels of both hands
against her throbbing eye sockets, but found her body remained motionless
against the command. A soft moan beneath her was worrying, though she couldn’t
think why. The muscle of her shoulder flexed involuntarily and a jolt of pain
flashed down her spine, stopping abruptly in her hips. A deep breath meant to
calm her frantic thoughts brought more pain and then the blessed blackness.
****
“Hang in there little lady. We’ve almost got you out.”
Lily whimpered as a sudden shock of agony rippled through her arms
and torso, but the sound of someone talking eased her anxiety. She wasn’t
alone—thank god. The voice became a life line she clung to with her mind until
sweet oblivion pulled her back into its warm embrace.
****
“They rolled down the side of Mount Pisgah. From what I can gather
she was pinned in place by her seat belt, until she managed to undo it and then
fell against his side.”
The conversation felt a million miles away. Surely they weren’t
talking about her. Before she could give it another thought, the air was filled
with excited chatter and frantic movements. She wanted to open her eyes and see
what was going on, but her lids were too heavy to lift. Moving the muscles of
her body required a strength she didn’t possess and fear flooded her thoughts
as she cried out in frustration. The air she pulled through her nose tasted
strange on the back of her tongue. Oblivion stretched out its arms and Lily
went into them without a fight.
Find out more about Opal's Song and it's release
A
portion of all proceeds from Opal's
Song will be donated
to
help children with disabilities... more information forthcoming.
About the Author
Living in the mountains of Western North
Carolina SJ Byrne is just trying to make her way through the insanity that
comes with creativity. Writing is her passion - life is her muse. Keep an eye
out for new books due later this year.
Connect with SJ via:
Read more about her books on:
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