What did the first traffic light say to the second traffic light?

What did the first traffic light say to the second traffic light?

“Wow! This is the worst crash yet!”

“Hasn't been one like that in years,” replied Amber, who was just getting ready to glow again.

“Look at the state of that car! Serves them right really, I was clearly glowing but they just ignored me anyway-“

“Oh stop complaining Red,” retorted a voice from below. “You always moan when people ignore you.”

“Shut up Green,” spat Red. “It’s ok for you; people love to see you glow! All I ever get is abuse when it’s my turn. For once it would be nice to see a smile when I’m glowing.”

“It’s not easy for me either! I always feel guilty when I have to stop glowing to let you have your go!”

“Well I am sorry; I’m just trying to do my job!”

As the two lights continued to argue Amber remained quiet like she always did, silently content with her job.  Experience has taught her that it was best to let them exhaust themselves, interfering would only spark more argument meaning peace would slip even further away.

Amber looked out onto the road, the wailing and screaming soon drowned out Red and Green’s puerile squabble; she did not know which noise was worse. Before her sprawled a scene of twisted metal and blood stained tarmac; a blue car lay on its back, its wheels still gently spinning from the vehicles previous somersault. The remains of its windscreen littered the road, transforming the area into a sea of sharp, jagged shards ready to shred and pierce anyone who dared to swim its waters. Some of the fragments caught the dying light of the sun, casting eerie rainbows over the crash site. A woman floated within the sea of shards, her body contorting into painful positions; her head was bleeding causing a tributary of blood to flow into the glass covered road.

“Why didn't she just stop?” Amber sighed.

A pair of tyre tracks flowed away from the blue car and stopped at a perfectly still, perfectly intact yellow car; the people inside, however, were not so perfect. A man sat petrified at the steering wheel; his hands white from clutching the wheel so tightly, his eyes set on the woman floating on glass. The woman next to him was not so deathly tranquil; her whole body convulsed with fright and fear as she screamed. Her words were inaudible as she thrashed around, possessed by the memories of the blue car driver hurdling through the air and splashing into the pool of glass.

Something stirred within Amber, “Will you two just shut up?!” she snapped. Red and Greed stopped their quarrel, surprised at the break in Amber’s normally concrete composure.

The sound of ambulance sirens crept in from the distance as night began to shroud the crash scene.  

What did the first traffic light say to the second traffic light?

“Don’t get me started on them bloody ambulances!” Red moaned. “They never take any notice of me!”

“Idiot,” breathed Green. “You know they have a job to do, look you can see them now.”

Blue lights ruptured the dark as the ambulance approached the scene. The woman in the yellow car reduced her screams to violent sobs, comforted by the ambulance’s arrival.

“I hope the paramedics can help everyone.” Worry began to tinge Amber’s voice as she watched the scene unfold.

“I don’t know why you are bothering,” mocked Red. “After all, they deserve to be hurt if they don’t follow me when I glow.”

The sirens were silenced as the ambulance came to a halt; its piercing melody echoing into the distance. The first paramedic rushed out of the vehicle and to the side of the yellow car, while the second ran to the blue car driver, splashing waves of glass as he ran. He knelt down beside the woman and checked her breathing.

“I think she is still breathing!” exclaimed Amber.

“Oh who cares?”

Amber ignored Red’s remark, her anger becoming increasingly difficult to restrain.

The blue car driver started to whisper something into the paramedic’s ear; she gripped his arm as pain seared through her body. She would have screamed at him, she would have shouted; but a whisper was all she could muster.  

Suddenly, the paramedic turned and left the woman, sprinting towards the overturned car. He collapsed to the floor and crawled through the broken windscreen, the sharp fragments of glass clawing at his clothes.  After a minute, the paramedic emerged from the wreckage carrying a small bundle; slowly, he approached the blue car driver. The woman began to stir. Her fingers scraped the road as she tried to sit up, but the pain was too much. She fell to the floor, her chest heaving as she gulped down the cool night air.

The paramedic’s face was stone solemn as he looked at the woman. He slowly shook his head whilst mouthing the words: ‘I’m sorry.’  

The woman’s face twisted with agony. Tears spilled down her face as short sobs burst from her mouth.

“My baby!” she roared, her screams shaking the night’s atmosphere.

“Maybe next time she will listen to me!” said Red, almost revelling in the woman’s suffering.

“How dare you?” screamed Amber. “Is that all you can think about or say? That woman has lost someone she loves, and all you do is make it about yourself. You sit there wrapped in your egotistic world, only caring about who looks at you and does what you tell them to. For once, just forget about glowing; forget about your jealousy toward Green and focus on what’s important. Without Green and I you’re just a single red light, telling people to stop. Like that woman needs her baby to be alive, you need us as well; otherwise, you are nothing. We are nothing. You need to change.”

What did the first traffic light say to the second traffic light? Don’t look now, I’m changing.