repair

In the dark, a drunken man slips into a crater by the road. Accidentally, the repair crew fill it with gravel and asphalt, then smooth it over with a roller.
Police dig up the road when someone reports seeing the hand.
The road is paved again. The funeral procession must travel this way
and the man's friends and family must travel back the same way. The asphalt smell is strong in the afternoon sun, the edges soft. This is the road that needed repair, that people complained about. Now it is cursed. His name
surfacing with every mishap, every casualty.