Turtle Crossing

i was driving down the highway headed to work when i had to swerve into the other lane to avoid…a big old turtle! It wasn’t one of those little baby ones that lives in the creek up the road from my property. It was a big old turtle. I wondered if it was wild or somebody’s pet that had escaped. It just wasn’t every day that i saw a turtle bigger than the cute little creek ones. As i drove past i realized cars were coming behind me and thought better. I made a u-turn and went back. I parked the car in the turn lane and put on my hazards as a sedan drove right over it with the turtle dead-center between the wheels. As soon as the sedan passed over it i jumped out of my car and ran to where the turtle lay tucked in its shell on the highway. I grabbed it on either side of its wide shell and ran across as two more cars came around the bend and zoomed past us. The turtle was heavier than i thought it would be. I was impressed with its size and wanted it to live. It kicked and flailed its arms and legs as i ran with it. I set it down in the grass about eight feet from the highway, facing away from the road. I let some cars pass before running across the highway and jumping back into my suv. I turned, did another u-turn, and turned again to enter the highway once more. As i drove to work i hoped the turtle would head back to the wilderness and stay away from the road. Its shell was bumpy and warm beneath my hands, baked by the summer sun.