One Car On A Two-Way Street

As the sun lays its head to bed and tucks itself in under the horizon line, I find myself blinded by the incandescent glare that is breaking it's way through the now red and orange hues of the clouds and landing upon the translucent windshield which far from shields my eyes from the striking glow.

I lower the visor.

The intro to one of my favorite songs creeps its way through my stereo's speakers and I instinctively increase the volume up two notches. Always in increments of two because I hate to have my volume land on an odd number. One of my many idiosyncrasies. I begin to sing along to the melodic tune, stumbling over some of the words that I have forgotten. I look to my right to sing along with my passenger.

Then I remember that this is a solitary drive.

I am so used to her being by my side that not seeing her seated next to me almost makes me forget where I'm traveling to. It is at that moment that I am reminded of just how alone I am.

I look back to the road and can see what appears to be miles of pavement ahead of me. Not another car in sight. This is a little strange.

I tilt my eyes up and point them at my rear-view mirror hoping for a glimpse of a pair of headlights. At least that way I could feel like I'm not completely alone in this moment. I can talk to the person driving this mystery car and come up with my own assumptions for what their responses would be. My new best friend for as long as this strip of road lasts. Someone to follow my every move and listen to me rant and rave about topics that are probably only important to me. They can laugh at all of my jokes; funny or not. Sometimes we all just need someone who is there to listen intently and uninterruptedly. Someone to let us have our moments.

I let my eyes finally focus on the mirror and realize that there is no car behind me.

So I guess it's back to just me and the road. Me, the road, and this empty seat next to me. A seat that still smells of her scent. Still has a few of her hairs caught in the headrest. Still set at a 120 degree angle, as she loved to lean back on long drives so that she could stare up towards the sky. A sky that is currently transitioning itself from its beautiful, almost aurora borealis state, to a dark, onyx-like shade of blue-black.

Quite depressing when you think about it.

I don't know if I can do this alone. If I can travel for this seeming eternity on my own. Left with nothing but my own thoughts. That type of thing could drive a person like myself mad.
But it seems that, at least for now, I have no other options. I will travel down this road awaiting the next sunrise. And more importantly, awaiting the next passing traveler that I can share this moment in time with.

My favorite song fades out.


Live, love & learn!
-The King