“Mom!” I scream excitedly as I exit the gate. With a smile so big on my face it hurts, I run over to my mom and give her the biggest hug. I haven’t seen her in what feels like forever. 

  

     Tears start to well up in my eyes, and when she says to me, “Hey sweetie, how was your flight?”, I could tell hers did too. She was on the verge of crying. 

  

     “It was long but really good! I had to wait to be the last off the plane, which was really annoying, but they gave me loads of snacks!” I responded. 

  

     “That’s good honey. It sounds like they took good care of you.” says my mom.    

 

     I just nod in response and go to hug her again, holding her tightly. She smiles, resting her hand on top of my head before saying, “Let’s go get your bag and head home, shall we?”.  

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     “Okay!” I respond, still smiling incredibly widely, holding back tears of my own. My mom just gave me a slight grin.  

 

     My mom holds my hand for the entire time it takes to get my bags and for us to walk to her car. I am so excited to be with my mom again! I’ve missed her so much since she’s moved across the country. This is also the furthest I’ve ever travelled; I can’t wait to see what California is like. I wonder how different it must be from home.  

As we make it to the parking lot, I recognize my mom’s car immediately. I mean I did help her pick it out after all. We found the car back home on the east coast together before she moved, and of course she would’ve taken it with her. Who wouldn’t want a blue sporty convertible in California where the weather is almost always nice enough to have the top down? Unlike the east coast.   

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     It’s about three in the afternoon and the sun is high in the sky, providing what feels like a nice warm blanket over my skin. Not too warm, but just enough to be comforting and super cozy. With my arms up in the air, smiling in the wind I finally feel like a cool kid. I now have a mom that lives in California AND owns a sick car. The wind blowing and sun shining on my hair cause it to glow a magnificent golden blonde. I feel like a superstar having my big movie moment and it's awesome.   

 

     During the ride, my mom puts on Train, our favorite band, and we sing along to the song Save Me San Francisco (very fitting for the situation). We scream the lyrics at the top of our lungs together as we drive along highway-17. This highway is a lot different than others I’ve seen in the U.S. This one weaves its way through a forest of magnificent redwood trees. They’re huge! Their large trunks and tall statures absorbing the sun’s rays, emitting a golden gleam to their already beautiful reddish-brown bark. I have never seen anything like this before, the drive is so beautiful.   

As the song comes to an end, I look over to my mom, she is smiling, staring forwards at the road. Her expression seems a bit… empty, but on an adrenaline rush after that song I close my eyes, ecstatic. I extend my arms to the sky, soaking up the warm California sun while also taking a break from singing to catch my breath. I start to feel the air around me becoming cooler and open my eyes towards the forest. 

  

     At first, it seems as though the sun is just disappearing behind the clouds. The magical golden glow of the trees slowly disappearing as shadows blanket the forest. However, it keeps getting darker, and darker, and daker; until I can no longer see the trees bordering the highway. At this moment I also realize the music that was playing before has stopped, the air completely still. Starting to panic, I turn to look at my mom, but she’s not there.   

I begin to cry and scream at the top of my lungs, “MOM!”, “MOM?”, but my words almost seem to be swallowed by the air around me. The headlights of the car suddenly turn on like spotlights on a stage, providing some vision of the road. I bring my hands to my mouth, the only sounds I can hear are those of the car that seems to somehow be driving itself and the little voice inside my head, screaming. 

 

     The wind quickly becomes freezing, shooting needles through my skin. I wince in pain and try to find a way to put the roof back up, frantically pushing every button in sight. But to no avail none of them will work, not even the windows. Soon my arms start to become numb to the icy air. I become frozen, not able to move at all.   

I glance over at the empty seat beside me, helpless, tears freezing on my face. I start wondering what happened to my mom. Is she okay? Is this my fault? Why couldn’t she have stayed? Why did she have to leave me and come here? Was it because I was so difficult that she left? Thoughts flood my mind, the words seeming to echo off the trees around me, drowning me. The voices slowly becoming warped and deep. Demonic. It’s all your fault.

  

     Petrified I try to look around me to see if there is anyone else in the car, but I can’t turn my head. I am forced to stare at the devoid, dark road ahead of me, unable to even shed a tear. I think I can spot something in the distance. A shadow? A figure? It’s too far away to make out what it is, a deer maybe? My eyes are too blurry to tell anyways. At the sight of the shadow the car begins to speed up, and only once it’s too late do I realize who that figure really was. I scream into the endless void of my mind, unheard by anyone, staring at the endless purgatory ahead.