51 On That Winter Day in December (1/2)

The view outside of the windows was gloomy. Gray clouds covered the skies, banishing any ray of sunlight to touch the ground. It was almost dark in the afternoon. The pace of the day really didn't match the time.

Two thirty-four P.M.

All four of us were in the blue SUV, driving towards a town called Osoyoos. We had just crossed the town called Hope and were on the wavy highway. The speed limit was Eighty kilometres per hour, but Mappa drove at sixty, much to the chagrin of anybody who followed us. But I believed he was driving on this road that was cut in the mountains for the first time. Also, the endless ditch on our side was reason enough for him to restrict himself to safer driving.

The car behind us honked once again. Thrice in the past ten minutes. I had been keeping count. And I had flipped him off the past two times. I decided to stick to my ritual. I rolled down the window barely enough to squeeze my hand out of the car. Chilly air flooded the air through the crack in the window. I decided to make it quick. Balling my fist, I let my one finger out to let the person behind us know how I felt about him. A long middle finger with red painted nail popped out, flipping the guy behind us' opinion out of our car.

I retracted my arm and rolled up my window once again, laughing as I did so. The other three were not as amused.

”Why do you keep doing it?” Trigman asked.

”Well, he knows we are not driving faster than we already are going, so why doesn't he just knock it off? Its just not safe to go crazy on a windy road like this.”

”We all know that you are cracked in the head. Why do you want the whole world to know that?”

I pouted.

”Please, don't that anymore. The toasty car goes berserk with wind drenched in ice every time you do so,” Trigman requested after preceding it with a snarky comment. I loved him so much.

I rubbed my hands together and glanced at my wife. She was looking at me with soft eyes. Blowing warm air between my hands, I smiled at her. she bent over and came near my face. I could feel her breath rubbing my earlobes. She slowly whispered the same thing I had heard a million times before. She was careful her words were not audible to the two men sitting in front. And like the million times before I had heard them, I smiled.

Not much time left before we meet her, I thought.

These handful moments that we had made, in Vancouver, in this car, I treasure them. And I will not forget them, will not let them go away from my heart.

With a heavy burden of reminisce, I collapsed in my wife's lap and closed my eyes.

Not much time left now…

I felt a jolt and my body almost went off the seat I was crammed up on. Luckily, Kyo held my body back and didn't let me move.

With a tired but an equally irritated manner, I spat my harsh words at our driver.

”Be more careful, Mappa. I almost went under your seat.”

”Ah, My bad. I slammed the brakes a little too hard and there was black ice all over the parking spot. I think I also crashed the bumper in the concrete up front”, Mappa replied as he unbuckled his seat belt.

All three except me exited the vehicle to check on the damage. Luckily, nothing more than scratches. I rubbed my eyes and took a better look outside. It was dark. Like a black blanket stretching all over us. Nothing but glooming clouds, which were themselves hard to notice in the pitch-black night.

I checked the time on my cellphone. The bright screen made my eyes flinch.

4:58 P.M.

What?

Its only 5'o clock? Why is it dark outside like it's the end of times?

I opened the door on my side and called Kyo for a little aid. As she helped me, a young brown guy came dashing out of the building in front of us. He was in his early twenties, wearing a gray shirt that said 'GASMAXX' in bright green.

”Are you guys okay?” The young clerk spoke with a thick accent. Was he a fellow Nepali? Or maybe Indian? Pakistani? Mexican? Why was I thinking all these things at this moment?

”Yes, we are fine. Thank you. Do you have seating inside?” Trigman questioned the employee.

”Yes. There is an in-house restaurant in the store, you can sit there. Please come,” the clerk said as he kept the door open for us.”

One by one, we stepped inside. It was warm inside. Kyo helped me to the restaurant while the guys paused in front of the cashier to have a small chat. The restaurant was not a restaurant at all. There was nobody working in the kitchen, and here were no customers at all.

Kyo dragged a chair and made me sit. She dragged another chair and put up my injured foot on it. Then she went back to the guys to check on them.

I looked around to see what kind of place I was sitting in. There were boxes of windshield cleaners next to one side, Two boxes full of candy and chocolates behind me, and cardboard boxes half empty with magazines ten feet away from me. Other than that, there was noise coming from the other side in the store. Nobody in the store other than the clerk and my friends.

Is this right? Are you sure? But why? Why did you want me to meet here, Gian?