Daddy, are The Cars Lonely?
As we drew nearer to each other, I realized that she had left her window down and was leaning out of her car to talk to me. Her eyes were red and puffy, and she looked like she hadn't slept for days.
I pulled over and asked what was wrong, but she didn't respond—she just kept staring at me with those watery eyes. After a few moments of awkward silence, I decided it would be best if I went home instead of dealing with this stranger on the side of the road.
I turned around and suddenly I heard her calling me;
"Daddy, let me ask you something, is your car lonely? Like me''
I was shocked, "What do you mean?" I looked carefully at the woman's face again and realized it was my daughter. She was in her thirties. She was a big girl now. I looked down at my hands and saw how wrinkled they were. I was an old man. Yes, George, you are an old man now. I thought, "Come on, give your daughter an answer.
"What do you mean?" I asked again.
My daughter kept looking into my eyes with her sweet eyes. She got out of her car and went outside. She started walking towards me in her high heels. My little girl had grown up and was now earning enough money to wear the high heels she had bought for herself and not her mother's...
"Dad, what I really want to ask is, you spend so much time with your car, is your car lonely? Because I feel lonely and scared when you are not with me''
Like the speed of lightning striking, it hit me.
''Master?
Master?..
Master, wake up!''
"What's wrong?
''Master, you fell asleep under the car, you're so tired, I've been telling you for months that we shouldn't work this late.''
I got out from under the car and stood up. My face was covered in grease and my hands were dusty.
I went to the washroom inside, washed my face, and questioned myself in the mirror.
I looked at the old man in the mirror. He had been a mechanic for maybe 35 years.
His income was always the same, his expenses were always fixed and he had to work to survive. To take care of his wife and children.
My daughter just got married and I remembered how little time I had for her as a man.
My daughter was already married and my granddaughter was 4 years old... Life was not going to change for me. It was only a matter of time before I ended up in the village of Heavens.
I spent a lot of time working, and she was often left alone in her room with only the company of her toys. She spent hours sitting on the floor playing with them or building them up with blocks and then knocking them down again. It seemed like she was having an incredible time, but I knew that wasn't how children should be spending their time.
And my granddaughter shouldn't be spending her time like this. I quickly dried my face, picked up my phone, and called my daughter.
''Emily, good night, I disturbed you, it's ten o'clock in the evening, but is my sweet little princess asleep?''
''No dad, she couldn't sleep, she annoyed us too''
"Okay, I'll come and see if you're free.''
"Come, daddy, we're waiting.''
Our houses were really close to each other, I put on my cleanest clothes and asked one of my apprentices for his perfume. I went to my granddaughter's. On the way, I started thinking about what I was going to do. I was going to read her a bedtime story and put her to sleep, even though I had never done that to my daughter before.
With excitement and determination, I made my way to see my granddaughter and along the way, I thought about what story to tell her. '' Should I tell her about the cat we found and rescued during the war? ''
Or would that be too aggressive for her, she was only 4 years old... Or should I tell her a simple tale of a Cinderella? But her father or mother could have told my granddaughter this already...
I was half dreaming, half walking.
As I walked excitedly across the street, I did not notice the car coming from the left.
The sudden burst of light hit me, like the regret I felt when I woke up from the nightmare.
But this time I couldn't wake up...
Thank you so much for reading! This story was inspired by the 'Inkwell #5: A Matter of Time' prompt!.