Twinkle, twinkle little
star, Full of wonder from afar, Now from heaven I do peek, to find peace is all
I seek.
The red convertible traveled effortlessly over the worn asphalt country
road. Its high performance engine purred with life. The driver, a young man - a
dreamer if you will - pressed the accelerator. As the speedometer climbed to 95,
the young man smiled.
There was something to be said about living in the country - for one,
posted speed limits were for tourists and old folks. For two, the long stretches
were surrounded on both sides by green grass. Further in were tall trees. The
air smelled clean, fresh and everything was few and far between. He liked that.
He wished the road could go on forever.
Occasionally, in the distance, he could see a patch of light, someone's
house, perhaps a ranch. There were no buildings, no cars, no people, nothing except
an occasional cow or two dotting the many pastures he passed by. They paid him
no mind. It was just him, the open sky dotted with a billion pinpoints of light
shining down on his in the early evening dusk, and the open road.
He inhaled deeply. The crisp country air jumpstarted his senses. He felt
a familiar tingling deep in his gut, as he always did when he travelled
this road, with no particular destination in mind.
He glanced at the passenger seat. He saw his briefcase with initials, L.B,
embossed in gold. He remembered the day he had received it. He had just
graduated from law school, a gift from his mother. A little over a year had
passed and he was now a junior partner in the most prestigious law firm in the
city. He worked hard during the week and played harder on the weekends.
He placed his hand on the cherished briefcase. A ton of work lay within.
Research from three cases going on at the same time. He felt a momentary pang
of guilt. Then as quickly as the feeling came, he dismissed it. It was the
weekend. The work could wait.
He pressed the accelerator and the speedometer climbed to 105. Then 110,115.
The car only trembled slightly as the suspension adjusted to the speed. The
young man glanced up at the open sky, light shining down, and smiled inwardly.
This is the life, he thought. 120,130,140. As the car rocketed down the road, the
headlights picked out... something. The young man frowned. He couldn't quite
make it out. Curiosity kicked in and he slowed down - 80,70,40,20. He pulled
over to the side and got out. The headlights bounced off a shape far into the
field, half-hidden behind trees to his right. It was metal, twisted, crumpled,
and rusted. A red car, and from the look of things, it had been there a very
long time.
As the young man walked slowly down a ditch and toward the trees, he saw
it. An old briefcase, deteriorated, faded, with raised gold lettering. He
brushed the leaves and the dirt away. L.B.
The young man reached down to pick it up. He straightened up quickly,
heart racing. He looked toward the wreck, hesitated but a moment and slowly
approached the twisted metal of the red convertible. His eyes travelled to the
decaying corpse inside, a young man hunched over the steering wheel. He did not
attempt to touch it.
He quickly turned around and walked back to his car. He placed his hand
on its hood. The warmth of the engine was reassuring.
Sitting in his car, the young man looked up towards the open sky, dotted
with a billion pinpoints of light, shining down. He understood.
The red convertible traveled effortlessly over the worn asphalt country
road. Its high performance engine purred with life. The driver, a young man - a
dreamer if you will - pressed the accelerator. As the speedometer climbed to 95,
the young man smiled.
There was something to be said about living in the country - for one,
posted speed limits were for tourists and old folks. For two, the long
stretches were surrounded on both sides by green grass. Further in were tall
trees. The air smelled clean, fresh and everything was few and far between. He
liked that. He wished the road could go on forever.
Twinkle, twinkle little
star, Full of wonder from afar, Now from heaven I do peek, to find peace is all
I seek.
