The Stranger on the road

photo by The_Willow_Tree

Down the foggy road, I was leisurely driving in my car as if I knew where I was heading. My intellect was already diminishing with every passing road sign. The tension in my brain ceased to sit still, every so often something would pop into my head but it refused to let me know if the thought was my own or someone else's.

I tried to concentrate on driving but the fog has been slowly covering the road, hiding most of what's ahead of me. Turning on the radio I heard nothing but static whispering out of the speakers. I thought I heard voices but the static soon became erratic. I flicked the off switch and listen to the silent morning air instead.

My foot hit the brake all of sudden but I didn't know how that happened. I turn to glance at my foot which was now very still. Indeed I had stopped the car. But why? My corrupted mind refused to answer. I turn around to check behind me just in case but all I could see was the fog growing increasingly thick. It seem to be flowing towards me like a cloud.

When I heard a voice at the side of the car, I screamed in fright. A man with circular sunglasses was standing there asking me a question that I didn't understand. His tan skin seem to be swimming in the fog, almost as if he wasn't really there.

I was driving in a secluded area and the appearance of this stranger freaked me out but my voice was calm when I asked him to repeat his question. He seem not to notice as my eyes travel up and down his muscular body. He was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans underneath a black coat which was too thick for the warm weather. His voice sounded like ghostly apparition that threshed in the foggy atmosphere. I thought I heard him asked if my name was Sarah. I looked at him puzzled by his question but then realized he was asking if I was heading south toward the city. I nodded my head, unsure of why I did that. I didn't want him in my car and yet I couldn't stop my head from answering for me.

He mimic my head movement with a smile showing his glistering white teeth. He got in next to me but didn't put on his seatbelt. I said nothing as I started the car. My head now inside the fog which was still thick as a pile of pillows. I imagined that I would ended up on television with a glamourous female reporter telling everyone about my untimely death due to my inability to say no.

We spoke not a single word as I drove on. Then I thought I heard sounds of broken glass cullet being run over by my car but then turned to see the stranger, molding something in his hands. He was in the process of plication. Each movement of his hands creased a delicate fold into the glass until it finally shaped into a white swam sitting underneath flower petals. For you, he said as he held it out to me. I was perplexed at how quickly he had make the object. It felt warm in my hand. I kept my eyes to the road but inside felt a strange delight in holding the glass sculpture. I placed it on the dashboard, telling him thanks.

I haven't a single clue if we were near the city but we passed tons of beautiful maple trees. The stranger, the man who still have his sunglasses on, was whistling a tune, one that was strangely familiar. It reminded me of the days when I was still married and in love. I listened but he soon stopped whistling. Something was straight in front of us. I stopped the car only to see the thickest fog that I have ever seen. It looked like a solid white wall. I turn to the stranger but somehow he wasn't there anymore. Had I dreamt him up?

My head was suddenly clear of everything. My body was lighter than a feather. I decided to drive ahead anyhow. Straight through the thick fog. Before I saw the fallen tree on the road, I was already too far to hit the brake. I hid in my arms as the car drove right into it. I fell unconscious just as the car landed.

I must have been unconscious for hours. I woke up to the same tune being play. I check my car radio but it wasn't on. I stared at the glass sculpture on the dashboard and slowly, my fingers pick it up, feeling their cool texture. It wasn't a dream and yet that déjà vu feeling was slowly sinking into my subconscious. I wasn't afraid as the realization that someone was watching me on the side of the car. I turn my head but saw nothing there, only the fog.

But then the exact same man that was in my car, appeared out of nowhere, offering me his hand as he open the car door. I couldn't see his face clearly, only the two reflections of my small, bruised face covered in blood inside his sunglasses but he seem to have a grin on his face. I knew where he was taking me but he said nothing as he led me into the fog.


3WW: Corrupt, Intellect, Tension
Friday 5: thresh, plication, cullet, secluded, mimic
1000 Words Meme