As he careened down the road, his car's engine whined beneath the hood. It had been at it for some time. Pushing the little car forward into the black. Around turns. Through valleys. Over hills. Braving whatever lay ahead in the dark, out just beyond the reach of the headlights.
Thinking back, he couldn't really pinpoint what drove him to leave his house and get into his car. It was just everything. A slow building pressure. Until he couldn't take it anymore and he just needed to explode. It felt like the world was on his shoulders. Not just one thing in particular. Work was driving him into the ground, starting to turn his roots grey. Friends had all but dissappeared. Too busy to reconnect - to hang out. His family seemed not to have time for him. And on top of it all, the little things had begun to stack up. The store was out of his favorite cereal. A pen had exploded in his pocket. His favorite socks had finally ripped. He was tired. Beaten down.
When he came home, all he wanted to do was escape.
So he did.
He dropped off his things. Threw his jacket on his bed - left his thermos in the sink. Wrote a note and left it on the table - letting the others know where he'd be, "I'll be back later." And out the door he went. No hesitation. No second thoughts. He got right in, turned the key, threw it in reverse, and out the driveway he went.
It had been a while. He wasn't quite sure how long he had been on the road. The sun was up when he had begun - just over the mountains, but falling fast, painting the sky a brilliant cindering orange. At some point as he was winding in and out of the hills, the sun had finally tucked itself in - plunging the world into darkness. But now the stars were out in full bloom. Sparkling proudly. Bathing the asphalt ahead of him in specular light. At moments he questioned if he should risk it all - turn his headlights off and just be guided by their brilliance, but he knew better. So he just kept driving forward. Staring straight ahead into the night. Letting the world around him fade out - become just a blur. As his mind wandered, he kept wondering where he was going.
All he knew was that he was headed east. And he would keep going until he was out of road. Until he ended up in the sea. Plunged right into the ocean. Car filling with water. At which point he'd get out and start swimming. There was only one place that he wanted to go.
And it was to her.
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