Taming the Author

15: Don't Take Movies Seriously

My Sedan was an old model. I wouldn't say the year because it was old; period. I bought if from a car shop, selling second-hand cars, a year after I started working as an editor. It was my way of treating myself for receiving my first annual bonus. It wasn't flashy like my father's Ford and it wasn't a chick magnet like my brothers' Ferrari or Porshe, but it got me where I wanted to go despite the occasional car breakdowns.

I made sure to check every nook and cranny of my car's engine to make sure Loramina and I wouldn't get stuck in some unknown road on our way to the ranch. And my car only made tantrums when I drove it in the midst of bad weather.

-Pretty much like what Loramina and I were in as I drove down the slippery highway that took us farther away from the city.

I kept my mouth shut as I forced my car to trudge through the rising water on the road. The sound of the pouring rain was loud enough to drown out whatever music or news Loramina was trying to listen to on the radio.

The car was still working. I could feel the rolling tires slush through the rising flood as some unknown force soaked the road. The wipers barely helped me see through the waterlines on my windshield.

"How far are we from the ranch?" Loramina shouted to make sure I heard her.

I tried to remember the direction I got from Google Maps. I hadn't found the time or the budget to install a GPS in my car so I had to memorize the route I got online - another thing I did in case Loramina would ask me what she just asked.

"We're still two hours away," I yelled back, noting the marker we just passed by.

She leaned forward, looking through the blurry windshield. "The water's rising." she loudly said. "Is there a store or motel nearby? Some place we can wait for the rain to pass?"

I cursed myself for not thinking about that.

If the water was rising, the road would be flooded and my car would be stuck in the place - with both of us inside. I hadn't experienced sinking my car in a flood, but I was not in the mood to know how it would be like.

"Um," I said, trying my best to recall the other details of the route we were taking. I didn't really remember any convenience store or restaurant or motel...

I swallowed at the memory of scenes I've often seen on TV - couples who end up stranded in a place crash inside a motel, and find themselves spending a night in one room that happened to be the only unit available. I shook my head when I found myself and Loramina cuddled together in bed with T-shirts bought from a souvenir shop to replace our storm-drenched ensembles.

"Great!" I heard Loramina exclaim.

I stared surprised at her, my heart skipping at the possibility that I spoke up my thoughts and she actually thought it was a great idea. But to my disappointment, she was frowning at her mobile phone.

"It's all woods," she continued, apparently already checking a map. "We just passed all the possible stopovers."

I sighed as I took a left turn that led us out of the main road. The asphalt changed to concrete.

Loramina clicked her tongue. "I'm betting this will lead to a dirt road," she said.

With the level of vegetation and woodland flanking the road, I wasn't going to be surprised if we did end up driving down a dirt road soon.

-Or a mud road, by the looks of the storm.

I continued to drive the car, watching out for the level of the rising water. The rain didn't seem like it was planning to stop anytime soon and I was starting to lose sight of other cars; which could mean no other idiot decided to drive through the storm.