The Car Door - Venture #2 | Celeste Johnson

There it sits, lonely and bored, wishing for human contact. A boy walks over and carefully touches the paint. It feels smooth to his touch. “Dad, come here, I found one I want!” Dad walks over, sees the numbers listed on the glossy window; perfectly priced. The boy gets in to drive it off the lot.

*SLAM* The door closes and the car is excited to have its human counterpart.

“Hey everyone, I got it!” the boy shouts out the window as he drives up to school the next day. His friends rush over and excitedly chatter. “Awesome man! I love the sweet paint job!” The car beams with pride.

*SLAM* The boy gets out and goes to class.

A couple of years go by. The boy washes his car everyday after school, whether it needs it or not. The car knows his owner loves him. The boy goes many places and on many dates. Time keeps rolling on like a fast freight train.

*SLAM* The boy steps out in his high school graduation robes.

The boy goes off to college. The boy and the car share many adventures. The car has taken him to the mountains, the beach, friends’ houses, and on many dates. The boy makes a bad decision one night. The car is sad, how can the boy he loves and who loves him, make such a stupid choice. The car tried to stop him by not starting, but the boy was insistent and kept turning the ignition over and over until finally, the car started and reluctantly drove away from the curb.

*SLAM* The boy staggers out of the car with a bright light shined on his face.

The policeman asks him to walk a straight line. The boy can barely keep his knees from buckling but attempts to walk the simple lined course. The car sadly watches as the boy looks like a newborn deer trying to walk for the first time.

*SLAM* The boy is put into another car with handcuffs around his wrists.

The car despondently watches as the police car take away the boy. A tow truck comes, hooks him up, and takes him away to a place where he sits, for days and days, getting dirtier and dirtier. The car starts to give up hope of ever seeing his boy again.

*SLAM* The car is awoken from its glum existence as the boy gets in and drives away.

They are finally together again. The car runs smooth and is practically shining with excitement. The happy moment is cut short as the boy drives the car with less care and love than before. He hears the boy muttering to himself but can’t quite make out what he is saying. The car feels a few splashes on the leather upholstery, the boy is crying. With reckless abandonment the boy takes the curves in the canyon a little too fast. Suddenly….

*SLAM* The car door crashes against a big rock and is ripped from the car with sheer force.

The car flips over and over again until it finally stops upside-down a good distance from its door. The car realizes that the door wasn’t the only thing thrown from it. In the dirt across the road he sees a mangled mess. The car watches as another car with bright flashing lights comes and stops near the boy. There is nothing the car can do as he silently watches.

*SLAM* The doors of a hearse close, taking the body of the boy to his final resting place.

To this day, the car door still sits on the side of the road, all worn out and decrepit; a reminder of the reality of our choices.