An Obituary

I gathered all the stuff from there leaving a empty coke can, and a few cents here and there. All those cassettes which I never played, the documents which had to be there in the glove compartment, a pressure gauge brought for 99 cents months back and the finally the parking decal. Then I climbed into it one last time, revved up the engine, turned on the AC full blast. But I had nowhere to go - sat there for a few minutes with the engine running. Felt like the old times. Even the gas tank read full.

It was still drivable. Only the rear part was badly damaged - but nobody would fix up. People don't fix things here - they dispose it off and buy another. But you cant let go the memories so easily. I effectively learnt driving in it. So did a few of my friends. We explored the beaches and scenic places and the eateries in and around Gainesville in that. All the memories came flooding - the people who are no longer here, the places we went. The first long drive was to Cedar Key in Gulf coast sometime in January - and ironically the last one was too.

But those are all past. I turned off the ignition, unlocked the doors, left the key in the visor as instructed by the insurance guy. They called me a while later. When I would go back at the end of a long day - it would be gone. My first car. A white 98 Nissan Sentra. They would take it apart and auction the parts. May it rest in peace!