Drive

As she turned the keys in the ignition, she noted that it was dark, far too dark for her liking. There was something not quite right about the whole thing, she could barely see the ground in front of her, and then she realized what was missing.

And let there be light!, she chuckled to herself as see flicked the headlights on and allowed their glow to flood the pavement. No wonder my brother wouldn't get in the car with me, she thought, I wouldn't trust myself either. She was sure that she wouldn't really have driven off into the darkness without her lights on, but she didn't blame Donny for worrying.

It was also far too wet outside for her liking, but there wasn't much she could do about that; turning on the wipers wouldn't stop the rain. They squeaked, too, but that couldn't be helped either. She reached down to pick up a small Chinese amulet that hung from the radio dial, paused for a moment in thought, then kissed it lightly before draping it over the rearview mirror. She then shifted the gear into drive and pulled away into the darkness, accompanied by the rhythmic ka-thunk, ka-thunk of the wipers and the drizzling of the pouring rain.