I put my foot on the gas, leaving Trust and Openness holding hands on the side of the road, watching them get smaller and smaller in my rear view mirror. Alone was sitting in the passenger seat. Love was in the trunk.
As I drove, I could see up ahead something on the side of the road. At first, it was too far away for me to make it out. Then, I realized it was a man, hitchhiking, waiving me over, asking me to stop.
Curious, I pulled over. We chatted a bit after he introduced himself. I felt comfortable, so I told Alone to get in the back seat to make room for him; he and I were heading in the same direction.
Love started making noise in the trunk. I yelled back there telling him to be quiet.
As we drove, I saw that, somehow, Trust and Openness were no longer in my past. Instead, they were waiving at me from a picnic table at a rest stop. We had stopped there so we could stretch our legs. Realizing how much I missed them, I asked them to get back in the car. Since the back seat couldn't accommodate them and Alone, I told Alone this was the end of the trip for him and left him at the rest stop. Alone walked away with his head down, meandering a bit, but eventually disappearing from my sight.
The hitchhiker and I got back in the car and continued the trip. We were in the front, Trust and Openness in the back, and Love remained in the trunk.
The road got hilly and there were some tricky turns that we helped each other through. I let the man drive when I got tired. Love was now furiously kicking and punching inside the trunk. I had to let him out.
I pulled the car over and popped the trunk. The man and I both exited the car. It was late so when Love climbed out, he lit up the night with his warm yellow light. Hitchhiker and I looked at each other over the roof of the car; We were standing on our respective sides. In tandem, we walked back to Love and putting him between us, we hugged.
What happened next was kind of miraculous. When we let go of each other and parted, our chests, our hearts, were glowing with the warm yellow light of Love.
I watched the man close the now empty trunk and we got back in the car. I put the car in Drive, and we continued the journey, the car filled with Love's soft yellow glow.
For Brian.
