It was late at night when Anson and Tina excused themselves from their friend’s party. It was a great party with good foods, beautiful decorations and amazing people. They left early as it was going to be a long drive home although their friend offered them the spare room for the night. They declined the spare room because Anson had a meeting early the next morning. They travelled along the dark and ribbon-like road with only dimly lit lamp posts on the side of the road. “How do you feel?” Anson asked Tina when she was quiet.
“Tired,” Tina replied staring at the road ahead of them. “I wish they didn’t have to stay so far away from us. The last time we had a huge party, Tom proposed to Ellen. I thought it was going to be another announcement tonight.” “What announcement?” “They’ve been married for almost five years, so I thought maybe they were expecting,” Tina replied. “You sound disappointed,” Anson stated. “I’m not.” “Well, maybe we’ll have a baby first before them. After
all, we’ve been married for two years,” Anson pointed out. “Maybe,” Tina nodded checking the rear view mirror, and thought she saw an oddly shaped car. She checked the air condition as goose bumps formed on her arms, but it was on the lowest setting.
“Are you cold?” “No,” Tina shook her head and thought she saw the flickering of headlights from another car. “Did you see that?” “See what?” “Headlights like someone is behind us,” Tina replied, eyes fixed on her side mirror. Anson adjusted the rear view mirror, trying to see if there was another vehicle but failed to see one. “Maybe it is just the lights from the lamp posts,” Anson reasoned, trying to debunk what Tina saw. The last thing he wanted was to get into a discussion of the supernatural world with his wife, who was born with the third eye. Driving on a quiet and dark road with trees on both sides of the road suddenly felt uneasy for Anson.
He took a quick glance at Tina and stepped on the gas pedal. “There it is again,” Tina said loudly when she saw a car, which didn’t look real. “Can’t you see it?” “See what?” “We are being followed, Anson.” “No we are not. There’s no car behind us,” Anson checked the rear view mirror again. “You’ve got to drive faster. They are bumping into us,” panic rose in Tina’s voice. “What are you talking about?” Anson asked trying to keep his cool.
“There’s a green car behind us, Anson. It is tailing us as if it is racing or overtaking us. Step on the gas, please step on the gas,” Tina sounded scared. Anson did what he was asked to do as he couldn’t see anything. The faster he went, the faster his heart pounded against his chest. The last time he drove like a mad person, he met with a tragic accident. This time, Anson was afraid of banging into another car or person. Luckily, only darkness was their company that night. Tina was instructing him to either slow down or speed up.
“They’re next to us,” Tina whispered when they entered a tunnel. At those words, Anson sped up and slowed down when he realised he had missed a turn. When he wanted to turn back, Tina stopped him. “I don’t know where this road leads to. We need to turn back to go home,” Anson argued.
“We can’t,” Tina sounded calm for a second before she shrieked for Anson to drive right ahead. They were on a one way road for the past twenty minutes, but it felt like forever. At one point, Anson almost lost control of the car when he saw a green car out of the corner of his eyes, overtaking them at an incredibly fast speed. When he looked in front, there was no trace of that car. His car came to a stop and the only light came from his car. “They’re gone,” Tina said, calmer this time. Anson looked at their surroundings but failed to recognise it.
“Where are we? We should be in the city area by now.” “Maybe we should drive ahead?” “Maybe,” Anson agreed, going at a slow pace. After a few minutes, he slammed on his break when he spotted a tomb stone a few meters away. Both Anson and Tina looked around to find that the car chase led them to an abandoned cemetery.
Without thinking much of it, Anson turned around and sped off. Tina closed her eyes for the rest of the ride home, hoping she won’t see another car or get into another car chase from the other side of the realm. The next morning, when Anson asked about the incident from the night before, Tina explained that the green car was made out of paper. It was the one loved ones burnt for their deceased as an offering during the seventh lunar month.
Carina Lim bears different messages through her fiction. These messages could be useful in life. She can be contacted at mermaidgal103@yahoo.com
