The last light of dusk fled from the table at the truck stop, leaving a dark shade over the counter top. The thick arid air and the smell of ground coffee ceased as the day wound down. I eyed the dregs at the bottom of my stained porcelain cup.
“Another cuppa, Hammer?” Penny inquired from inside the kitchen, her head perched back, brows raised.
“Nah, I got to hit the road; pick up a payload in the morning”, I responded with meager enthusiasm.
Penny was pleasant; eyes a deep brown, appearing sweet and delighted with a seductive buoyant smile, a slight shyness about her.
I scrounged change from my pocket, placed it on the counter smiling back to her before making my way out of the stop and leaping back into the disheveled cab of my cement truck. Pulling out, I shot off down the road as the evening fog set in for the night.
Hours passed and I grew anxious; the fuel gauge dwindled down to low. My mind wandered as I set in for the evening drive. Darkness crept in shrouding out the last light and gasping the lull glows of the evening sunset. Before long an orange light flicked on causing my heart rate to go up a notch, lost in thought I had forgot about the fuel gauge. Staying weary I looked for a stop. It wasn’t long before an illuminated sign appeared in the distance, I sighed in relief.
I pulled in, filled the truck and wandered in to pay the old fellow on duty. He had grey whiskers and a craggy face; one of his eyes looked half asleep.
“Where you headed, young man?” he asked with a half-smile.
“Lorkin City”, I responded. I paid him and turned to leave.
“You’ll be on it for the night then, unless you take the old cart trail, and shortcut back to Lorkin.”
I stopped to consider his option.
“It will save you an hour, and that truck of yours will handle it.”
I walked back to the counter. “I’ve not heard of no road there. It’s not on the map?” I replied curiously.
“Nope, only the locals know it. Here, take a look”.
He reached at one of his maps from the counter. “When you pass the end of Sabian Territory here”, he pointed, “there will be a sign welcoming you to the small town of Gunrin. Just before the sign, you’ll see the path veer off to your left - take that path, and you’ll come out at Lorkin City here”, pointing again on the map.
I glared at the areas on the map and glanced back up at him. “Good on ya, old man.” I said smiling my best truckers grin before leaving the station. The last thing I wanted was to risk not reaching my destination based on some old man’s recommendation.
I jumped back in the cab and hit the road. Time passed as I fought to keep my eyelids from drifting into a welcome slumber, keeping the temperature set to cool helped me focus. Another hour passed; the night shifted into complete darkness. The gears of the truck grinding together like a metal giant gnawing on a crowbar. Still, I had some way to go. Coming into Gunrin, I looked for the shortcut left of the sign.
There it sat, winding off into the dark unknown. I parked up, the lights shining in the entrance way. A lonely desolate looking path, the kind I prefer, fewer people around. I sure could use the extra time to get some rest when I hit Lorkin. I opened the map, drew an imaginary line to see where the shortcut may go. It joined back onto the road ahead with at least an hours gain. I checked the time, released the brake and took off down the old cart trail.
The road wasn’t so bad - rural with a few bumps; nothing that could topple the truck. The road soon became a memory of twists and turns. It was around midnight when I slammed on my brakes. A creature had scurried out onto the road. My heart raced back into gear. Wide-eyed, I looked around squinting only to see a dog staring back at me - its eyes looking blankly at the headlights of the truck.
At least I thought it was a dog. It seemed a little unusual in a way. I tilted back to my side mirror to see the owner, a woman, near the edge of the road standing still, her eyes unfocused. I pulled up the truck. I could see this destitute woman; she seemed lost and confused. It was a rather odd situation, to say the least. I can’t tell you what made me get out of the cab at that point. Usually in a strange area like this, with an odd woman and a strange looking dog, it would be a good time to hightail it out of there.
However I was concerned the craggy faced gas attendant had led me down a wrong path, and I needed confirmation I was still headed for Lorkin City. I got out of the cab. The dog panted, returning to the woman’s side. She knelt down hugging the dog.
“You mustn’t assume nobody is on the road at this time, Pike.” She murmured.
I walked over to her. “Sorry, I almost hit your dog there, are you okay?” I asked.
“Pike didn’t mean to; he was acting out of character.”
I looked around. “Unusual time to be out walking your dog”, I said. On closer inspection, I realised the woman was blind. There was also something about her - something familiar.
“You’re on your way to Lorkin, aren’t you?” she responded, ignoring my comment.
“Ah yes, I am”, I replied, taken aback. Had she known my destination? Perhaps this road only lead to one place.
“How did you know I was going to Lorkin?”, I pressed. The woman smiled. Her face had a warmth to it.
“I know, I can’t explain that right now. I wouldn’t hold you up; it’s a long story”.
I went despondent as I continued to examine her face, long straight hair, thick black eyebrows and long lashes, with distant white eyes. It seemed eerie, yet something about her made me feel comfortable in the dead of night.
“Oh my, it’s you”, she said unexpectedly.
“Huh? What do you mean?” I asked confused.
She went silent for a while as she stood there brushing her hands along the dog's short hair. I wasn’t totally sure this woman was all there. Don’t ask me what made me say it - I guess I felt for the woman, blind and stuck in the dark with her strange dog almost leading her into my truck.
“Do you need a lift somewhere?” I asked.
She smiled. “We would be ever grateful if you could take us with you to Lorkin. I have business there myself.”
My first thought was what kind of woman has business in a large conglomerate city and spends her nights wandering around in the dark on a rural road such as this.
“I don’t usually have passengers, especially dogs. I replied “I can make an exception, but you’ll have to excuse the cab - she’s not in a fine state.”
I realised after I said it how little care she would have for untidy things.
“I’m not one to complain”, she said.
I opened the cab; she followed with the dog, and I helped her and Pike in. I jumped in the cab.
“Do you know for sure if this road leads to Lorkin?” I asked.
“Yes, this road will take you there quicker than any other route”, she replied.
I took off continuing on the old cart trail. It wasn’t long before the road stretched out before me and I was somewhat pleased to have company as a distraction.
“So how did you... I mean were you born...” I trailed off, but she responded before the awkwardness of my question set in.
“I was born blind, and I’ve learnt to adapt very well.”
“Like how?”
She sat silent again. “I am a capable woman. You wouldn’t know it, yet I can see more than any ordinary person.”
I sat confused by her comment, then she said, “Do you ever wonder why you spend your days and nights shifting cement from one place to another?”
I hesitated, not wanting to put much thought into the question.
“I do it because one must earn a living, driving trucks is what I know well.”
“You are more than you know, John Hammer”, she said firmly.
The hairs on the back of my neck stood up, a strange feeling washed over me.
“I never told you my name”, I replied.
She paused for a moment. “Have you considered why I might seem familiar to you?” she asked, as her eyes drifted towards me, waiting for a response.
“I did wonder yet didn’t put much thought to it.”
She clutched her dog, scratching him behind the ear. The dog laid still.
“There’s a good boy, Pike. Our friend here has forgotten who he once was, like most people.”
I sat puzzled. “What! what do you know about me?” I asked with a hint of frustration.
“Like I said, I see more than any ordinary person, particularly the past.”
“I know enough about my past”, I responded.
She smiled. “I’m looking back further than that. Before you were born.”
I had to chuckle at this. “Oh, and what do you see?”
“You were once an influential figure, a commander of sorts, one who went by a different name, in the century of 1200 AD. You lead an army that was so vast; many would rather side with you than battle against you.
Wielding a colossal weapon, your army demolished castles, leaving behind destruction and ripping apart foreign kings. Now you’re here, paying your way as a cement truck driver, helping to build back the years of destruction you wrought. How strange life is that it is teaching you this lesson.”
“Hahahaha,! You think I would believe that nonsense?” I said grinning.
“You died many years ago. I know this because I know my past life as I was”, she said.
“And who were you?” I asked.
“May you pull over for a moment?” she murmured.
I slowed down and pulled over near the side of the road, locked in the handbrake and turned to her. Before I could speak she placed her hand on my head and in that moment, I was reeled into another world. This wasn’t some dream-like vision - the air had changed, the heat of the sun burned my back, the dusty rugged boots felt rough and tight. My shoulders hefty and broad. I looked around to see bodies sprawled at my feet. I studied my left hand. It's rough contours, and tough grip felt strange as I clasped my fingers. I turned to my right arm to see an enormous hammer - wielded with two hands by any ordinary man, I held firmly in one.
I stepped back and in that moment I saw behind me a mammoth army. The lines of them stretched back to the horizon and they stood shouting. It was overwhelming, yet somehow it gave me strength. I stood in front of a king, pleading my forgiveness. Behind him, I saw the women he had chained up as slaves. Anger gushed through my veins as my arms tensed, I picked up his flimsy crown with my left hand and crushed it before him, throwing it to the ground. The cries of victory roared behind me. Revenge burned inside as I raised the enormous hammer above my head, slamming it down, I crushed the king’s skull and removed his corrupt life before me. Amongst the thundering cheers, I turned to see the woman of my life. As soon as I laid eyes on her, she smiled back at me, and I knew her name as Luella. She made me feel. I couldn’t describe it; making up something would come easier. One hundred different carefully chosen kind words would not do it justice.
Still… if you were to spend a cold night camping in the mountains, comforted by many warm clothes and wrapped in a blanket, the deathly cold piercing through the layers. Then as dawn breaks on the horizon, the first sliver of sunlight gently warms your skin and melts away your shivers. I’m not saying she was like a radiating beam of sunlight but the combination of her sweet face and delightful smile warmed you in a way the sun would if it were to warm you from the inside first.
I lay back in the truck; my eyes blinked open, her hand removed from my head. I turned to the blind woman beside me, seeing her for who she was. She was the young woman I glimpsed in the life I once was; she was Luella. I sat in silence for what seemed like too long, everything I was doing seemed pointless.
Eventually, I spoke. “I was that man? And you were that woman?” I asked hesitantly.
“You see now what I see”, she replied. “That was me and how incredibly beautiful I was. I would stare at my reflection gazing in wonder at the beauty I had been gifted. Now, look at me. I’m a blind woman - never will I see myself again. Never will I live a life centred on my vanity. I have come to learn this. This gift I have to look back, is all I’ve been left with”
I gazed at her. She smiled and this strange feeling that we were once connected washed over me. You were quite the woman. Dazzling, I never would’ve thought. I see that’s why I fought so hard to conquer every army that would come before us. I held her hand and tears winced from my eyes as I recalled our last moments together. She turned to me.
“You did what you thought you had to do, and I never wanted to be left without you, John. Isn’t life strange? Now we are connected again after so long and we know our past lives.”
I sat in the truck, coming to grips with what I had just seen. My eyes softened, and I broke down unleashing the desolate life I thought I wanted. I leant over to gently caress the face of a woman I once cared about immensely in a past life.
“By some strange act of fate, we are here. I can’t offer you the finest wine, nor can I give you what we once had. However, when we reach Lorkin, I will take you to the best damn truckers diner you’ve ever seen.”
She laughed, and before long the awkwardness between us had drifted as stories poured out of us on the remaining drive to Lorkin. The faint light of dawn lit up the city of Lorkin. It had not been that long since I had been back to Lorkin but it looked different to me now, like I had reason to be there.
Full book of short stories available on Amazon. All profits raised go to roomtoread.org.
