Anton and Kim were driving
north from their home in New Jersey to Kim's parent's town in Vermont.
It was cold, even for February, and there was heavy snow. The forecast
was for more blizzards
and all flights had been cancelled, so they had
to go by car. The couple were feeling sombre
and Kim was tearful
because her mother had sufffered a heart attack the day before, and was
in a critical
condition in the local hospital. They had left the main
interstate
and were driving the small country roads. There were few
other vehicles,
most people thought it foolish
to travel in such
conditions, but Kim had no choice. Fortunately, they were in a 4WD
and
had little to fear on the icy and snowy roads. Even so, they were both
anxious,
wondering
whether they could reach her mother that
night.
It was 12 a.m. and Anton's
finger was on the tuning dial
of the car radio, switching from
station to station, trying to find some music he liked. 'Damn! This
music sucks.
Haven't they heard it's the 21st century, not 1920!' He
tutted
loudly.
'Calm down. There're some CDs under your seat. Put on some Destiny's
Child,
it'll cheer me up,' his wife said.
Anton found the CD and placed it in the tray. It slid into the player
and started to play. 'What's this?' he said in surprise, 'That's not
Beyonce!'
'Try it again,' Kim suggested, and her husband took the CD out and
tried again. The same song was playing, but it wasn't what it should
be. It was an old song, a song that Kim remembered from her childhood.
'That's the song Ma
used to love. She'd play it all the time when I
was a little girl.'
'That's a coincidence,'
Anton commented. Then he noticed Kim was
weeping.
'You okay?'
'Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. Just worried about Ma.'
'You want me to take over the driving?' her husband offered.
'That would be good. I need a rest.'
Kim stopped the car and they changed seats. After the song had
finished, Kim switched the radio back on. The same song was playing.
'This is weird,'
she said. She tried other stations, but there was only
one song being played everywhere.
After another twenty miles or
so, the weather started to get much worse. There was a strong blizzard
blowing and the car's wipers
were having difficulty clearing the snow
from the windshield. 'Kim, this is impossible. There's no way we can
continue in these conditions.
We'll have to stop somewhere. Call your Papa and tell him we'll get
there in the morning.'
Kim tried to reach her father but there was no signal on her cellphone.
She wanted to
drive on, but she knew her husband was right. If they
continued any further, they would end up in a ditch.
it would be
foolish to continue.
After a while, some lights appeared in the distance. It was an old
motel. Anton parked by the small office and told his wife to wait in
the car. There seemed to be no other guests. With his down jacket
pulled tight around him, he
hurried
the five yards across snowy
ground and entered the office.
The office was dim
inside; lit
by a single lamp with a green shade.
On the walls were old photographs,
and
there was an old red high-backed sofa. From behind a closed door, Anton
could hear the same song that was on their radio. But there was also
the voice of a woman singing along to the old song. Her voice was rich
and
soft. Anton rang the small brass
bell that was sitting next to the
guestbook on the wooden desk. The singing stopped and he heard
footsteps. The door opened and out stepped a young woman. Anton thought
she looked familiar,
but he couldn't think where he had seen her
before. He smiled anyway. 'Well, well,' she said. 'It's a really bad
night for travelling, you and Kim must be cold. Take room number eight.
Here
are the keys. I'll fix you some hot food and bring it over in an hour
or so. The heating is already on in the room, so you should be
comfortable'
The young woman smiled and handed Anton the keys, then went back
through the door and continued singing. Anton signed the
register and hurried back to
the car. 'Everything okay?' she asked.
'Yeah, fine... I think.'
Room eight was warm and cosy.
Kim took a hot shower while Anton sat on the large soft bed and checked
the map. Emerging
from the bathroom, drying her hair, Kim said,
'I'll try to call Papa again. Maybe the signal is better here.'
She took her cellphone from her bag and redialled
her father. There was
no signal. She looked upset. 'Hey, Kim, don't worry. I'm sure your Ma
is fine,' Anton said supportively.
His wife sat on the bed and started
to cry. Anton sat next to her and put his arm around her to comfort
her.
After a short
while, there was a knock at the door.
Anton answered and the pretty young woman
handed a tray of hot food to Anton. 'This is for you,' she said, 'It's
Kim's favourite.'
The morning was very bright
as
the snow had stopped, and everything was peaceful. Anton and Kim got
ready to leave and put their things in the car, Kim waited in the
passenger seat while her husband went into the
small office to check out. Anton rang the small brass bell
and waited. After a moment an elderly man came out to assist
them.
'Good morning,' he said. 'Sorry I wasn't here to check you in
last night. I'm glad you found the keys and signed the register,
though.'
Anton looked at him and said, 'Last night your grand-daughter helped
us. She was here in the office around 1 a.m..'
The old man looked confused,
'Sorry, but there's no one here but me. I
don't understand what you're talking about. There's no young woman
here. More's
the pity!'
Anton felt confused too, but didn't want to say more in front of Kim.
He paid the owner and turned
and left the office. Inside the car, he found that Kim had put on the
radio and was listening
to the weather forecast. 'The radio seems okay this morning,'
she said.
Her husband was starting to look concerned. 'Kim... maybe you should
call your dad,' he suggested.
After a few moments, her father answered his phone. 'Kim? Thank the Lord,
it's you. I have some news about your mother.'