Tears streamed down her face. She didn’t know how much more she could take. Her world, broken. Her home, gone. Her plans, up in smoke.

The car began to thump. Another reminder for her of him and the life they would never have. She pulled it off the road and broke down as the car idled.

Looking at the back seat, knowing they would never have children now, broke her that much more. The four door sedan was a constant reminder of the past and dreams unfulfilled.

She cut off the engine and carefully opened the door. Cars flew by her on I-75. She checked the tires on the driver’s side. Nothing looked amiss as her hand wiped away tears. She walked to the front of the car; perhaps she picked up something on the road. She knelt down and peered through the chassis. Nothing. She looked over the remaining tires and found nothing.

She climbed back into the car and huffed. Car troubles in top of the rest of her mess was the last thing she needed. She started up the car again and the engine hummed as if there was never any issue.

The rear view reflected her pain back at her. Red eyes and blotchy skin on her face revealed just how upset she was. She fanned her face as if that would cool it down. She was only 15 minutes from her folks, and she couldn’t let them see her like this again.

She gathered herself and pulled back her hair from her face. Then she slid back onto the highway and headed on. As she drove, she realized how much this car was him more than her. He bought her the gold aftermarket rims because she takes curves fast. But, gold was his way to mark the car as his. They picked out the car while planning for a family. The tint was his idea…not a bad one…but still, it was his idea.

As she pulled into the driveway of her folks’ villa, she decided it was time to let the past go. She unloaded the car, carrying all her personal items into her childhood bedroom. She gave her folks a hug and pulled out her laptop to start shopping for her next vehicle.

She shopped for her freedom car…This would be the one car that she would choose on her own; no parents, no significant other to tell her what she needed or wanted.

This car would be all hers and all her. She looked over various makes and models. Sure, she’d love an A4 Audi, but she didn’t have the funds for a new one….and she wanted a new one.

She looked over the Escape. It would be fun, but a big vehicle for her, and an SUV to boot. Ford didn’t offer it in yellow for that year though. She definitely would have gone yellow if they had.

She looked over the Baja. She had visions of diving the reefs and toting her gear in the back…even though she didn’t know anything about SCUBA. What colors? Ahh, they had yellow, but it was a quieter version. Not bad…so it went on her short list.

She laughed at herself; she didn’t understand her sudden attraction to yellow vehicles. She continued the search, ending up on the Toyota site. The Solara caught her eye. Sleek lines, still room for four but not a sedan. The trunk was huge. Yellow wasn’t an option, but this car didn’t call for it in her mind.

Over the next couple weeks, she’d stop in at the local dealerships and check each vehicle out. Only four years had passed since she bought the Malibu, but prices increased ten thousand dollars in that time. Finally, cost would win out, and the lady at Toyota handed her the keys to her freedom.

The Solara hummed as she turned on the engine. She rolled down the windows and opened the sunroof, all powered of course. The early morning light filled the sky as she pulled out of the drive.

The wind lifted her brown curly locks as she flew down the road to the beach. A smile spread across her face. She found some happiness in the moment. She finally found freedom from the past and hope for the future.