He woke up with a smile on his face on a sunny April morning. It was his 16th birthday and it was the day he would get his new car. He overheard his parents the night before talking about the surprise and the idea that they would park it in the driveway and put the keys on the kitchen counter. He looked out the window of his room that overlooked the driveway. And that’s when he saw it. His heart stopped for a split second and then raced pumping blood into his system. His stomach did back flips. It was an amazing sight. The BMW 328i with manual transmission that he had dreamed about was in front of him waiting impatiently to be driven. He ran down the stairs into the kitchen ignoring the card his parents left him next to it, opened the front door and stopped. He stared at the car for what seemed to be a life time studying it from a distance, longing to be with it until eternity. He opened the car door and settled into the drivers’ seat. The noise of the open door signal was set off but he didn’t care. He would listen to that noise all day if he could. He studied its interior, its smell. The leather scent was like a bouquet of roses to the boy. Every time he would breathe, a smile appeared on his face like everything was going to be ok. The shapes of the seats had a curvaceous structure that he passed his hand over and over. He put the key in the ignition and started the car. He set the gear into first and drove. It was the most beautiful piece of machinery he had ever been in. He could feel the engine embrace him as he switched to second with a violent jerk on the shifter. The car owned the road and he owned the car.

By Tara