On The Road

by Fictionator

This work was inspired by two older movies, I hope you like the plot, just enjoy.

Vazquez passed the last houses of the middle town and drove along the country road to the highway slip road. She just left the harbour, carrying 35 tons of machine parts on her back, just arriving from Britain and now heading for Greece. Vazquez had a long journey in front, through a considerable part of Europe, but it was a job, she did two years already, after she left university without a diploma. Since then she drove around Europe for the transport company, who hired her almost from the spot. She was 23 years old now, and she had no plan to change this way of living again. She had kept her tall body in an athletic shape by lots of sports, when she was not on the road, her dark hair was trimmed short, fitting her brown eyes and olive-coloured skin, she never wore make up. As almost everytime she wore a shirt and jeans along with flat shoes with no socks. Vazquez was respected by her collegues, who regarded her to be tough but fair and companianable. Vazquez then joined the highway and drove on to the south on a still almost empty highway. But she knew, this would change really soon, when she would pass the next city.

Victor drove his huge campmobile onto the highway and drove south, which would be the direction for the next 20 hours. Victor had been a pastor for many years, living with his wife and two daughters in a picket fence house in a nice quarter of his home city, where life seamed easy, after all as long, as one didn't look behind the faces. But then everything changed. A month ago his wife died, which none of them expected. Susan had never been ill or seem to be weak, and everyone could lean on her. But then she suddenly collapsed, and her heart just stopped working. As the doctors said, there was no way to know this before, as long, as she didn't have an early detection examination, which she had refused all those years. As the doctors said, she didn't feel any pain, she just collapsed and died. As the doctors said, there was no chance to help her, unless she wasn't brought to a hospital within three minutes after collapsing. That was not possible, because Victor found her already dead for about an hour. As the doctors said, Victor had no reason for allegations to himself. However Victor made himself allegations, and he made allegations against the God, he had supported for so many years. Consequently he had thrown his job, and now he and his daugthers were on their way to southern Europe in this huge campmobile. Maybe he would find himself and his faith there again, maybe he could be a pastor again, but not now.

Jael sat in the back of the huge campmobile, while Victor drove. Jael saw some big appartement blocks pass and then sink her home city under the horizon. Jael didn't speak much, since her mother died so suddenly. She was angry with this damned God, as her father Victor was, but she also was angry with her father too. She needed so desperately someone to hold on, someone to support her. And she needed her world to stay consistent, not to collapse, as her mother did. She didn't want to leave her country for a still unknown time. Now she felt very alone, very homeless and very sad of course. Jael had hidden in the back of the campmobile, her long brown hair in one long braid, her sad blue eyes still with no tears staring out of the window. She wore a shirt and jeans and no shoes or socks. Jael had her legs tucked up and her arms wrapped around her knees. There the 13 years old girl sat and looked out of the back window, where her home had vanished. She felt so alone.

Rebecca sat in the back of the huge campmobile, while Victor drove. Jael felt all alone, but however she wasn't. Rebecca watched her big sister looking out of the window. After her mother's death, she had all the feelings, Jael had, but with one difference. She didn't long for Victor's support but for Jael's. Rebecca adored her big sister since she knew, and Jael had always been a nice and loving big sister. But not now, when Rebecca needed her most, now Jael always wanted to be alone. Rebecca sat in another room of the campmobile, her long blond hair in one long braid like Jael's, her sad blue eyes different from Jael's filled with tears, she looked through a small hole looking at Jael looking out of the back window. She wore a shirt and jeans and no shoes or socks like Jael, and as the older girl, she had her legs tucked up and her arms wrapped around her knees. The 7 years old girl wished, she could run and hide in Jael's arms. She felt so alone.

Victor drove onto the parking next to the highway. After many hours of driving he needed to pee, and he needed a small snack. There were all kinds of food stored in the fridge and cabinets of the campmobile, but Victor wanted to see people, he wanted to have some of those over-expensive snacks from the motorway restaurant. So he drove onto the parking next to the highway, left his seat and looked after his daughters to ask them, if they wanted anything too. Both sat almost in the same position in different places, but both refused to eat anything. Victor looked at both for a moment, but then he left and headed for the small building. Soon he found, what he was looking for, bought some cereal bars and two sandwiches and returned to the campmobile. Without going to the back of the big car again, he entered the cockpit and drove on. His thoughts were with his wife again.

Jael refused to answer the question. Victor repeated: "Jael, do you want a snack or anything else from the motorway restaurant?" Jael turned her head and looked at her father, then shook her head softly and turned to the window again. Victor came close and kissed his daughter on the cheek, to which Jael didn't react. Then Victor left, and Jael sit there for a while just dreaming. But then she seemed to awake, she jumped from her seat, took some flat shoes on and rushed outside the campmobile. Out there were few people walking around, but not her father, not anyone she knew. Jael ran and first headed for the small building, but then she felt, she didn't want to see strange people there, she turned her direction and ran across the parking to the near woods, where she vanished between the bushes and trees. After some metres she stopped and stood there breathing hard. Then suddenly she screamed out loud: "Why?!" and once again: "Why?!" Her voice was swallowed by the nearby highway traffic, but at least some birds seemed to answer her with hard chirping. But nothing else happened. Again Jael felt so alone.

Rebecca shook her head fiercely as an answer to Victor's question. She didn't want a snack now. Victor moved on and talked to Jael for a moment, then returned. Rebecca had viewed him kissing Jael on her cheek, and he kissed herself, Rebecca the same way now. Then Victor left, and Rebecca sit there again watching Jael. Then Jael jumped from her seat and short after stormed to the door and rushed outside. Rebecca jumped from her seat too, took some flat shoes on too and followed Jael outside. She could see her running and ran after her, but Jael with her longer legs was much faster and vanished between two buildings. When Rebecca reached the point, she couldn't see Jael anymore. Rebecca ran around and looked and searched, but she was not able to find her sister again. After a while she tried to return to the campmobile, but she also couldn't find it again. She didn't realize, that she was able to find the right parking position, but that the car was gone already. She just kept searching around. Again Rebecca felt so alone.

Vazquez drove her truck onto the parking. She had to pee, and she had to refuel her truck. So Vazquez drove to the fuel dispenser, opened the petrol cap and connected the pipe. When the fuel began to flow, Vazquez looked around. Maybe 100m away there was a little girl of six or seven, who seemed to have no point to head for. Vazquez decided to look after the girl after finishing the refuelment of her truck. But when she had shut the petrol cap again, the girl was gone, probably vanished in her parents' car. Vazquez went to pay and to the toilet, then returned to her truck and drove on. When she was about to join the slip road again, she saw this other girl walking by the truck parkings. Vazquez felt, that something was wrong there. She changed her direction and drove onto the parking, jumped out of the truck and went to meet the girl.

"Hi", Vazquez said with a smile. Jael smiled in return. "Would you mind to have a snack together with me?" Vazquez asked. Jael smiled again and nodded softly. "O...k" Vazquez drawled, "does that mean yes, you do mind to have a snack or yes, you would like to have one?" Jael smiled again: "Yes, I like to have a snack with you. I'm hungry I think." Both smiled at each other again with no more word. Then they both turned and went for the small building, while Vazquez pushed the button on her key to lock her truck when passing it. Jael smiled again: "Do you drive this truck?" Vazquez nodded and smiled at the girl. "Yes, that's my job, I drive a truck like this across Europe. Right now I'm going to Greece. Where are you going to?" Jael shook her shoulders. "Me too. Well, my Dad does..."

A few minutes later the two of them sat down in the restaurant with sandwiches and coke for Jael and coffee for Vazquez. "Vazquez", Vazquez said. "What?" Jael responded. "My name... Vazquez", Vaquez explained. Jael smiled. "Jael... my name." Both began to eat. "So, what is this with your Dad going to Greece and you walking around on this parking?" Jael began to explain. How her mother died a month ago. How her father then fell into a crisis of his faith. How he said, he was not able to be the priest of the parish again, to lead the people to a God, he couldn't believe in any more himself. How he threw his job then and bought this huge campmobile and left with her and her little sister for Greece. At this point Vazquez interrupted: "Your little sister? Where is she?" "Oh, she is still inside this campmobile she was still there, when I left. Dad is already on the road again, and she is with him." "Are you sure? I saw a little girl a bit earlier..." Vazquez described the girl, she saw before meeting Jael, and Jael got concerned. The two looked at each other, abandoned their snacks and went outside again to the place, where Vazquez had seen the little girl. Of course she was nowhere to be seen. Jael led Vazquez to the parking position, where Victor had parked the campmobile but there also the girl was not to be seen. "Maybe it was another girl just looking a bit similar, and she is on the road again with her parents in their car." Vazquez tried to console Jael, but the girl didn't look convinced. Jael went the way, she had taken, when she left the campmobile, up to the two buildings, between which she had vanished in front of Rebecca's eyes. They went around one of the buildings, then around the other. Now - the first time in the recent weeks - Jael was about to cry. And then there she was. Rebecca stood right in front of Jael and Vazquez and threw herself into her sister's arms. Vazquez watched for a moment with a warm smile, while the girls held each other tight, both crying. Then she wrapped her own arms around them both, and Jael and Rebecca both leaned themselves into Vazquez.

Half an hour later the three of them sat in the restaurant again. They had new sandwiches and new coke for Jael and coffee for Vazquez and apple juice for Rebecca. They looked at each other. "Vazquez..." Vazquez said again. "Her name..." Jael explained. "Rebecca..." Rebecca said with a smile. "Her name..." Jael repeated. The three of them began to eat, and then they began to talk about their lives. Vazquez talked about how she began to study design and photography to become a photo artist. How her family discarded her, who wanted her to study law and join the family business, a lawyer's office. How she went out of money and found a job to earn her living. How she threw the academic studies after a while and worked full time as a truck driver. How she found new friends but still missed something. Jael and Rebecca of course talked about their family, how bad they missed their Mom and also their Dad. And how bad Rebecca missed Jael. "We have to find your Dad", Vazquez said, when they finished their meal. "Let me do, trust me." Some time later Vazquez and Jael led Rebecca by their hands between them both and soon entered the truck again.

Vazquez talked to other truck drivers on the radio. It seemed, she knew all of them and all of them knew her and were friends with her. Jael and Rebecca had adjusted themselves in their seats and listened to the radio talk. Especially Rebecca but also Jael looked very small in those seats and a bit lost. The radio talk went on, and soon Vazquez had found Victor and his campmobile, as a collegue of a friend of a friend had seen him driving towards a tunnel on another highway. Vazquez started the motor, told the girls to use their seat belts and drove on.

Many Kilometres later the truck entered another service area, as Rebecca had to pee again. Jael went with her, while Vazquez had some further radio talk. She heard about a traffic check on their way. She knew, her truck was in good order, but if she was caught with the girls with no booster seat she would be stopped and have a problem. So when the girls returned, she told them about and suggested to have a break. As Rebecca was tired, Vazquez suggested, that she took a nap in the cabin. Rebecca agreed, took her shoes off and slipped into the cabin. Vazquez took a blanket over the little girl and closed the curtain. She and Jael went on talking quietly, but soon Rebeccas head emerged between the curtains. "I cannot sleep all alone..." Jael smiled, took her shoes off and joined her sister in the cabin. That left Vazquez alone in the driver seat. She thought about walking around and talk to some collegues, but with the sleeping girls inside, she couldn't lock the truck but also couldn't leave it open. So she stayed a while and then took also her shoes off and looked through the curtain. Jael and Rebecca were under the blankets cuddled close to each other but both awake and looked at her smiling. Jael lifted an edge of the blanket still smiling, and Vazquez slipped in with the girls.

An hour later the traffic check was closed, and the evening sun saw the truck on the highway again. Vazquez drove, while Jael sat on the right of the truck and Rebecca in the middle between them. "Vazquez?" "Mhm?" Vazquez faced Jael for a moment. Jael spoke on: "Now, that we both have seen you naked and you have seen both of us naked... what's your forename?" Vazquez chuckled and smiled warm at Jael. "Carmen", she said.

Another hour later the truck drove onto the parking of a big tavern and stopped next to Victor's campmobile. Vazqez ordered the girls to stay inside the truck and keep the doors locked, until she or Victor came, and then she left for the tavern.

The girls looked through the windows into the dark. Still inside the big truck they felt exposed, and they felt lonely again, now after Vazquez had left.

...to be continued...