Chapter 1

I was driving down interstate 295 just outside Richmond, listening to the audiobook of Pride and Prejudice when I finally saw an exit that was plowed. Snowflakes, easily two inches in diameter, were still falling and my stomach grumbling, when after five hours of driving bumper to bumper on now two inches of ice, I spotted the cleared exit.

I’d left Woodbridge five hours prior, just when the snow had started to fall. It should have taken me an hour to get here. I knew there was a possibility that I would get hit with a snowstorm on my way home, but it was my grandma’s 85th birthday party. I couldn’t miss it. And I couldn’t stay the night on this Sunday evening either.

As a teacher, a snow day was certainly most welcome, but as a teacher in a school district clear on the other side of the state, where no snow was foreseen to fall, I had classes to attend to in less than twelve hours and the only snow day I would have would be the one from inside of my imagination–and my friends’ facebook posts.

As I rounded the bend and began merging onto the main road in what was to me, an unknown, unnamed town, I saw the line of plow trucks lining up on the other side of the road. The on ramp had not yet been plowed. And neither had the rest of the town.

I might as well see if there is any food, I thought. And so, I drove on, keeping my eye out for an opportunity to turn around, but seeing as how the road going the opposite direction, the direction back to the interstate, had not been plowed, I had no choice but to keep going straight. After several minutes, my gps told me to turn left. I hadn’t turned it off since setting it to the restaurant I’d seen on the interstate sign back on 295. The road seemed clear enough, so I shrugged and turned left. Maybe I’ll have better luck on this street anyway.

Soon, the bright street lights dimmed, being replaced by the soft glow of front porch lights and the occasional string of holiday lights that litter neighborhoods throughout the month of January. The snow before me now seemed deeper than the snow on the main street. It was in that moment that I realized the main roads must have already been plowed and were then covered again with the continuously falling flakes. As I scanned the neighborhood from my left to my right, I felt like I was in the middle of a brightly illuminated snowy landscape painting. Smooth snow coated hills climbed up to snow encased steps which were further brightened by lamplight from the homes. Several couples were strolling down the street hand-in-hand, enjoying  the first snowfall of the year.

I wondered how deep this neighborhood went. I shut off my gps and considered turning around, but whenever I passed another cross street, nothing but deep tire trenches could be seen. If I were to even attempt to turn around, my car would, without question become stuck in the middle of the road and possibly the middle of an intersection. So I drove on.

The elevation began going up and I worried I would not be able to get my rear wheel drive sedan to elevate with it; the car began to drift to one side and just as I was about to roll into the ditch to my left, I remembered, while holding my breath, to put it into first gear and to tap my brakes. To my surprise, I regained control of the car and was able to swerve to the right just in time to miss one ditch and roll sideways into another. The road curved while I wasn’t looking. And within less time than a single blink of an eye, my car was fully immobilized and in a position that would take a tow truck to pull it out, even without the snow.

I’m not one to worry, not about the big things anyway. I was however, regretful, that I hadn’t charged my phone adequately before the trip and had still been using it for both a gps and an audiobook. I looked at it inquisitively, trying to determine the best use of its remaining juice. I couldn’t very well call a taxi. And I didn’t know where I was. And even if I asked Siri, the most I might find out would be the name of the town. Mechanicsville. Sounds about right. When I asked her where I was when I was clearly at home a few months prior, she’d put me several streets over from my actual location.

I let it charge with the engine running for a few more moments while I swapped out my croc flats for my tennis shoes and squeezed on my coat. Throwing my phone, charger, and keys into my purse, I made my greatest effort to open the driver’s side door. I had to push with all my might and wedge myself out. When I finally succeeded, the door slammed shut with a ferocious gravitational pull (insert a clean, witty joke about gravity here… go ahead, send me your suggestion!). There would be no getting back in without a shovel.

My purse was still inside.

———————————————————————————————————————————-

Though it starts out as nonfiction, it turns into fiction. Please let me know your thoughts BEFORE I write the next chapter… or the rest of this chapter… and feel free to send me your suggestions where there are blanks noted.