STRANGER

"... and we shall dwell in the house of the Lord, Forever and ever, Amen". The church service concluded a few minutes past 1 am. It was the dawn of January 1st, 2016, and while customary wishes of felicity filled the air, Jane's eyes were heavy with sleepiness as she left the church. Her usually lively and joyful self, known for warm greetings and lively laughter, could barely summon the enthusiasm to wish others a prosperous new year. 

She found herself immersed in a profound weariness, the stress she went through the day before had left her utterly fatigued. She was the only child of her parents, so she had to take care of everything on her own with little help. She had to get their house ready for the New Year's celebration, where guests from far away were going to come and enjoy. She had worked ceaselessly the day before to make sure that every corner of their home exuded an air of enchantment and hospitality.

After the New Year's service, she felt extremely tired, like a ghost of exhaustion was creeping over her. Her body, weary from the relentless effort, yearned for rest. As she left the church, her weariness was evident. Her steps were measured, her gaze cast downward. In that moment, her desires revolved solely around the prospect of finding comfort and surrendering to the embrace of a soft bed.

With a sense of urgency, she swiftly made her way toward the designated location where her father typically parked his car in the parking lot. However, as she approached the area, a flicker of surprise danced across her face, for her father's car was conspicuously absent from its customary spot. Yet, she reasoned that perhaps he had opted to park it a short distance away from the usual location, a common occurrence whenever he found himself pressed for time. 

Fatigue began to weigh heavily upon her, clouding her memory and inhibiting any further inquiry into the matter. Resigned to her weariness, she turned the car door handle and slipped into the back seat to get some rest. 

Her eyes were closing as she settled into the soft seat. She thought of stealing a few precious minutes of sleep before her parents arrived and they start heading home. A yawn escaped her, and she couldn't help but whisper, "Finally!"

Inadvertently, she slipped into a state of slumber, giving in to the embrace of sleep's pull. As her consciousness faded, a subtle awareness lingered within her, quietly whispering that the duration of the journey was stretching beyond its usual boundaries. Yet, the allure of rest weighed heavily upon her, and her only desire remained to return to home and enjoy an undisturbed sleep and so she chose to dismiss the nagging sensation. 

The passage of time passed in a leisurely procession that seemed to go on forever, until finally, the car stopped, jolting her out of her sleep.

"Dad, for how long have we been on the road!" Jane asked, rubbing her eyes still heavy with remnants of sleep. Fatigued and disoriented, Jane's voice trembled with a mix of exhaustion and confusion.

"What the f***!" the driver screamed in shock, his heart raced with fear. "Who are you?" he asked, his mind raced, contemplating the unthinkable possibilities of who could have breached his car

"What!?" Jane exclaimed, her own shock mirroring that of the driver. Her bewildered gaze met the eyes of the stranger before her, and a wave of outrage swept through her veins. "You're not my…" Her voice trailed off momentarily, as she struggled to comprehend the audacity of the situation. "What's going on? What are you doing with my Dad's car?" she demanded, her voice rising in a mix of accusation and disbelief.

The stranger, caught off guard by Jane's assertiveness, stared back at her in astonishment. Confusion etched across his face. "I beg your pardon?" he managed to stammer, his voice tinged with both confusion and a touch of offense. "This is my car, miss"

"What?" Jane burst into laughter, her incredulous gaze fixed on the stranger. Her mind battled to make sense of the circumstance as she teetered on the edge of incredulity and growing panic. "Are you okay? How did you…? What is happening?" Her questions tumbled out in rapid succession, each word laden with a fear and bewilderment. As the reality of her predicament sank in, her surroundings spun before her eyes, heightening her growing sense of terror. "Where the blazes am I?" she pondered silently, her thoughts echoing through the depths of her unsettled mind. 

The young man took a moment to collect himself. His hand instinctively found its way to his racing heart, as he tried to calm himself down. He became more composed when he recognized her as the Pastor's child. Observing the disarrayed state of Jane before him, he saw that she was plainly lost and caught in a web of perplexing situations.