This prompt is getting desperate, guys. "A tire blows out as you're in the car with someone on the verge of his/her own breakdown. Stuck in a small town, you're about to do something you haven't done in years."
Sal and Ami sat in Sal's old, musty truck, driving down the highway. Ami had been gazing forlornly out the window while Sal kept his eyes on the road, though he looked sleepy. The bumps of the road echoed through the chambers of the truck, jiggling the two.
"When are we gonna get there?" Ami asked for the seventh time.
"Less than an hour now," Sal responded.
"Ugh. It feels like a lifetime," Ami rolled her head to the side dramatically. Sal rolled his eyes, sighing.
"Once we get there you'll forget about the trip. My Grandparents are...interesting people."
"I'm not sure I like the way you said that," she smirked.
"Let's just say they know how to throw a welcoming party." Sal chuckled to himself. Ami opened her mouth to say something, but was cut off by a distressing sound from the truck. The engine was making an odd noise, and by the look on Sal's face - it wasn't good.
"What is that?" she asked hesitantly.
"Dunno. We'll have to pull over." He flipped on his signal, pulling out into the nearest spot he found. Sal propped open the hood, and took a good look. Nothing he saw prompted anything great. "Well, our engine's toast," he called out to Ami. "Nothin' we can do about that."
"What?!" she exclaimed. "How...how are we going to get to your Grandparent's house?"
"I'd say walking, but it's way too far, and I can't just leave my pride and joy out here to rot. We just might have to hitchhike."
"Sal, you know how...risky that is. We don't know who would pull over."
"It's our only option. Do you have any better ideas?" She was silent. "Besides - the engine needs to go into a shop, I can't fix this much of a mess."
"Are you two alright?" A different voice came from behind Sal. He turned around to see an elderly lady that had pulled over in her tiny car. "That engine looks like it's taken quite the trip."
"Y-Yeah," Sal said. "We've been driving for seven hours. We're on the last stretch, and I thought it would last, but..."
"Where are you headed?" she asked.
"Just over to Kamloops. 'S not too far."
"If you wouldn't mind, I could help you out." Sal and Ami's faces lit up in surprise.
"You'd do that?" Ami replied, still in shock.
"Of course! I'm not completely heartless. I'm headed over thataways as well, so it's no trouble."
"But my truck..." Sal trailed off, gazing at his beloved truck.
"There's a small town nearby," the woman said. "I'm good friends with a mechanic, so I'm sure he wouldn't mind towing it for you. Daresay he'd even give it a good fix."
"You...thank you." Sal ran a hand through his hair, amazed by his luck.
"You're very welcome. I'll go ahead and give him a call..." she pulled out her phone and held it up to her ear. "Yes, Mike? It's Molly. I was wondering if you could help me out..."
"I can't believe it," Ami said to Sal.
"I know," he said, shaking his head. "It's like a dream."
"Maybe there is some good in the world."
"What? Why with this sudden moral revelation?" Sal chuckled.
"I dunno. It's just nice to see that someone is willing to help out."441Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyqruWgGeaf
Sal squeezed her hand. "There's a lot more good in the world than you think, Ami." The old woman came back to them, returning her phone to her purse.
"Good news - he said it's no problem to take it into town. It's a five minute drive out here, and he was already starting the car when we hung up, so it shouldn't be long at all."
"Thank you again, really. It means a lot."
It wasn't long before another truck pulled over, and a large man with a burly mustache came out. Mike prepared Sal's truck for towing with Sal helping in any way he could, and afterwards they were off. Sal and Ami rode with Molly, the elderly lady, and soon found themselves in a little passerby town.
They decided to stay the night, with Molly volunteering her own home, and Mike agreed to fix up their truck. When the morning came, and the duo went to pick up Sal's truck, Sal insisted that he pay for the engine fix, considering it looked brand new now, but Mike refused consistently. Mike said that "In a situation like this, it's on the house," and wouldn't accept anything but a grateful hug from Ami and a firm handshake with Sal.
And then, Sal and Ami were off again, making sure to thank their caretakers for the night so many times that they told them to stop. The duo made the rest of the way back in no time; the engine running smoothly and efficiently. Though they didn't say it out loud, they both had sworn to never forget this moment. After all, it was hard proof that there was people in the world that wouldn't just pass by a couple of desperate strangers.
Yes Sal and Ami is supposed to be combined together to form Salami. I'm so proud of myself for that. *High fives self*
Fun fact: this story is inspired from a situation that is almost identical to something I experienced when I was a kid on a road trip with my family. So this time it's not just fiction.
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