After one particularly hard harvest with almost all the wheat and coyotes dying, my dad made a bad financial decision and decided we would go to Texas for the summer.

So we decided to drive there. That in itself was a very stupid idea, because most of the roads from Texas to Mexico are long and bumpy and are either pure dust or mud that probably goes all the way down to the centre of the world. Besides, it was raining right now and that caused landslides and sinkholes. But my dad is very persistent and we went anyway. It’s people like my dad who make it clear a decision is bad so that no one else makes it. My great-great grandfather was one of the first astronauts to find out what it’s like to take your helmet off in space.

I think some of his fluids are still out there.

Anyways, we packed about eighty suitcases full of supplies that we’d probably never need even at home and stuffed it all into our tiny car. Our house and farm were in pristine condition, but that left no time to look after the car. It sagged under any weight like an old man with broken ribs. It had no windows and a cracked with screen held together with so much duct tape that it weighed more than the actual car. The doors didn’t close unless you tied them up with the seat belts, and we all preferred it that way. The seat belts chafed any skin they touched, and our parents would threaten to make us wear the seatbelts if we misbehaved.

We got in the car after about thirty days of our parents getting more supplies. We started the engine and if coughed. My dad got out of the car with a screwdriver, extinguished the fire, threw away the part that was malfunctioning, and got in. We were on our way to Mexico.

We had just left the city when it started raining. Clouds blacker then ink spread across the sky like water on glass, and we were instantly trapped in an ocean of water. We were soaked along with any and all luggage we had stuffed in our laps. About 90% was clothes and towels. the water was much higher than we liked in proximity to the engine, and my sister shrieked when a water snake fell in her lap. she shrieked louder when my dad grabbed the snake, bit its’ head off, and threw the head and body out of the car. Eventually we came to a hill. that was bad news. that meant we were about to drive down a waterfall.

Slowly we inched over the edge. We had control of the situation until a mob of people rushed at us. they were all travelers whose cars had literally sunk, and they were looking for cover before they drowned.

Dad naturally pushed the peatl to the metal. The wheels screeched as the car slid down the hill. I began throwing things out of the window at the pursuers. Then we hit something.

To this day we don’t know what it was. My sister and mother are sure it was a person. My dad says it was a rock. My brother testifies to seeing an anaconda rise out of the water, and my grandmother believes him, but anacondas live in South America. I think it was an alligator.

Either way, the car flew up into the air. everyone screamed. I took the time to enjoy the view.

We fell back to earth. The trees rose back above us where they were supposed to be. I heard the loud bang of our back tires popping. We spun around three times before sliding past the border with two bad wheels. My parents were screaming at each other. My grandmother showed me her tongue. She had somehow bitten the tip off with her gums.

The rest of the trip was pretty boring. We sold the car in Texas to a couple of kids for three dollars and bought plane tickets back home. the others were relieved. I was disappointed. Apparently they didn’t like adventures.