It was time to seize the road again, that black snake of mischance. Anywhere was better than nowhere, although it eventually proved not to be so. So many lifetimes in the slow lane made the Lovetrucker a dull fish, maybe a mullet.

The bitumen beneath me was a black artery, one of a myriad that formed my circulatory system. I was absorbed into the soft and yielding tar and together we flowed into the tempting future.

Around us the world’s leathery skin heaved and cracked, baked by the sun to perfection. The red desert cried out to the heavens and was blessed with tears of joy. A puddle of sky lay quietly, waiting to see what would transpire.

All this happened in a flash as I rushed past blindly. Only in the corner of my eye did some image stain my memory and later I lived it again through paint and paper. The real mystery remained unsolved.