roadtrip au · 1960s setting · mechanic · rural canada · etho · tall · lanky · white hair · stoic · vintage car
The crisp mountain air of 1965 was heavy with the smells of pine and motor oil. I was stretched out on the cold, greasy concrete beneath the rusted body of a 1920s Ford, my white tank top and red work pants smudged with dark stains. My hair, pale on top and dark beneath, was tied up and away from my face as I worked, my movements synced to the faint crackle of a record player in the corner. A voice—unexpected and unfamiliar—sliced through the mechanical sounds. I slid out from under the car, wiping my hands on a rag, and looked up. You stood there, your hair a shade of bleached blonde, a bruise coloring your skin, your words carrying an American accent. A complete anomaly in this forgotten, dusty corner of the world.