The fierce gust of wind woke me up as it pounded on the car, snapping me out of my dream. It felt like I was on the freeway again at high speed, and I was worried that the license plate in the back would come off. Melo was snug under the blanket, oblivious to what was going on around the car. It was dark, cold, and windy. We were inside the parking lot with Safeway and Starbucks nearby. There was nowhere else to go since the gas tank was empty. I was scared, but I knew that I had to stop. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t move the car since I had no gas.

  I saw the trees being whipped around from the window like they were ragdolls. Storm? It reminded me of hurricane level gusts when I was in Florida. I could hear the eerie moans of the strong wind, constantly beating everything in sight to make sure there were no survivors. We were safe inside the locked car, but outside of it was a different story. The other cars disappeared, leaving the parking lot empty. This was not the place to be stranded, but it was safer there than anywhere else.

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  So I survived that fiasco. I didn’t know where I was, but it was my first full day at Mt. Vernon. I knew I was in Washington since I passed by Seattle, but I had no idea where I was. It was only day 2.