THIS OLD MAN

this old man begged me not to ask any questions, to ask any questions, after seeing the car, I understood why. he told me his daughter was coming home in four days. she hadn't seen him in almost seven years. before she left, they had one huge argument. she slammed the door, got on a plane, and they never spoke again. the only thing she left behind was her first car. he couldn't bring himself to sell it, couldn't bring himself to look at it, either. for seven years, it sat locked away inside an old barn. he looked at me and said, "I just want her to remember not the last conversation we had." so I went when I first got it, I couldn't even tell what color the car used to be. it was buried under years of dirt, mud and dust. the windows were so dirty, you couldn't see inside. honestly, most people would have given up before even touching it. but I didn't. I started peeling away years of dirt, one layer at a time. with the pressure washer, the car started looking less like forgotten junk and more like someone's childhood. while I worked, he told me she learned to drive in this exact car, coming home after prom and crying behind the steering wheel after her first breakup. every memory they shared happened inside this car. that's when I realized I wasn't restoring paint. I was restoring the last place that's still held their happiest memories together. hour after hour, the car slowly became the one she left behind. tomorrow, she's coming home. she has no idea the car is waiting for her. or that her dad has spent seven years hoping for one more chance to say the words he never got to say. I honestly don't know what's going to happen when she opens that barn door. will she walk away? or will this car bring them back together after seven years? what do you think? comment part 2 is if you want to see what happens next.