My first tryst with driving

The ebony Ford Focus stood proudly in the parking lot, its sleek and flawless surface sparkling like fairy dust under the amber rays of the sunset. It stood poised and ready to go, eagerly awaiting the arrival of its new owner. If only that excitement was mutual.

I, on the other hand, stood paralyzed with fear as I took in the dimensions of the car, trying to control the slow but steady rise of panic in my stomach. The car rental employee’s words echoed hollowly in my head “I have the perfect car for you, a sedan, all our customers love it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy driving it during your time here”. I knew then and there I should have asked for a smaller car, but something stopped me. Embarrassment or the desire to accept a challenge and prove myself? To be honest, I wasn’t sure but something told me I was about to find out.

I trudged towards the car and tried to recall what I had learnt in my driving lessons. However, my mental faculties whirred and sputtered to a staggering halt, my mind drawing a blank. I sucked in a deep breath and felt my throat constrict. “It’s going to be okay, you know how to drive, you did after all pass your driving exam”, I repeated to myself like a mantra. Who could have imagined that my first driving experience would be solo, in a foreign country and that too on the opposite side of the road than what I was originally used to.

I moistened my parched lips and swallowed the bile that had risen in my throat. With a shaky hand I reached out to touch the surface of the car. It felt cool and damp, a pleasant contrast to the heat radiating off my body. Slightly calmer, I opened the door to sit inside. The interior was pristine clean, its leather seats comfortable and soft to the touch. The air was tinged with a delicate citric scent, which cleared my head and lifted the cloud of anxiety dulling my senses. Once in the driving seat my heartbeat steadied and my breathing levelled out. The gadgets and equipment no longer seemed foreboding as they once did. Filled with a new-found resolve I reached for my GPS and attached it to the dashboard.

The sky gradually began to darken, the fiery magenta giving way to splurges of fuchsia and mauve. It was time to get a move on, the last thing I needed was to get lost in the strange Irish countryside. With a silent prayer under my breath I turned on the ignition and felt the engine awake from its slumber like a gargantuan monster. Surprisingly, the noise and vibration felt comforting, the sound bringing back flashes of my driving lessons and the exhilaration that had raced through me when I had first started driving. “I can do this” I repeated to myself. I gingerly lifted my foot off the pedal and set off towards my first Irish adventure!