Faith in Humanity

Sharon nervously tapped on her knee as she waited for one of the employees to call her name. She tried to keep herself calm, to tell herself that it wouldn’t be that bad, that she just needed to be patient. But as the minutes passed, and other names were called instead of hers, Sharon was finding it harder and harder to do that.

She had been here for more than thirty minutes already. Why haven’t they found out what was wrong with her car?

When Sharon bought her used car about three years ago, she had expected that it wouldn’t run perfectly. It was about a decade old and had about 100,000 miles on it. But other than making weird noises every other day and needing regular maintenance, her car had been running just fine. Until an hour ago when it suddenly just stopped in the middle of her route home. Thankfully, Sharon had enough warning to pull over to the side of the road, or else she would probably be at the hospital right now. Sharon still remembered clearly how the drivers behind her honked loudly when they flew past her.

“Sharon Redford?” Sharon gasped as she looked up to see a bored young man standing near the cash register with a clipboard.

“Here!” she cried as she quickly stood up and walked over to the man.

Please just let it be a battery issue, please just let it be that she just needed a new battery…

“Your engine’s toast,” the young employee said bluntly as soon as she walked up to him.

Sharon blinked.

“Sorry, say that again?”

He let out a sound that was part sigh, part groan.

“Your engine’s toast,” he repeated. “You-”

He then spilled some mechanical jargon that went in Sharon’s ear and out the other. But even so, she got the gist that if she ever wanted to drive her car again, the engine needed to be fixed. And it was going to cost a lot of money.

And time. A week’s worth of time at least.

“What...what I am going to do? That’s my only car, and I live by myself,” Sharon admitted as she looked forlornly at the ground. She wasn’t too worried about the payment, she had a good bit saved up for occasions like this so Sharon should be fine in that regard. But transportation...her bike was at home and she wasn’t used to riding the bus. And the cooler temperatures of fall were on their way. And she worked five to six days a week at a place over five miles away.

Sharon wasn’t looking forward to the next week at all.

“Don’t know what to tell you,” the young man said with no emotion. “So do you want to repair your engine or what?”

Sharon thought he could have at least offered some sympathy but she kept that thought to herself.

“I’ll have it fixed,” she said reluctantly because the car was running well otherwise. Getting a new car would be more expensive than the engine repair.

After an hour later of waiting for the bus, riding the bus while the slow vehicle made constant stops, and waiting for a transfer just to do the whole thing again, Sharon finally found herself home.

But before Sharon could plop down on her bed, she suddenly remembered that she needed groceries.

She digested this information for a moment before she grabbed her pillow and screamed into it.

Sharon...felt a little better. At least better enough to recall that there was a family dollar down the road. She would be able to get there in a matter of minutes on her bike.

...She preferred Walmart for their cheaper prices and wider selection but it would do.

Before she knew it, Sharon was on her bike on the way to the store, listening to music on her phone.

Only for the song, Let It Go, to suddenly play.

“Ugh, why is that song still on my playlist?” Sharon angrily muttered to herself as she stopped biking and quickly pulled out her phone.

After the day she had, she needed to listen to her favorite songs. No exceptions.

“Um...are you okay?”

A bit startled, Sharon looked up to see a woman younger than her, also on her bike, giving her a concerned expression.

“Are you lost?” the woman asked kindly.

Sharon recalled the drivers that honked at her and the uncaring employee.

This...this was the kindest interaction she had had all day.

“Oh no, I was just looking at my playlist,” Sharon assured her with a real smile, causing the young woman to give her a relieved smile in return.

“Oh okay, good. I’m glad.”

And because Sharon genuinely felt better and hopeful, she continued.

“Thank you so much for asking, you’ve restored my faith in humanity!”

Sharon never told the woman about her day and her troubles, leaving the young woman to imagine what might have happened years later for a Vocal challenge. But Sharon had a feeling the young woman knew she meant what she said.