(A short story by Mary M. Isaacs)
It was the 31st. He had some miles left for the month, so he went for a longish drive. No reason to waste those miles—if he didn’t use them, he’d lose them.
It was nice to just ride around in the car. It was a day off from work, he’d picked up his grocery allotment boxes for the next month, and he wasn’t due for any medical or dental check-ups. He could drive anywhere he wanted and enjoy the free feeling for a while.
He’d carefully calculated how far he could safely go in order to be home before the gauge read zero. So he just relaxed and drove for a while, admiring the scenery he seldom had the time to really look at. Going anywhere for no particular reason happened very rarely now. He found it delightful. All too soon, though, it would be time to go back—he checked the gauge and realized that that time was now. As he was looking for a place to turn around, something caught his eye at the side of the road. It was an awkwardly shaped lump, but it looked like it was moving. He slowed up as he got closer, and then saw that it was a person lying next to the curb, surrounded by a few scattered belongings. He knew he was supposed to ignore such things and pass on by, but he just couldn’t; he pulled over and got out of his car.
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