The trees were still blackened with char from fires years ago. The sun shone through the tops of the forests, lining the road with dancing figures. The car sped around sharp corners and winding roads. The trees stood to attention. A guard of honour. Proud and welcoming. And yet, the driver didn't notice them. His foot didn't allow the throttle to lift from the floor. A cigarette hanging limp out of his mouth. His teeth a light stained yellow, though he wasn't old. Eyes burning. Squinting at the sunlight. His hat only an accessory. Black leather gloved hands on the steering wheel, and a gold chain around his neck. Window down. Wind cooling the sweat that was beading on his neck and chest. Stress perhaps. Though he didn't show it. Speeding down the forest road. No sign of slowing. No sign of where they were going. Except straight ahead. He kept his eyes straight ahead.

"Girlie. You need those glasses?" His cigarette bounced as he spoke. A few embers fell, like white feathers in the air, falling softly into his lap. Brushing them off unaware of the white marks they made on his tight black jeans.
"Huh?"
"Your sunglasses. You need 'em? I need 'em."
"Oh..." Her voice was soft. Distant. Her blonde hair a mess blowing in the wind. She had her window down too and had been staring at the trees passing. Waiting. Waiting to get there. If they'd get there. Wherever that was. At this rate, this speed, she had started to imagine an animal jumping out in front of them, perhaps a kangaroo, which would startle him so much they would end up wrapped around a tree. She didn't want to end up wrapped around a tree. So she continued to smoke her cigarette and sip her cola. Her black leather jacket was a little to warm for the ride, but she held some power in it. Even though she had none. She took another drag and threw it out the window.

"You shouldn't 'a' done that."
"What?"
"That! You see these trees?"
"Yeah..."
"Know why they're black?"
"Some Australian special black tree?"
"No. Girlie. There was a fire here a few years back. Now pass me those glasses." He slipped them onto his face. Lennon glasses. Her grandfathers. Without them she was left uncovered. Hair a mess. Eyes bare. Window down. She squinted a little, adjusting to the light. She took to wrapping her hair up in a scarf and wound up the window. He wasn't saying much. She thought they would have talked more. On this trip. They hadn't talked at all. He just wanted to get there. He wanted to find someone. Something about someone. She hadn't fully understood. She just thought it sounded exciting and he needed a woman for the ride. That was only a week ago.

She'd been staying at a hotel on Oxford St in Sydney. He was having a cigarette out on the street, at a bar nearby one night. She walked past and he called out to her. She hadn't looked back. Went to her room and got all of her things. Left a note and they left the next morning. Drove to Melbourne. He kept mentioning one place where they were going, but at the time she didn't really care. When he first asked her to come, it was freedom. A risk. A shot at life. Making a life worth living. But now, sitting in the car with him, she wasn't so sure. They'd been driving for hours. Hadn't even properly stopped in Melbourne. Just stayed low. They "had to stay low," he said. She wasn't even allowed to walk around at night to see the lights of the city. Or see the shops during the day. But when he kissed her and pulled her close, everything else disappeared. He didn't do it too often though. He was so caught up. Caught up in where they were going.

The trees whipped past them. The car sped on. Sunlight dancing, cigarettes bouncing and silence between them. A silent tension and suspension in the car. A man on a mission. A girl wanting something, anything to show her that life could be different. Different from where she came from and what she had left behind. Either way, there was no going back.