The Black and White Car: Broken Isolation

 A Short Story by Adam Sill

Jennifer Hart- fifteen years old. Her friends called her Jenny. But he called her worthless. She stood in the bathroom staring into her light blue eyes that reflected off of the old, rusty mirror. She examined the many bruises that decorated her face and the endless scars that stained her arms and legs. Her eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears as she mumbled to herself softly. "I can't..." she said.
She rushed out of the bathroom and found her old Cinderella backpack. She quickly grabbed all the clothes and supplies that she could find and threw them into her backpack. She approached the front door of her house where she found him laying, passed out and smelling of booze and urine. She looked down on him and felt empty. As if all of her emotions had simply drained out of her. She knelt down and stuck her face just a few inches away from his. She ran her eyes up and down his unclean, unshaven, wrinkled face. She then stood up, flipped him over so he was laying on his stomach, took out his wallet from his back pocket and took all of the cash that was in it; Eighty-three dollars. She turned away from him and opened the front door and paused. She turned and gave him one last look. "Go to hell." she yelled and ran out of the house slamming the door behind her.
As she walked she felt a great deal of stress and anxiety which caused her to trip over herself several times. She tried to imagine her new life on her own but it was impossible. In every fantasy that she dreamed up he always intruded and she could visualize him standing over her preparing to strike. She had left her neighborhood and was walking on a main street when she felt it. It burned like a flaming sword being stabbed into her belly. It was a new feeling, yet she recognized it almost immediately as 'isolation'.
Jenny fell to her knees and began to cry when an old black and white car pulled up next to her and the passenger's door window rolled down. She was ashamed to be seen crying so she turned her head away from the car. She dried her tears and tried to act like she was not crying. "I'm fine!" she yelled to whoever was in the car yet she dared not look up to see who she was addressing. 'What if they didn't even stop for me?' she thought, 'what if they just stopped because they ran out of gas or needed to answer their phone?' she was humiliated so she stood up and, without facing the car, turned to walk away.
"Jenny," came a strong, masculine, tender voice from the car
Jenny turned to face the car and found a dark-haired man who looked to be in his mid-thirties sitting in the driver's seat. He was handsome and he had a warmth about his appearance that brought about a great calmness. Jenny approached the car and looked in through the window. "Who-" she began
"I Am." he interrupted
"Why?-" she began again
"Because we need to talk," he said, "now get in."
Jenny looked at him and then turned to look at the road. "Okay," she said as she opened the passenger door and climbed into the car.
The car immediately sped off. It drove straight for a few yards then miraculously lifted off the ground and began to fly into the sky. Jenny sat upright in her seat and lost her breath. She was terrified as she looked out the window to see that she was now flying thousands of feet in the air. "What's happening?" she yelled.
"I'm taking you somewhere." the man said
"Where?"
"Somewhere you have never been before."
They continued to soar higher and higher into the sky. Jenny noticed that they were now soaring high above the clouds... Then above Earth... Then above the Milky Way... And before she new it she was flying in what appeared to be nothing. She felt the car touch back on the ground and when she looked out the window all she saw was White. As if she was staring into a flashlight. She turned to face the man who was staring at her. He put the car in 'park' and turned his upper body so he was facing Jenny. "So, Jenny," he said, "I've been watching you."
"Are you-" Jenny said, "Are you- Him?"
"What do you think?"
"I- I don't know."
"I Am" the man said again
"What does that mean?" Jenny asked
"It means... Everything."
"What does that mean?"
The man laughed and said, "It means you will never understand."
"I'm confused." Jenny said as she lowered her head
"I'd be impressed if you weren't... Or disappointed."
"What are you doing to me?" Jenny asked
"I'm  introducing myself to you. Hello, I Am." he said as he held out his hand.
Jenny warily shook it and said, "What do you want with me?"
The man frowned, "What do you mean? Aren't you in awe of everything that is around you?"
"What?" Jenny asked, "There's nothing around us."
"Really? Is that what you think?"
"Well... Is this... Heaven?" Jenny asked
"Yes," the man answered, "and no."
"What does that mean?"
"It means, this is your soul. Empty and barren. It makes you feel uncomfortable, does it not?"
Jenny nodded her head.
"You have gone through you life living to remain pure and humble. You have striven to be a good human being and loving friend. Beaten by your father and abandoned by your mother you have tried to mask your emotions by being the 'funny girl' and now everyone loves you. You are a kind, and loving person. But you are naive. You know that there is nothing out there for you so what is the point in staying in the same dull situation that has brought you nothing but grief and despair?"
"I-" Jenny began but was cut off by the man
"You have tried so hard to make sense of the world around you and you can't find any answers. You have walked alone for many years and now I am calling you out. This... Whiteness that you see... It is all that you are. Pure, light, and yes, somewhat beautiful. But it is empty."
"What are you saying?" Jenny asked
"I'm saying you don't have to live your life on your own. I'm saying you don't have to run away from home."
"No," Jenny said, "You don't know what it's like."
"I don't?" the man asked, "Hold out your arm."
"What?"
"Hold out your arm and roll up your sleeve."
Jenny obeyed. She held out her left arm and rolled up her sleeve displaying the many cuts and bruises that have scarred her arm.
"You have your scars..." the man said as he held up his right arm and pulled up his sleeve, "I have mine."
She saw it. The very thing she had heard about since she was a girl. And suddenly she understood just how powerful this man was.
"Okay," she said, "But I thought you said my life was wrong. What is to change if I go back to the same routine?"
"I'll be with you." he answered
"Oh," she said, "I see."
"You have a friend very dear to you named Katherine, don't you?"
"Yes."
"And she has told you about me?"
"Yes."
"Maybe it's time you start following Katherine's example."
Jenny sat and thought. This all seemed so strange yet so normal. It felt right.
"I am going to give you a choice." the man said, "You can choose to stay here in this 'Whiteness' and forever be an empty soul, or you can return home... With me. What will it be?"
Jenny looked from the man to the whiteness outside her window. She grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open. She threw her Cinderella backpack out of the car and closed the door. "Okay," she said, "Let's go home."

# = 127 Hours

127 Hours
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: James Franco, Amber Tamblyn and Kate Mara
Rated R for Language and Some Disturbing Violent Content/Bloody Images

WARNING!!! Spoiler Alert... If you have not seen this film, I suggest you watch the movie before reading this blog. Otherwise, Enjoy!

127 Hours is a true story about a young man named Aron Ralston (Franco)  who while hiking along a crevasse in the middle of nowhere get's his arm jammed between a large boulder and the crevasse wall. Trapped, Aron must try to find a way to escape the sinister rock. However he remains stuck for 127 Hours before he decides to make the ultimate sacrifice.
When I was thinking through the many movies to write about for my blog, this was an obvious choice. Along with it's outstanding acting by James Franco, and the intriguing writing there is a tremendous message of vanity and faith.

In the beginning of the film we see our protagonist, Aron is getting ready to go on the hike in which he will become trapped underneath a rock. Aron is packing up his hiking supplies and food when his mother calls. He ignores the phone call and we hear his mother leave him a message on the voicemail. We also see later on in the movie, when Aron's coworker asks him where he is hiking, Aron lies and says he hadn't decided yet (when he had already made up his mind on where he was going). This becomes the first window into Aron's life that the viewers glance through. We see how his pride has shut him away from the contact of the people who love him. To me, Aron is a very relatable character. How often, when my parents try to talk to me, do I mask my emotions and retreat to my bedroom to be alone. I feel that this movie was made for teenagers and young adults for this very reason; We are prideful. We are completely consumed with ourselves and we don't care about anyone else. Don't get me wrong, I am not saying that we don't love the people around us. I love my friends and family to death. But do my actions show it? Because we are so consumed with ourselves, we forget that every other person in the world is facing a challenge just like we are. As Aron is packing up his supplies, he fails to pack up his Swiss Army Knife (Which would come in handy later in the movie) and is forced to bring a dull pocket knife that came free with a cheap flashlight. I feel like there is some spectacular imagery here as well. As I have said before, (and you can read about it in my poem, "Sword and Shield") our faith in God can be measured by the size and quality of our armory. I feel that it was put the best way by my youth pastor, J. P. Charfauros when he said, "When we are lacking in faith, we must battle off the lion (the Devil) with a plastic knife and paper plate. When our faith is strong we battle him off with a Longsword and a Steel Shield." The dull knife in the movie symbolizes Aron's dull faith.
Now, while Aron is hiking he comes across two young women, lost on their hike. With James Franco's dashing good looks and charming personality he is easily able to persuade the two young women to allow him to guide them to their destination. However, to do this, he had to lie and say that he was a tour guide (which he indeed was not). I feel as if this is a very common thing (at least in my life) among people. Especially leaders. We crave leadership so much and we want to lead people in the right direction so badly that we will lie in order to get followers. I will be the first to admit that I have mislead people countless times in my life. So, even though Aron lead the two young women to their destination, he must now face the fact that he lied to them. And why? Because he was insecure. He dreams of being a guide, but he has not accomplished those goals, so he is ashamed. So, he leaves the women and continues his trek on his own.
Now, we have reached the boulder. When he sees the boulder for the first time, Aron kicks it to see if it is stable. Now I am guessing, since the boulder ends up falling) that Aron must have felt that it was a little unstable. But as we have already noted, Aron is very prideful, so he probably assumes that he can handle everything on his own. In fact, not "probably" but "definitely". Later in the movie Aron will say to himself, "I'm somewhat of a big f***ing hard hero. and I can do everything by myself." as he realizes how prideful he has been. So, the expression "Pride comes before the fall" could not have fit more beautifully into this story seeing as how it was his pride that actually caused him to fall and become trapped under the rock.
At first after Aron becomes jammed between the rock and the wall, he tries with all of his might to move the rock. But however strong he might be, he cannot find the strength to move the rock on his own. He then tries to yell for help. However, he has isolated himself, so no one can hear him. Aron knows that eventually he will have to make a sacrifice. And to make this sacrifice he will have to use his knife (God). But it takes some time before he turns to his blade. In the meantime he continues to try and push the rock. And as he is trapped he recollects memories from his past. He realizes that he is now in the same situation that he has been in for years. He realizes how prideful he has been and he realizes how important the people in his life are to him. There are several moments in the film that brought tears to my eyes. The first is when he is talking to his sister in his mind and he apologizes to her. He apologizes for the fact that he will not make it to her wedding. It made me think of my sister and how I have distanced myself from her and how our relationship had almost diminished into nothingness. The second moment was when He tells his mother that it is not her fault that he is trapped under the rock. If there is anything in a movie that can be more relatable to me in any way, I have not seen it. This is my life. Countless times I find myself "trapped under a rock" whether it be with deceiving those around me, lusting to the point that I am looking at pornography every single day, or slacking off and not doing my school work. Or what about things like drug or alcohol abuse. (These are not things I have ever partaken in) These things destroy not only our lives, but the lives of the people around us. So, Mom, I know I have said it before, but I am saying it again, this is not your fault. I made this mess for myself, and I am the only one who can be held responsible for my actions. You can try to help me push away the rock, Mom, but it won't budge. I have to make a sacrifice. I have to turn to the Knife.
As Aron first turns to the knife, he uses it wrong. He tries to make a sacrifice, but he is not sacrificing anything that is important to him. He starts to jab away at the rock hoping that he can break enough of the stone away so that he may slide his arm out. This fails. How often do we, as Christians, sacrifice things that mean nothing to us? If there is one thing that you can walk away with after reading this blog, it is this; To escape the rock, you have to sacrifice what is most precious to you.

Now we have reached the most crucial point in the story. Aron now knows what is to be done. He must break his vanity and cut off his pride. So, Aron breaks his arm and the audience quivers when they hear the loud crack of his bone. And he takes his dull knife and begins to cut away at his arm. After a long and gruesome scene of Aron cutting through his flesh, he finally escapes the rock. Aron falls backwards and stares at his arm. He wraps up his "Stump" in his backpack, which he slings over his shoulder, gathers his things and begins to walk away when he turns around and looks at the rock one last time. He utters the words, "Thank you." Aron escapes the crevasse and slowly stumbles away trying to find his way back. I feel that the moment in the film when we see a complete change in Aron's life is when he is walking, he sees three hikers up ahead. He then falls to his knees and shouts, "Help!" He has finally dropped his pride. So, Aron has escaped the rock and he returns to his life as a changed man. He meets the love of his life, and has a son. He is now a humble, responsible man. And all I can think of after watching this film is this; God will do anything to get our attention. And there is nothing on this Earth that we can do without Him.

"This rock has been waiting for me my entire life... I have been moving towards it my whole life."

Return Tomorrow to read "A = American History X"