I walked along the side of the road. With how flat the desert is, you would have thought that I could have seen the next town or something. I sure did pick the wrong place to have my car break down. I turned my head back toward the opposite horizon. 

        There was a glint of silver where the road met the sky. I turned the rest of the way around raise my hand to shield my eyes from the sun. Squinting, I saw it growing and approaching. And then quiet but growing louder, the steady sound of an engine greeted my ears.

        As it comes closer I saw it was an old sunbaked truck, some vintage pick up or other.   A ride's a ride, right? I thought to myself. 

        I threw my thumb out; hoping whoever was driving the pickup would take pity on a lone man on the road. 

        To my relief, the truck pulled onto the shoulder and stopped about twenty feet away from me.

        Adjusting my bag on my shoulder, I backtracked to where the pickup stopped. The glint off the windscreen kept me from seeing whoever was driving just yet.

        As I got close, the passenger side door swung open.  Coming around the faded and baked paint job of the door, I saw the interior was pristine and glossy.  The vinyl upholstery shone like new and the inner trim was perfectly polished chrome.  But the driver was silver.

        She was a unicorn, glistening like mercury beneath her humble gingham shirt and loose-fitting khakis. What I could see of her tail was long like a lion's, but the tuft at the end looked sculpted in metal.  Her sky blue eyes met mine and I realize I've been staring.

        She smiled and removed one hoof from the wheel to pat the empty passenger seat. "Well, hop in," She offered playfully.

        I swung my bag off my back and set it between my legs as I slipped up onto the smooth vinyl.  I leaned back in the seat with a sigh and through my shirt I could feel how cool the synthetic surface is.  In fact, the moment I crossed the threshold into the pickup, I could have been forgiven for forgetting I was out in the desert. 

        The passenger door slammed while I was still looking at her.  When I jumped she just chuckled, a sound not unlike bells, before telling me I should buckle up.

        I asked her if she was headed into town as I pulled the strap across my chest.

        "I'm always headed to town, and I'll take you there."  She stroked the hoof along the steering wheel. "Just know there is a fare."

        I told her I don't care what it cost; I just needed to get into town so someone could come tow my car.  I reached into my bag and started digging around for my wallet.

        She waved dismissively at my pack. "My fare is a story."  She pulled on the stick shift and let off the brake, sending the pickup back into a smooth roll onto the road.

        I asked her what kind of story she wanted

        She broke her gaze from the road ahead to look me right in the eye. "A true story; one that happened to you."

        I asked her if that was it.

        She nodded, her eyes back on the road.

        I thought for a moment, and then I began to talk. I recounted a memory from my childhood, talking about a game of pretend I would play with one of my friends.  As I talked, though, I found myself having a harder time remembering what I was saying.

        Her silver tongue glided along her lips and she prompted me to continue.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

       When she lets me out of her pickup in front of a towing garage, I turn back around to face her through the open door.  I ask her if there's really no way I could pay her back. 

       She idly licks one digit of her hoof like she's just finished a meal. "You've already given me enough.  Catch you again for another tale." 

       I nod and step back before the door closes without her reaching to grab the handle.  She waves through the window as she drives away.

       I turn and walk into the garage.  

       The man behind the counter nods toward behind me. "Looks like Echo likes you."

       I blush a bit despite myself and say she was awful kind taking me all the way into town. 

       The mechanic nods and asks me where my car got stuck.

       I tell him to the best of my ability. "Though a lot of the drive from where she picked me up to here is a blur." I dig through my bag for my wallet as I explain. "Between how nice and cool is in the cab and that story she was telling me, the other details just slide away."

       The man raises his brows. "She told you a story?"

       I nod then stop, thinking.  The story was about me but I don't remember it happening.  And I'm sure she's the one who told it.

       The mechanic chuckles and tells me she must have been hungry.