Just take things one day at a time... Sure as the sun will rise, the birds will chirp and the wind will blow, there will always be work to do to tread water. Reina knows that she can’t afford to stumble over the short-term in chasing whatever greater goal she has in mind... Too much stopping to think and you might just drown. Today may be her birthday, even, but in the grand scheme of things, November 17^th is just another day at the shop.


    The door to the auto shop opens with a creak, a tacky little chime announcing her arrival. Grandma loved those. She wasn’t expecting the shop to be so empty today—she got out from university early, so she was sure there would be one or two people left tending to their work inside before the start of her shift. She saw their own cars out in the parking lot, so maybe she just caught them on break.


    Whatever the case, it leaves her by her lonesome in the auto shop—which, for better and for worse, she’s grown accustomed to by now. Sami is still recovering from her surgery, and beyond the two of them, Aikawa Auto is staffed by only two other full-time mechanics. One, Old Man Takashi, a longtime family friend who’s stuck by the shop through thick and thin. The other, her uncle Naoto—a far more virtuous man than his brother.


    Somebody’s gonna have to step up one of these days.


    “Right, so what have we got...?” She finds a note on the front desk, presumably from her uncle working the shift before her; beside it is the key to an unassuming sedan. From what the note says, a winter service is in order: oil change, fluid and filter check, tire rotation, brake check, and a new battery just to be safe—customer states it might be on its last legs. They also give the okay to replace anything it might need, so if the car has any other problems waiting to strike in the winter, she’ll be sure to nip them in the bud.


    “Well, that makes things easy. This shouldn’t take me too long.”


    Reina steps out into the parking lot, an unseasonable warmth beaming down on her from above. It was nice enough to park the Road Runner outside, even. She knows to cherish these days while she has them—it always freezes over before you know it.


    The garage door opens on her command, ready for her to take the customer’s wheels inside. The car itself is something she’s seen thousands and thousands of times, both on the road and in the shop—utilitarian to the bone, which is all most people ever need. She can’t fault them for that.


    Reina unlocks the sedan and climbs aboard, having to adjust the seat down so she’s not hunching her neck inside. As the customer stated, the car is indeed a little hesitant to fire up—Reina can hear the starter having to gather itself before the engine chuffs to life. The old four-banger itself still seems to be running perfectly fine—the brakes seem good too. Without further ado, she backs it into the garage and places it square on the lift, ready to put her expertise to work.


    “Alright. Let’s start with that battery.”


    Reina shuts the engine off, pops the hood and takes a gander inside. True to old Japanese auto conventions, the engine bay is relatively tidy—and not too over-engineered on account of its older age. That’s one thing Reina never could stand: working on modern cars can be a real chore with their over-complicated designs. There’s something to be said for the good old KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Stupid.


    Reina locates the battery easily enough, and whips out her trusty multimeter to examine it. In this test, 12.6 volts is a passing grade; she hooks up the cables and...


    “12.3. Yeah, that’s not the best. Must not be charging right. How old is this battery...?”


    A quick check confirms her suspicions. Reina finds the date code and discovers that the battery is well past its expiration date.


    “Ooh. Yeah, that’s six years old, it’s past time to get that replaced.” Go figure. Batteries have a typical lifespan of four to five years, but these cars are built to tolerate negligence. They just keep going and going and going.


    Nevertheless, Reina confirms the battery’s getting a replacement. Just to make sure it’s the battery and not the alternator as well, she hops back in and gives the car another start. Once more, the starter groans, finally getting the engine fired up after a couple seconds of trying. Once they get going, the four cylinders hum along without a care in the world...


    And indeed, when she gets back out to check the alternator, she reads a healthy 13.5 volts from the multimeter. It’s doing its job just fine.


    “Right, that takes care of that.”


    The rest of the engine bay seems to be in good shape—though some of the filters do look a little dirtied up, so she decides to replace those as well. The fluids all look fine, so she’s through the top side of the engine in relatively short order.


    Next comes the lift.


    “Alright, up we go.”


    The hydraulic whine echoes throughout the garage, slowly taking the car up into the air so she can get to work on its underbelly. Lifts aren’t required in a mechanic’s arsenal—she could just use a jack—but Reina finds theirs to be an absolute godsend. When you’re as tall and...fortunate as she is, it’s hard to get enough space underneath the car.


    Off go the plug and the filter, the oil splashing onto the pan below. Whoever last did this really wrenched the filter in there tight; it takes a good bit of elbow grease for Reina to get it off. Sometimes her physique does come in handy on the job.


    It’s all ho-hum service work—a routine increasingly common as the snow and ice come crawling closer and closer. Reina appreciates the ever-so-slight windfall of customers coming in for winterization...but all the same, it serves to remind her just how deep this hole really is. This general mechanic work started out as a suggestion from her father to bolster business; they now cling to it as their lifeline.


    “Oookay. That should be it.”


    Time flies when you’re working on cars. Before Reina knows it, she’s already done. The lift gently lowers the car back down to earth, and after a quick spot-check to make sure everything looks good, she slides herself back behind the wheel. One twist of the key, one second of spirited whirring and the engine rumbles to life, back in business with a spring in its step.


    “She sounds pretty good! I’ll go ahead and take her for a quick jog around the block just to make sure.”


    It’s here where her years-long diet of 40 year-old muscle cars puts a slight damper on her driving ability. The car inches forward almost like it’s sleepwalking—she’s too used to the Road Runner and its comical amount of torque requiring barely any gas at all. She eventually acclimates to the more understated four-banger and brings it out of the garage. One sharp left turn, and she’s on the road.


    “Nothing out of the ordinary so far... These things are built like tanks, so I’m not expecting anything catastrophic anyway.”


    She has to give it to these modern cars: they really spoil you with the build quality and creature comforts. They’re simple, effective commuters—and for the vast majority of people, that’s all they need to be. For most, transportation is a means to an end... It’s not something everybody lives and breathes like she and the family do. It’s not an experience.


    And she can feel that as she drives this trusty sedan around her neighborhood. It’s nowhere near as fun or exciting as the Road Runner... It’s boring. It’s sanitized. But it’s better at getting her where she needs to go. Having to sell their work horse a few months ago really hammered home how out of place the car is on modern streets... It’s a square peg trying to fit in a round hole through sheer horsepower.


    It’s the nail that sticks out.


    *sigh* “Just gotta take it a day at a time, Reina...”


    Reina rounds the bend and crosses the river to start the return leg of her trip. She knows these roads like the back of her hand, but she can’t help feeling a little...different as she maneuvers them in the sedan. Errant cars come and go in traffic—ones that look exactly like this sedan. It blends in so well to the surroundings that it might as well be invisible... She feels like everybody can see right through it. Now she’s the one that sticks out.


    ...She speeds up just a little bit on her way back.


    As expected, the sedan handles the roads with not a blemish to report—just a routine, everyday drive in the old thing. It rolls its way back into the parking lot like it barely left at all. Reina parks it neatly by its lonesome, and starts running through her mental checklist for post-maintenance cleanup.


    “Oookay. Just gotta let the client know their car is ready...oh, and put the seat back too.” She double-checks all the little motors while she’s at it. Windows, mirrors, seats, they all work fine.


    “That should do it, then.”


    Reina gets out and stretches her legs. A job well done—when you’re taking things day by day, you can’t ask for much more than that. Every last job is precious, every last payday a luxury. The sooner she can get next month’s bills allocated and taken care of, the sooner she can start thinking about the bigger picture again.


    The little boost does give her a cushion, though, combined with the extra pay from her work at the track. Maybe she can make it through the winter after all.


    “Okay, I think he wrote down the customer’s phone number on that note—worse comes to worst, I can just find it, though...” Reina absentmindedly opens the door to the shop, finding the switch to flick the lobby lights back on...


    (Now!)


    “Huh?!”


    “SURPRISE!”


    The chime at the door is quickly drowned out by a chorus of cheers from the employees at the shop, returned from their “break” to surprise her. Reina’s heart skips a beat—not just at the surprise itself, but at the figure in the middle of the group, wearing a wide smile and welcoming her back to the shop with a round of hearty laughter.


    “Wha— Mom? You’re out of the house!”


    “Of course I am, sweetie! C’mon, I’m old, not dead. Heh heh!”


    It’s the first time Sami Aikawa has left the house since her back surgery—and for good reason: she wasn’t gonna miss the chance to give her beloved daughter a little pick-me-up. Her being house-ridden made for the perfect cover. She still looks a bit rough around the edges, her graying hair done up in a basic ponytail, but beneath the wrinkles is a smile made of gold.


    “I... Oh, you guys...!” Reina can’t properly express how she feels. Just seeing her mom back in the shop along with the other employees feels like a long-awaited respite from steering it all by herself. She loves this little family of theirs—and she wouldn’t trade it for anything.


    Without another word, Reina walks up and gives her mom a hug, joined by the other two as they share this tender moment.


    “Happy birthday, honey.”


    “Thank you so much...!”A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    “Thank you for filling in for me all this time. You’ve really been sticking your neck out for all of us, haven’t you?” Sami feels Reina’s woes starting to melt away. She can tell the girl’s needed this.


    “Don’t think we haven’t noticed how hard you’ve been working. You deserve this, Reina.”


    They turn her attention to the gift they’ve prepared for her. With a smile, the two employees head to the break room fridge to retrieve it.


    “I called up the bakery, and they came up with this! Looks good, huh?”


    Reina’s mouth immediately starts to water, her hand covering her mouth.


    “Oooh...!”


    It’s perfect: a chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream on top, styled like a big ol’ racing tire. Sami knew it would be a hit.


    “That looks so good...!”


    “Thought you might like it! Not gonna lie, I’m really tempted to dig in myself.” Sami licks her lips. “Buuut I’m gonna save my slice until after dinner tonight. I’ll get the oven preheating once we head back home, and then your favorite dish is going in.”


    Reina’s eyes twinkle.


    “O-Oh, Mom, you didn’t have to!”


    “I know—but I wanted to!”


    “And like I said: you’ve been doing plenty on your own, while I’ve just been mooching around the house for the last forever. This is the least I can do to pay you back... Truly.”


    “As for you two...” Sami cheekily smiles at Old Man Takashi and Uncle Naoto, who can’t wait to dig in for themselves.


    “How about this: you can cut yourselves some slices now, if you cover the rest of Reina’s shift for the day! I say let the birthday girl clock out early.”


    Naoto lets out a guffaw. “You always drove a hard bargain, eh?”


    “Drove hard is right,” Takashi interjects. “No problem, we can cover that! You enjoy the rest of your birthday.”


    “Thank you so much, guys...”


    With that, Naoto and Takashi excuse themselves, eagerly carrying plates of chocolatey goodness into the break room with them. Sami boxes up the rest of cake and prepares to take it back up the road to their house, where the oven—and tonight’s dinner—are waiting.


    “Let me drive you back up there, at least—you don’t have to walk all the way back home carrying that.”


    “You wound me! A little walk or two isn’t gonna kill me.” She jests, but in truth, she still has a visible crick in her gait. Reina can tell Sami really fought back the pain just to get here and surprise her—and having to walk uphill back home does not sound like what she needs right now.


    “...It will hurt, though, so yeah, maybe that’s best.”


    “I’ll go start the car.”


    Sami slowly makes her way out the door, following in Reina’s footsteps. Reina hops in and slots the key in the ignition; the Road Runner roars to life, enjoying the sunny afternoon and eagerly awaiting its passenger.


    “Mmgh... Rgh... Okay, there we go.” Sami has to move slowly as she twists herself onto the seat—it’s just how it is now.


    “Heh heh... Man, it feels weird being the passenger. You don’t drive me around all that much, huh?”


    “No, I really don’t.”


    “Last time I remember was...when you were learning to drive, I think. You needed to get all that ‘supervised practice’ before you could take your test. Not that you needed it!” She’s been sneaking Reina out to Tokachi for “practice” since she could first reach the pedals.


    “At least it prepared me well for the parallel parking bit!”


    Sami chuckles. “You were so paranoid about that.”


    Reina still does feel a little on edge whenever she drives her mom around. This is the car she made famous, after all—and if she goofs up, she’s sure she’ll never hear the end of it.


    Sami, meanwhile, couldn’t really care less about it. She’s always felt like Reina puts too much pressure on herself.


    “Lead the way, birthday girl!”


    Reina makes sure to maneuver the Road Runner as carefully as possible—both to go easy on Sami’s back and to protect her precious cargo. With a rumble, the car exits the Aikawa Auto lot and makes for home.


    “Feels weird driving this way up the road.”


    “Right?”


    The Aikawa household isn’t too far from the shop itself—well within walking distance, albeit nestled partway up the omnipresent Mount Moiwa. Though they have a garage up there, neither it nor the driveway is actually big enough to fit the Road Runner, hence why it stays down at the shop. It used to be where they kept their daily driver instead...until hard times came a-knocking. Now it just sits empty, with Reina and Sami left to fill the void somehow.


    It’s almost like her father took it with him.


    “Well, uh...heh. Yeah, no parking it in the garage. You’re gonna have to find a place on the street. Hey, you might finally get to put those parallel parking chops to use!”


    “I would, if there were cars here. Looks like it’s pretty empty.”


    “Shame.”


    Heads turn on the streets as the Road Runner tramples the silence of the neighborhood. Within short order, though, Reina brings it to a halt, shutting the engine off and bringing an end to her day’s work.


    “Ahhh...!” There really is no place like home. The auto shop may be her habitat, but their little corner home just feels so cozy, even after all these years. It never fails to calm her down...especially when her mom’s cooking her favorite dinner.


    “I splurged on the real good stuff this time. It’s only fair!”


    “You spoil me~”


    Reina always looked forward to pasta night growing up. Even in Japan, where ingredients can get pretty pricey, those dishes are still cheap, easy and mighty filling, with plenty of leftovers to last days and days afterward. She likes the other budget staples well enough, of course—hard to go wrong with rice and ramen—but something about a big casserole full of meat, cheese and pasta just sings to her stomach. She doesn’t think she’ll ever get tired of it.


    “Here, let me go ahead and put it in the oven, you don’t have to bend down for that. I’ll take it out too.”


    “Oh, stop it, you! Or are you just saying that ‘cause you wanna take it out and dig in first?”


    “...Maybe.”


    “Fine, I’ll allow it, then. Just this once.”


    Within minutes, the smell of Heaven itself takes over the kitchen. It doesn’t take too long to cook, so they pull up their chairs at the dining table and content themselves with small talk while they wait for dinner to bake.


    They’re still not sure what to do with that one other chair at the table... It’s sobering, how much of difference a few years can make.


    “Not too busy today, I take it?”


    “No, classes were alright. And there wasn’t much work to do, just a basic winter service for one car.”


    “Yeah... Things’ll pick up once it starts getting properly cold.”


    “Mhm. Just taking it one day at a time right now. I have to make it until then first...”


    “Oh, don’t sell yourself short.” Sami gets up to give her daughter another hug. “I know I say it a lot, but I really mean it: you’re a strong, strong girl.”


    Reina takes a deep breath. “Thank you. I just... I really don’t know what to do sometimes.”


    “I think you’re already doing all you can, sweetie.”


    It’s one thing to take over the family business; it’s another thing to inherit it under the circumstances Reina’s had to deal with. All of Sami’s burning questions, all her doubts, all the problems she couldn’t solve... They’re now Reina’s burden to bear. The proverbial bubble has burst, taking the young heiress’ innocence with it.


    Guilt gnaws at Sami for that. She wishes she could’ve done more to make the shop a better place for her—a better business. Reina shouldn’t have to take on all that responsibility so soon...and yet she has. Her little girl’s all grown up.


    “Change doesn’t happen overnight—it takes a lot of time, and a lot of patience. I know it’s tough, I know it seems really daunting, but you don’t have to try and rush to figure everything out right this instant.”


    Reina’s breath trembles a bit. Sami hugs her tighter.


    “Life is one big marathon—and if you push yourself too hard, you’ll burn out before you reach the finish line. You’re still young, and you’ve got plenty of time...and you don’t have to go it alone anymore, either. You bet I’m gonna do everything I can to help you along, now that I’m feeling better.”


    “Mm...”


    “Don’t ever forget how proud I am of you. You’ve been dealt a bad hand, but you’ve been doing all you can in spite of it. No matter what life throws at you, you just keep on truckin’.”


    She lowers her voice to an introspective whisper. “Reminds me a lot of your grandma.”


    A mix of emotions weigh heavy on Reina’s heart.


    “I... I just hope I can fill your shoes some day.”


    “You will. Nobody believes in you more than I do.”


    *BEEP!*


    “Now c’mon, cheer up! It’s your birthday, for crying out loud!”


    “Heehee... Yeah. Thank you.”


    Pasta heals all wounds. Reina nearly melts into the chair at the very first bite, her delight audible. Sami can’t help but smile too—finally being able to cook for the two of them again should give Reina a much-needed break around the house. Just as the dish lifts Reina’s spirits, so too does it raise hers.


    “Well, I think it turned out okay, for how rusty I am!”


    “What were you saying about selling yourself short? It’s delicious!”


    “Oh, you.” Sami’s always been astounded at just how much that girl can eat. Suppose that’s what happens when you’re over six feet tall.


    “Just make sure you save some room for dessert, okay?”


    “Of course.”


    Sami goes ahead and brings the cake out of the fridge so it can start thawing out. By the time they’re done with the pasta, it should be ready to slice up again.


    “Alllright, that should do it. Cut yourself a slice whenever you’re ready!”


    Reina ate so much of the main course that she can barely command herself out of the chair...but she thinks she has just enough room for dessert. She takes out their big knife and gets to work, puncturing the tire and hacking off a big ol’ slice.


    The anticipation builds as she makes her way back to the table. She sets it down, gets out a fork, cuts a bite, and...


    (Mmmm...!)


    It’s everything she could ever want in a cake. The taste itself is excellent, but beyond the rich chocolate, the sweet ice cream and all the other touches on top...it tastes like home.


    (This is the best birthday I’ve had in years...!)


    It’s been such a whirlwind over the past few years that she almost forgot what this sort of thing feels like. From the passing of her grandparents, to her father’s unexpected exile, to the shop’s continued misfortunes... It feels like she hasn’t had a normal year in forever. The cake brings her back to when two was five—back to those carefree birthdays with everyone huddled around the table, watching her blow the candles...


    Just where did all the time go?


    “Thank you so much, Mom... I didn’t know how much I needed this...!”


    “My pleasure, sweetie.” Sami clears a little crumb of cake off Reina’s face. “Nothing makes me happy like seeing you happy.”


    “I’ll always be there for you—everybody at the shop too. We’ll get through it together.”


    “Mhm...”


    Reina smiles. In spite of the turmoil, the misfortune, everything, they’re both still going. Perhaps her grandmother’s stubbornness really does run in the family...


    It just might give her the strength to power through all this.


    ***


    November 17^th finally comes to a close. The Road Runner retreats back into its lair, guided by Reina’s steady hand. Mount Moiwa begins to swallow the sun behind it, draping the neighborhood below in shadow and ushering for the moon to start its campaign. One more day passes in limbo, one more day adrift...and while that still looms large over Reina’s head, she feels a little more comfortable about her place at the company now.


    “And there we go... Good night.”


    She knows this little reverie won’t last forever. She’ll wake up from the dream and face reality head-on for 364 more days. She doesn’t know yet what those 364 days will bring...whether they’ll be as tough and tumultuous as years past, or if the clouds might finally part ways so she can see the stars above again. It’s too early to tell what that night sky will look like...


    All she knows is, the future isn’t waiting for her anymore. She’s all grown up now, whether she’s ready to accept it or not. As she makes the walk home, the year coming full circle one more time, she understands now that this coming trip around the sun may be the most important of them all.


    (Just gotta get through this... I can’t keep kicking the can down the road forever. Once we’re through the winter, we’ve gotta make something happen.)


    Gold turns to purple, and purple turns to black. The winter winds begin their march into Sapporo, and the legions of gray come rolling in...