The Magic Jeep

Several years ago, in a big, big factory deep in the middle of America, a pretty blue Jeep rolled off of an assembly line. The Jeep was shiny and new, with pleasing blue paint in a shade called Atlantic Blue Pearl. The Jeep was a Liberty, and it hoped in its engine that it would go to a nice driver who was yearning to feel freedom on the open road.

The pretty blue Jeep knew it was special, but how special was yet to be seen. The Jeep got on a big truck and headed west where it waited eagerly to meet its new driver.

Around the same time, a nice lady named May was having a very bad day. She hadn't been feeling well for quite some time, although she couldn't really say why. She needed something, but she didn't know what.

One day, she forgot her purse at work and had to return to get it. Running a little late made May even more unhappy. As she made her way home, she sat at a traffic light and wondered why she was never happy, only sad. The light turned green, and May eased into the intersection when suddenly she had only one thought registering: "Blue Volvo! Blue Volvo!" just before she collided with a blue Volvo.

Car parts when flying in many directions as the blue Volvo spun to a stop a half-block away. May was stunned and a little scared, but she realized she was OK. Her favorite purple car, however, was not so OK.

It took about a month, but May finally had to admit that she could not live without a car. She called her bank and asked the car buyer there to find her a Jeep Liberty. It sat a little high but wasn't tippy. It had a smooth ride, it was a solid, sturdy vehicle, it was sure-footed with 4-wheel drive, and it was bigger than anything she had ever owned.

Although May was very taken with the technical specifications of the Jeep, the man at the car buying service could focus only on one thing: "What color do you want, May?" May answered honestly, "I couldn't care less as long as it's not white."

The man wouldn't let it go, so May asked him to find a Jeep Liberty in a nice sage green like she had seen on the Internet. Fate would not let the man find a green Liberty because it wanted May to have the Magic Blue Jeep that was patiently waiting just 40 miles away.

May bought the Jeep and the Jeep was happy because its new driver was gentle and a very safe driver. The Jeep also could tell that May loved it with all her heart. She didn't yet know the Liberty's secret, though: It had a cloaking mechanism to make it invisible!

May wasn't the one who first made this discovery. Around the time the Jeep had conquered its first 1,000 miles, May took a business trip to California. While she was away, her fiance discovered the Jeep's special quality. Before he went to bed one night, he looked out the window to say goodnight to the Jeep. He closed the blinds and went to bed. When he got up seven hours later, he raised the blind and said, "Good morn--. Oh, fuck." The Jeep was cloaked and stood invisible so only an empty parking spot could be seen.

May's fiance called the police who said that cars that disappear in the night often reappear in a different part of the city within a day or two. May came home from her trip and was very, very, very sad.

A week went by, and then two. May and her fiance were very busy because they were getting married. On the morning of the wedding, May looked outside and saw her neighbor arguing with a man standing next to a beat-up camper. May's fiance ran outside, then returned quickly to call the police. The man in the camper was drunk, drunk, drunk at 7:30 on a Saturday morning. His drunkeness made it hard to drive a big, wobbly RV on a narrow street, and that's why he plowed into the side of May's rental car and caused thousands of dollars in damage. May was even sadder than before. This was not a good start to her wedding day, especially since she had to sit in the back of a police car to give her report.

A few days later, the Jeep reappeared somewhere across town. May was very happy! Her friend was coming home, although it needed a little sprucing up. The car was no longer invisible!

May came to find out, though, that the Liberty would sometimes make itself invisible in intersections. She knew this because of the close calls she had when other drivers drove as if there was no Jeep close to them at all. One woman even turned left right in front of May when she was driving on a huge, busy street at 35 miles an hour. The woman looked right at May, but turned in front of her anyway. Lucky for May, she had excellent reflexes and her trusty little Jeep missed the other car by mere inches while the horn howled mightily.

A few months later, May was at an intersection when the driver behind her used the Jeep's spare tire as an indicator that it was time to stop. She said what had to be true: She just didn't see the Magic Blue Jeep!

Tonight, May was coming home from work, waiting for the left-turn arrow at a big intersection. The arrow came on, but before May could even move her foot to the gas pedal, Oooof! the Jeep was once again hit from behind. May was surprised, and she looked in the rear-view mirror. She was puzzled as to why the woman driving the piece-of-crap Chevy didn't look too concerned.

May made the left turn and pulled over. As she got out of her car, the driver behind her passed by, seemingly unaware that she had hit the Liberty and that May was standing there waiting for her on the side of the road.

Of course! It was obvious that the Magic Blue Jeep had cloaked again and was still cloaked. This is the only thing that could explain why that woman ran into the Jeep in the first place, and then just drove away.

May still loves her Jeep very much, even if it does have this potentially dangerous habit of invoking invisibility. May is wondering why she always seems to end up with invisible cars, though.