As I Lay Dying - Blogpost

Reassured of my reasons to be on this journey, I left Austin, heading west, but still no destination in mind. I had been driving for some days then, but I could have traveled even further if it were not for the constant stops. It was night, so I decided to rest in my car until dawn to continue driving early in the morning, recovered and with no risk of accidents due to fatigue. I wanted to make this one of my last long stops. I parked my car by an empty field, which was good because I did not want to be bothered.

At the first ray of light, I woke up and was ready to start my engines. I appreciated the fact that I was in countryside Texas again. It reminded me of home, so I felt like I maintained myself connected to it, but it seemed newish enough to indicate that new times were coming. After driving for a while, I saw this young man hitching a ride. I am usually wary of giving rides for strangers, but he seemed to be about my age and his countenance demonstrated his tiredness, so I stopped for him. Besides, I needed some company in that lonely journey.

His name was Jewel and he was heading to a nearby town named Jefferson to bury his mom. I asked him why he was alone and in such a dangerous situation like that. The roads are not as safe as they seem to be for people our age. Apparently, his family was transporting his mother’s body to this city, but they faced some misadventures and lost their mules. He was trading in his horse, among other goods, for new mules so they could go back to their town after the burial. I thought that was very brave and altruistic of his part. He dismissed that thought by telling me how his family believed he was cold and selfish. For me, it seemed like he deeply cared about his mother for doing such extreme efforts to accomplish her final wills. He was very silent throughout the whole trip though, but I did not care. I liked his company and I liked how his relationship with his mother reminded me of the one I have with mine. Shortly, we arrived in Jefferson and I decided I would stay for a while so I could stock some food for the trip.