Thank You for Letting Us Out

The family’s trip was quiet that day. They had just bought a second-hand van—*the seller said it was

fine*. As they drove down a dark road, the youngest noticed… **mud tracks on

the floor**, as if the van had just been pulled from a river. Suddenly,

the radio turned on by itself— an old news report played: *"A father killed

his wife and child… then threw the van into the river."* The engine died in the middle of

the road. Even with the keys off, **the doors slowly opened one by one**.

In the rearview mirror, a man sat in the back— smiling,

drenched, holding two children. The van sped up, though no one was driving.