It's Still Life

The Colour of Nowhere

64% equal 95 miles says my car’s navigator.
should be double that distance.
plus battery drain of 7% per week

the fix: recalibrate the battery, we’re told.

so we drive.
to nowhere.
just drive —

until the battery
reaches 15- 20%.

after just a few miles: battery is 30%.

we need to turn around and head home, I say.
he’s nonnegotiable — it’s fine.
we keep driving.

we pass cars with drivers
staring straight ahead.
I stare at thick-woolled sheep,
bare-knuckled fields,
wheat stubble,

church steeples too far away
to hear their bells ringing out prayers.

I keep my eyes away from the battery gauge.

damn.
25%

I’m not going to be stuck on the fucking motorway with no turn-outs and no emergency shoulder because you trusted a battery that doesn’t do numbers.

turn around — now.

so we do.

19% and we’re only half way home.
the car panics.
reroutes us into McDonald’s carpark.
it has a charging station.

and a drive-thru.
“Are you hungry,” he asks.
no. I’ve lost my appetite and love
for this car.

we top up to 36%. it’s plenty he says,
and we drive 8 miles,
arrive home with 12% reserve.

It’s charging to 100% now.
in the garage.

Leave it for 24-hrs
so the battery can recalibrate the cell capacity.

I don’t trust this car anymore.

(ps: car’s getting a software patch and relearning its numbers)

---

— from The Old Woman’s Weather

All rights reserved. These stories may not be reproduced without permission. Unauthorised use will be pursued under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and applicable international copyright law. ©Misky 2006-2026