2022-07-02 04.43.22.mov -

Then, at , the camera settles on a single point in the valley below. A lone set of headlights is winding its way up the mountain pass. The light is tiny, like a spark floating in a dark ocean. Elias remembers watching that car and wondering if the driver was running away from something, or toward something.

Sitting in the motel room now, Elias realized that the person who filmed that video doesn't exist anymore. The 2022 version of himself was still full of questions. The current version was finally starting to find the answers. He didn't delete the file. He locked the phone and looked out the window. 2022-07-02 04.43.22.mov

The video starts with a shaky sweep of the horizon. The sky is a bruised violet. For the first four seconds, there is only the sound of wind whipping against the microphone—a low, rhythmic thrum. Then, at , the camera settles on a

At , Elias’s own reflection appears briefly in the driver’s side window as he pans the camera. He looks younger then, though it was only four years ago. His eyes aren't tired yet. Elias remembers watching that car and wondering if