Stunning sea view and a tender sea breeze against my face and a glamorous convertible moving smooth and fast by the seaside.
A scene I have dreamed of since my childhood, one in which I was sitting in the drivers' seat of the convertible. When the coach told us we would drive his car in turns to the seaside as a driving practice, I could not help but picture how smart I would look as a driver, even though in an ordinary trainer car, I felt wild with joy.
When it was finally my turn to drive the car on the road out of the driving school, I did feel wild with joy, considering it my show time. I got myself seated, fastened my seatbelt, ignited the engine, clenched the steering wheel with my left hand and pressed the clutch with my left foot while putting the car in gear with my right hand. The car began to move ahead as I released the clutch, so fluently and skillfully did I finish all the steps that I didn't even bother to look at the coach in the passenger seat, for I assumed he must be wearing a big smile, taking pride in the student he just taught. Everything went even more smoothly until an increasing number of vehicles hit the road.
Fast moving sedan cars, rumbling trucks and motorcycles at full speed were all over. I felt alert, staring straight ahead, afraid of any possible danger. As the heavy trucks came near from the opposite lane, I had the illusion that the road had shrank and become narrower, and slowed the car nearly to a stop. Horns blared from the back as if monsters were shrieking, hurting my ears. Not until my coach, next to me, impatiently demanded "speed up!" did I reluctantly step on the gas pedal with my right shaking foot and move forward faster.
The senior citizen is saying "No need to put on the brake this soon. We are still far away from each other." (Source: Baidu)
When I got past this episode, I felt a sense of relief but found the situation was even trickier and more challenging when it came to crossing the traffic lights. When the green light was on, I was all thumbs and attempted to shift the gear with my sweaty right hand, only to find an obvious inharmony between my limbs and the cars' control devices. Vehicles were honking, my coach was grumbling, other trainees sitting at the back were mumbling and my confidence was crumbing. To make things worse, I let my foot off the clutch so hastily that the car got stalled. Seeing the jumping figures fleeing from the green light one after another, my mind turned blank and my heart sank. For a moment it seemed that the world was occupied by an absence of color and sound. "Calm down!" articulated the coach in a firm voice, awakening me and pulling me back from my delusion.
I took a deep breath and tried to neglect all the "shrieks" as well as clearing my confused mind, recollecting every step of what I had learned in the driving school. This time, I managed to shift into the proper gear myself, slowly letting my sweaty foot off the cold hard clutch and pressing the gas pedal as gently as if I were stamping on an egg. The car finally moved forward, though as faltering as an old man then, only when the green light turned yellow, leaving some furious drivers behind.
"That was close!" I murmured. A couple of minutes later, we finally reached a welcome and even coastal road where the traffic was light. As the car moved on, I could smell the scent of the soil around the beach. Out of a certain impulse and with all the courage I could muster, I continuously stamped on the gas pedal, speeding up the tamed car from 40km/h to 100km/h.
In no time the "all-pervading azure" appeared. The sea and sky were hardly separable, just like a whole backdrop piece of blue ribbon with some shining dots.
Relaxed adults were lying on the sands, while children picked up shells. I began imagining that I was driving a convertible alone at the seaside, enjoying the coolness of the breeze against my face, the stunning sea view and above all, the happiness brought on by tranquility.
Stunning sea view ( source: Baidu)
Though my first driving on the actual roads did not turn out as smoothly as expected, I savored every minute of the experience, for it brought me not only the joy of driving, but also the sense of achievement for overcoming obstacles and fears. More importantly, I learned a lesson that driving on actual roads was far more challenging than driving on imagined ones so only when you get out there and give it a real try can you get close to reality.
At any rate, this day will never be erased from my memory.
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