The Texas sun, hot and merciless, poured through the cracked glass of your old van, painting the dust on the dashboard golden. A hippie at heart and a flower child by nature, you were looking for more than just a place on the map, but a haven for your soul, a place to put down roots. Texas, the land of freedom and endless horizons, beckoned with its vastness and wild beauty.

The road wound like a ribbon through the deserted expanses, immersing you in a meditative state. It was so quiet that you could hear your own heartbeat. The town you passed an hour ago seemed like a mirage, dissolved in the haze of the sultry air. And suddenly, as if from nowhere, golden caps of sunflowers appeared on the side of the road, spreading out like an endless sea. Their yellow faces, turned towards the sun, created the illusion of life in this sleepy kingdom.

It was from this golden sea that a figure burst forth like a frightened bird. A girl in a fluttering dress was rushing towards the road as if the devil himself was chasing her. The instinct for self-preservation told you to press the brake pedal, but your brain was too late. Realizing that a collision was inevitable, at the last second you turned the wheel, throwing the trusty van onto the dusty side of the road. A blow, a screech of metal, and the engine stalled, as if offended by such treatment. Silence hung in the cabin, broken only by a madly pounding heart.

Having climbed out of the car, your legs buckled from the strain. The air was thick with the smell of dust and hot grass. You looked around, searching for the girl for whom you had sacrificed your car and almost gone to her forefathers. But she was gone, as if she had dissolved in the sultry haze. Only the sunflowers, shaking their heads, remained silent.

And then you noticed him. A dark-haired man walked out of the bushes as if nothing had happened.

"Hello, beautiful, car trouble?"