“Where are we going?” Hani asked as Daniel dragged her by the hands.

He appeared at her doorstep that morning and forced her to dress up and get ready to go out. Her boyfriend was all giddy and excited as he kept urging her to move faster.

However, Hani froze in her steps when they arrived in front of Daniel’s car. Her grip on his hand tightened as she took a step back. “C-can we walk instead… or maybe take the bus?” she suggested.

“Babe, I know you have a fear of riding in cars,” Daniel wrapped an arm around her shoulder and squeezed it softly. “But I’m gonna help you overcome that.”

“B-but… I don’t think… I can…”=

Hani stared at her boyfriend and the open door, her hands were fidgeting with the ends of her shirt. “It’s not going to be easy, I know. But let’s take one step at a time.” He encouraged.

Daniel had to give her a soft push to walk closer to the open door. “Why don’t you just take a seat in the car first. We’re in no rush.”

She glanced at her boyfriend, he was giving her a very supportive and reassuring look. Hani took a deep breath, deciding to trust him and slowly stepped into the passenger’s seat.

“You’re doing great. Now, I’ll close this door and go to the driver’s seat.” He smiled and patted her head softly.

The moment Daniel closed the door, one of her hands was clutching onto her chest as she started to feel her breath quicken. He immediately went to the driver’s seat when he noticed she was trembling.

“Hani, it’s alright I’m here. Just breathe in, breath out.” She was leaning her head against his chest as he patted her back soothingly waiting for her to relax.

A few minutes later Hani managed to calm down as Daniel gave her a soft peck on the forehead. “Feeling better now? That wasn’t so bad right?” Hani nodded.

“See? Nothing bad will happen just by sitting in the car. Can I turn on the engine now?” he asked, taking out the car keys from his pockets.

“W-where are we going?” she stuttered, holding onto both of his hands to stop him from moving.

“I have a present for you. It’s quite a distance from here and unfortunately there are no buses in that area.” Daniel made a clever excuse.

“Can’t we go another day?” Hani tried to negotiate.

He pouted, shaking his head in response. “Today is the only day you can get that present. I’ve already made a promise with my friend that we’ll get it today.”

Hani looked down on her lap, swallowing her saliva as she tried to make a decision. Daniel gently lifted her chin up to face him, “I’ll drive carefully. It’s your boyfriend driving, don’t you trust me?” he tried to lighten the atmosphere by giving her a toothy grin.

“I trust you.” She confessed.

Daniel was relieved and excited. He didn’t expect that she would be willing to ride in the car on his first attempt. “Great! I promise I will drive in the slow lane and not go more than 60km per hour even when people are honking at me for being slow!” he vowed, saluting like a soldier.

Hani chuckled, it’s amazing how he managed to make her feel light-hearted and courageous enough to ride in a car after 10 years of trauma. “Seatbelts!” he announced loudly, helping her to put on the seatbelt.

Daniel’s face inched closer to hers as he smiled and kissed her lightly on the lips while fastening her seatbelt. He was determined to replace all her unpleasant memories about riding in a car with happy ones, to help cure her trauma.

Hani blushed at the unexpected kiss. “You were supposed to put on my seatbelt, not kiss me.”

“Can’t I kill two birds with one stone?” Daniel winked playfully while turning on the engine.

It took him 15 minutes to get the car ready as he would announce loudly –even when there were just the two of them, every single safety precautions. Hani started to laugh at his funny actions while he acted as if he was a flight steward giving a safety announcement.

“And finally, if you’re scared you can always hold my hand,” Daniel kissed both her hands gently.

“Then how are you going to drive? That’s even more dangerous!” Hani questioned.

“Good point. Safety first!”

******************************************************************************

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter