Sad endings and new beginnings. We left my old kawila behind in the parking lot at the Chrysler dealer. The only thing left on her was the old spinner, which was hanging on by only two very frayed ribbons. The rule is that it got to stay on till it fell off; I was actually amazed that it stayed on as long as it did. It was all kapakahi while it was spinning, but it wouldn’t let go. We first put it on at a rest stop just outside Twin Falls, Idaho, in 2009. I really don’t know how it stayed on all this time, but it did.

Musubi took his last ride in the car; here we are going over the Glen Jackson Bridge into Washington State. Musubi’s first car ride was down to California after my mom died; my special friend Clare made him for me to comfort me, and he has been in my van ever since. He too has been to all the northwest states.

We took one last photo of my faithful companion as she sat there in the lot where I’d parked her. Stripped of her license plate, she looked a little forlorn, and as we began to leave, I admit it, I cried. I had to stop driving till the tears stopped. Just a few minutes before, the finance guy had told me that he sees it happen all the time. I couldn’t help but feel that I had betrayed my faithful companion.

Finally, I dried my tears and didn’t look back. Nolemana, Musubi, and I began our drive home in our new van. I felt weird. We’d been at the dealer’s for several hours and hadn’t had lunch, so we decided to stop and have our favorite comfort food dinner at Yami Sushi in Gresham. While we were sitting there, I took a photo of the new kid on the block, waiting outside for us to return, Musubi watching us through the windshield.