Hard Drive Purge

She toted her bags across the parking lot. She always parked far away from the store partially because she did not do enough walking and she did want the exercise, but mostly because her car was white, and she didn’t want to lose it among all the other white cars parked in the lot. The sun was bright as she walked. It was eighty-two degrees even though it was early morning. It would be a scorcher today. She was still about ten yards away from the car when she saw snow in front of her eyes. And the white car turned blue. And HE was putting a blanket on the hood so the engine would start again after the snow storm. He wore a dark blue coat and a light blue muffler, which he had pulled up to cover the front of his face. His wire-rimmed glasses were steamed up. As he turned to look at her, she closed her eyes and sighed. She opened them again and the car was white... She thought, I’m all right, but she didn’t feel well. She tossed her purse in, closed the trunk, got into the car, and turned on the ignition. Will Shortz, the puzzle master, was playing a game with a puzzle-solving contestant. She concentrated on solving the puzzle while she tried to forget the blue car mirage. But she could never totally forget HIM.