The car was not even remotely new, and several large cracks cut the once-smooth covering of maroon paint. The hood of the vehicle, once spotless, was littered with small bumps and notches where nature and time had taken their toll.

If there was anything more interesting than this sub-optimal exterior, it would be the inside of the car: a zone covered with stains, stinks, and the persistent coffee smell. But even more interesting than this was something to be discovered when the engine was running.

Because the strange thing was, when the driver looked down at the dashboard of the car, he found one item missing. One item found on nearly all cars today, and something that was universal. That item was missing. There was no gas gauge.

Your eyes have not deceived you; this is most certainly a car that has no gas gauge. Whomever happens to be driving the car should make sure to keep count of the mileage, because every 200 miles, it’s time of this car to get fueled up.

So it was one beautiful and sunny afternoon when the Asian couple who owned the car took it out for a rural drive. Barely any clouds and signs of rain, it was a gorgeous day to be spent in the comfort of air conditioning.

As the man who was driving looked down at the dashboard and calculated the miles driven since the last fuel-up, he realized that they were approaching 200 miles fast.

The man was the type who was well worried the car might die on him one day, and the chances of this happening were indeed high. Furrowing his brow, he pointed this out to his wife, who answered that there was a gas station ten miles down.

“All right then, if you’re sure,” he answered with a shrug.

Ten miles passed, and a gas station slowly appeared from the distance like a bug crawling closer until it was much larger than a bug. Just as he was about to turn in, his wife said, “Let’s wait one more gas station; there are better prices.”

“All right then, if you’re sure,” he answered, turning off the air conditioner.

Another ten miles passed. Another gas station showed itself, but the man’s wife insisted on waiting one more. The man scratched his head. How many miles had already passed?

From the distance, the sun began to lay back its harsh gaze upon the world, slowly settling into its cove. The road seemed as if it would never end. From the distance, the gas station slowly appeared.

But it was appearing even more slowly now. What was happening?

The man realized it before his wife did. The car was getting slower. The engine began to make lumpy sounds now, as if it was filled with water. Each bit forward brought it a little more slowly.

Finally, the engine stopped with a sputter, its faithfulness finally giving out.

They were five hundred meters from the gas station, clearly visible and now flashing lights on its banner, showing off its $2.39 price. But they were inexplicitly far from the station, yet so close.

The man got out of the car after a glare at his wife and walked to the gas station, purchased a water carton and dumped it all out. After filling it with gasoline, he then walked back to his car and saw a police car behind his car.

The Asian man smiled at the officer.

“Why have you parked your car in the middle of the highway?”

“No gas,” he told the officer, raising his water carton (filled with gas) and began to pour it into the gas chamber.

“NO! STOP!” the policeman yelled. “You can’t put water in there!”

“No worries,” the man told the officer, continuing to pour. “No worries.”

The officer stood there, lips pursed and arms crossed. He raised his eyebrows, then asked him, “Next time, you have to look at your gas gauge, okay?”

“No gauge,” the man said to the officer, shaking his head, “No gauge.”

“What? Unbelievable.” The officer said. “ALL cars out on the road have gas gauges.”

“No gauge,” the man said firmly.

“I don’t believe you,” the officer said, taking a step forward in his leather shoes. He pulled open the door and got in the driver’s seat, wincing at the strong stench.

But the man was true, and the officer was soon to discover this himself. There was no gas gauge. The officer got out of the car, looked at the man again, finally done fueling, and asked him a question as the man fired up his engine.

“Where exactly did you get this car?”