The Demetrian Value | A Cars Story

Chapter 17: Where in the Warehouse?

A flashback to many moons ago...

Dash arrived to the Wheel Well. Tears rained down his fenders unlike anything he had felt before. Reality itself had come crashing to a halt. Demetria arrived shortly after – watching in suspense as Dash stared into the panoramic valley. Before she could say a word...

"I don't know how this could've happened..." Dash finally spoke, knowing he wasn't alone.

"...how could I have been taken away so easily? They seemed to be so obsessed with ensuring my success in life. How could this just fall to the wayside?" he began to question.

Demetria finally drove up to him – closer than they had ever been.

"Dash – it was never your fault." she began to comfort him.

"Who am I to blame? Who can I even trust?" Dash observed

"Everyone here." Demetria confided.

"But I've been here for just over a week. A week..." Dash began to back away from Demetria.

"It doesn't matter about the amount of time you've known someone. If you've made a connection – it's a connection nonetheless." Demetria inched closer once again – though Dash stayed away reluctantly.

"I just... I've had the time of my life here." Dash reconciled. "I really have – but, the way that my past just came back all of the sudden... why didn't this happen sooner?"

"Because they were trying to protect you." Demetria defended. "Dash – you're young. Heck, they were, too. It's those mistakes we make in life that make us the people we are in the future."

"You can't sit around and wait for change. You have to insight change from within yourself. People who don't change themselves never experience the life that they want." Demetria comforted.

"What does this have to do with my parents abandoning me?" Dash questioned.

"It was all in the past. They looked to the ends of the world for you. They still cared – they grew from their mistake. You should too – and listen to them." Demetria recommended.

"Tell me – what was it like to have your parents with you every step of the way?" Dash asked.

Demetria backed away slightly – taken aback by the question at hand. Dash knew that he may have overstepped his boundaries. They both looked at the ground in silence for a few tense seconds.

"Demetria – I'm so sorry. I didn't know..." Dash finally spoke up.

"No, no, it's okay. I'm comfortable to share – if you don't mind hearing." Demetria began to loosen herself.

"If you trust me – I'll gladly listen." Dash confided.

Demetria sighed and looked into Dash's eyes. She had never been so comfortable sharing anything so personal in her entire life. She took another deep breath.

"I was always a born-and-raised Radiator Springs citizen. I had the best upbringing I could've hoped for in the earliest part of my life. My parents were the top doctors in Carburetor County – let alone Radiator Springs... until Dad passed..." Demetria shut her eyes tightly, shedding a few tears.

"Oh, Demetria. I'm so sorry – I'm so very sorry." Dash began to shed a few tears himself, before continuing to listen.

"I was very young – about 1 or 2 years old. My parents had just got hitched – when the town was starting to reach a peak in its popularity. Lightning was still the most popular racer the scene had ever seen. He made my Dad so very proud..." Demetria confessed. "My mother and I couldn't bear the sight of Radiator Springs after that. We just ran away one night – never to see the town again. Well, she didn't get the chance..." Demetria continued, despite beginning to openly cry. "She passed after 2 years of being on the run – and I was orphaned by the time I started my schooling."