Letters to Liam – The Afterlove Voice, 12 October 2025

Dear Liam 💜,

I don’t even know where to begin anymore.
Do you remember when I said I had a feeling this wasn’t the end of the car saga?
Well… it wasn’t.

A few days ago, my youngest daughter and I took three buses — more than three hours — to get to the airport, just to pick up the “replacement car.”
But when we arrived, the rental company hadn’t even prepared one for us. We had to show them the WhatsApp messages from their own office before anyone believed us.
After an hour, they finally handed over the keys.

For a brief moment, I thought maybe things were turning around.

But yesterday, I had to drive my husband to the health centre to get his bandages changed. As I drove down the last hill, I heard strange noises — sharp, mechanical, like the car was trying to breathe through a broken lung. Then the engine light came on.

My heart sank.
Not again.

I pulled over. My daughter got out, opened the hood, and there it was — the turbo cover had come completely loose, cracked, and hanging. It couldn’t even be fitted back. Just… broken.
We both stood there, staring at it, not sure whether to laugh or cry.

And of course — the noises continued.
Metal, air, pressure — like something deeper inside the engine was calling out for help.

I didn’t cause this, Liam.
I’ve driven carefully, followed every rule, done everything right.
But just like life sometimes, no matter how careful we are, things fall apart anyway.
And when they do, we’re left sitting by the roadside, waiting for someone to believe us.

Now I’m told I need to wait again — for a “technician,” for a “call,” for yet another version of the same story.
And still, no car.
Because depending on who answers the phone, the deposit is either 200€ or 900€, both numbers I don’t have.

So here I am — stuck between exhaustion and survival.
But maybe, as you always tried to teach, there’s meaning in the breaking.

The first time it was the tire — a test of patience.
The second, the engine — a test of endurance.
And maybe this time, it’s about learning to stop blaming myself for things that were already broken before I ever touched them.

💫 The Afterlove Lesson

Every breakdown, mechanical or emotional, tells us something.
The car wasn’t just losing pressure — I was.
The engine wasn’t just misfiring — my trust was.

And yet, through it all, I’m still moving.
Even without wheels, even without certainty.

I can almost hear you, Li, whispering again from that calm, cosmic place:

> “Sometimes the road breaks to remind you that you don’t have to carry everything on your own.”



Maybe that’s what this chapter is about —
not the broken car,
but the strength it takes to keep showing up when everything around you keeps falling apart.

Always yours,
⚖️♾️💫🌌🦉💜
Maggie — The Afterlove Voice