[ WP ] At their 18th birthday everybody is given a car which is manufactured to last without any problem till you die . This morning your check engine light went on .

`` Why are n't we moving?'' 
 
 
 I just stared at my dash at the little orange Check Engine light, which remained lit. 
 
 
 `` Kat, why are n't we moving?'' My girlfriend, impatient, questioned me again. 
 
 
 I snapped out of it, `` Look at this.'' 
 
 
 `` Huh, that's weird. It's supposed to work until you die. Start the car again?'' 
 
 
 I did so, with trembling hands. I'd never heard of this issue before. I turn the key. Everything flickered to life, but once again, the check engine light held steady. I felt ill. I tried again. And again. I can hear my girlfriend somewhere in the background on the phone, talking through robotic menus. The issue persists every time I start the car. 
 
 
 I'm startled for a moment as her hand rests over mine and she hands the phone to me. 
 
 
 `` Hello, Katherine! This is Chris with Bio-Auto. Your friend Lauren was just telling me about the issue you'd like to troubleshoot. How can I help you today?'' 
 
 
 `` I, uh, well I'd like to know why my car is doing this. I mean, there was n't anything about this in the manual. Never had this warning pop up.'' 
 
 
 A moment of silence, `` It is a strange issue,'' he agreed, `` We did just push out a new firmware update to make it more accurate but I do n't imagine it'd interfere with the light. I would n't worry too much about it, though. It's not going to break down until your final day. It's the Bio-Auto guarantee. Just put a piece of electrical tape over it. Wo n't even notice it!'' 
 
 
 `` If it does n't matter and does n't work then why is it even installed?'' I look over to see Lauren nodding furiously in agreement with me. 
 
 
 Silence again. Maybe I was on hold while he consulted his script. 
 
 
 `` Sorry for the delay ma'am! People are just familiar with it. Think of it as a legacy device. Kind of like how you click a floppy disk to save a document. It just sort of followed. Honestly I did n't even know we still put lights in there! Thought it was just for show. Hey, would it be alright if we called you back for a customer satisfaction surv-'' 
 
 
 I hang up on Chris. 
 
 
 Lauren, wide-eyed, pipes up, `` Well?!'' 
 
 
 I shrug, `` I'm doomed, I guess.'' 
 
 
 Over the course of the next few months every aspect of my life was an anxiety ridden chore. I'd drive as carefully as possible, the annoying person going exactly the speed limit you could n't wait to overtake. I'd eat foods I could n't choke on if I tried, and even then, I would chew til it was so mushy a mother bird would be proud. I'd asked my friends to move my essentials to the first floor of my house and never ventured to the second floor, for fear of the stairs. Not that I'd been a daredevil prior to that damn check engine but now even the most mundane of tasks was a series of intricate, delicate movements and decisions. What the hell did it mean? 
 
 
 `` Go to the doctor or take it to the damn manufacturer. You ca n't live like this. You're really bumming me out, Kat.'' Lauren shifted uncomfortably on my bubble wrapped sofa, causing some to pop. 
 
 
 She was right. Making out on bubble wrap sucked, despite being funny the first few times. 
 
 
 Eventually I was forced to go to the doctor. After days of blood tests, being prodded with needles, and wearing a fashionable paper gown I was able to meet with my doctor to discuss results with Lauren by my side. 
 
 
 `` Am I dying?'' 
 
 
 `` No, Katherine. You're very lucky to have come to us when you did, though,'' He leans over his desk to hand me an X-ray of my chest. 
 
 
 `` What does this mean?'' 
 
 
 `` Well, normally we would n't look for heart issues in someone your age. You're not even 30 yet. You have something called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which, while it can be fatal, is also treatable. As long as we start soon, you're going to be just fine.'' 
 
 
 `` Check Engine. Check your engine, you dope!'' Lauren hugged me. `` I told you to update the firmware!'' 
 
 
 Having been worried about my safety for months over that stupid light, I was finally diagnosed. I was going to be okay. What I'd feared was my car giving me a death sentence was actually an early warning sign. 
 
 
 Even years later, long after the surgery, long after Lauren and I had broken up, and I had grown older, there was still that moment of hesitation every time I turned the key in my car. I'd twist it, hold my breath, and wait.
