THIS COUNTRY AND THE LAKE

Driving an SUV. Not mine. Two teenage boys in the back, one of them the son of the owner of the vehicle.
‘I want to go to Lake Michigan,’ I said. ‘So if you see any signposts let me know.’
‘Why are we going there?’ said one of the boys.
‘You can fit one of this country in there, five times,’ I said.
We drove around until we saw a signpost. I put my foot on the brake but we didn’t stop, no matter how hard I pushed down on the pedal with my foot.
‘The brake isn’t working,’ I said then noticed that the owner’s son was pressing down on an accelerator located behind my seat.
We took the road to Lake Michigan, trying the brakes, spongy, still not slowing us down, until we reached the house on the shore.
The three of us got out.
‘Why were you pressing the accelerator when I was using the brake?’ I said.
‘Even though you want to reduce your anxiety it’s out of your control,’ he said.
‘Is that why I said this country could fit into the lake five times?’
‘This country represents your conscious mind,’ he said. ‘The lake is your unconscious.’
‘Is five the difference?’ I said.
‘Five is the number of digits on each hand.’