ride protection 2025-09-15T03:59:51Z

The rain hammered on Maracaibo's broken pavements like angry fists as midnight oil stained my shirt. My phone battery blinked red – 3% – while shadows danced between abandoned market stalls. Every passing car window reflected predatory eyes. My knuckles whitened around useless coins for buses that wouldn't come. Then it hit me: the blue shield icon buried in my apps. Thumb trembling, I stabbed at real-time driver verification as lightning split the sky.

Rain lashed against the hospital windows as I stared at my discharge papers, fingers trembling around the crumpled sheets. The sterile smell of antiseptic clung to my clothes, a bitter reminder of the heart surgery that left me frail and disoriented in São Paulo's unfamiliar sprawl. My son's frantic call echoed in my ears: "Papai, I'm stuck in traffic - I can't reach you for hours!" Panic coiled in my chest like barbed wire. Outside, rush-hour chaos erupted - honking cars, blurred headlights, st