27 Ride of a lifetime

Sara was in her room, deep in thought. While thinking about the code, Sara suddenly remembered her best friend. How was Ruby? She had not seen her for two days. For two good days. Even if Ruby chose to keep her silence about Sam's accident, she had her sources for knowing that. She had learned earlier this morning that Sam was at the hospital. Naturally, Ruby was tired, exasperated and worried. Sara was also mentally exhausted. So, she decided to give Ruby a visit.

Sara was a bit hesitant about that. So, she opted for a phone call. She picked up her phone that was lying motionless on her bed and dialed her number. The call got through at once.

"Hello", came Ruby's tired and detached voice.

"How are you?" Sara frowned at her best friend's tone.

"Fine. What about the press conference? How did it go?"

"It went well as expected", Sara said.

"Hmm", Ruby was wandering aimlessly on the streets when she picked up the call.

"What about Sam? Is he okay?"

"Yeah", Ruby sighed, "The doctor said that he would be discharged in the evening."

"Hmm", Sara responded, "Want to grab lunch?"

"Sure", Ruby was eager to get the things off her chest, "Let's meet up."

"At the W's", Sara spoke, "What do you think?"

"Fine with me", Ruby sighed again.

"In an hour", Sara ended the call as she hung up.

…

An hour later

Sara walked downstairs wearing a pair of flared pants, a pair of greyish-blue sneakers, a white top with a cyan green windbreaker. Instead of walking towards the exit, she turned left and went behind the kitchen. Upon reaching there, she pulled out a bunch of keys and unlocked the door in front of her. The door opened to an impressive array of various kinds of guns and rifles. From handguns to pistols and assault rifles, the room was dedicated to a spectacular display of weapons.

Sara stood there with her hands on her hip, scrutinizing the mass array of weapons in front of her. Then with her determined and haughty attitude, she stepped forward and swiftly seized a gun in her hand. It was an MXI 20 mm automatic pistol. She felt the coolness of the metal run its course through her body. She grasped it tighter and a feline smirk appeared on her cold and youthful face. She placed the gun inside the allocated metal strap on the back of her hip and secured it underneath her windbreaker. After that, she stepped out of the room, locked the door and placed the bunch of keys in its esteemed place behind the kitchen counter.

When she was leaving, she bumped into the old Steward Leo. He frowned in confusion.

"Are you going somewhere Sara?" he asked with concern.

"En", Sara nodded, "Please investigate Sam Fritz for me. His latest activities and the recent cause of him being beaten black and blue. I need them when I will be back."

"Sure, but where are you…" the old man tried to ask her.

"Don't worry uncle. I will take care of myself", saying so, Sara commanded into the intercom, "Open all the gates immediately and clear my way."

Without another word, Sara exited the villa and made her way to the garage. She pressed a switch outside the closed door and the door ascended upwards, opening in the process. Inside, white cloth-covered an object. Sara removed it and the latest model of Royal Enfield Bullet was standing there. The shiny black helmet was placed on its seat.

Sara circled the bike while touching the shiny metal with her hand. It felt… really cool! A smile gilded Sara's face. She grabbed the keys placed on a table nearby and hopped on her new vehicle and placed the new helmet on her head. It covered her face without a glitch. She had ordered it on the sly last month. But she had never got the chance for a wild and free ride. At last, she would get 'the ride of a lifetime'. Everyone longed for 'Once in a lifetime' and it was already hers! Sara breathed a sigh of excitement and started the engine.

The engine roared to life and she twisted the accelerator. The bike shot ahead like a bullet straight out a pistol and out of the gate. Sara felt on the wing. Its blasts echoed all through the way. The guards were at a complete loss as she sped past them, catching them on the hop. As she was wearing her helmet, she decided not to hide the jubilant beam on her face. She loved it!

She sped past the outer gate and landed amidst the wooded jungle. The road was dusty, causing the dust to fly behind her. She could see the jungle rush behind her through the rearview mirrors. Trees came running towards her but then stood motionless as her horse galloped past them and simply stood there up the creek for a split second by the side of the road before rushing away in the other direction. Sara could feel the adrenaline run an entire course through her body.

'When life gives you lemons, toss them into a giant jar of pickles', her Mom used to say. She felt like it was worth it. It really was.

Thinking about her Mom, she remembered the words she wrote in the last letter and inadvertently she began to search for the clues in the code.

Turn around

Look at what you see

In her face

The mirror of your dreams

Make-believe

I am everywhere

Given in the light

Written on the pages is

The answer to a never-ending story…

The word called 'grief' whelmed her mind. Sara heaved a sigh and decided to push these thoughts for a while now. For now, she would whole-heartedly enjoy her 'ride of a lifetime'. Ruby would definitely be thrilled when she saw her today.

The W's

Ruby had already reached their favored place of hidey-hole. They already had a private room booked under their names on the third floor of the hotel. The room was commodious with the presence of a giant picture window. One could see the bravura view of the entire city from there. Ruby had her chin propped on her palm as she glanced outside. She could see the entire city bathing the warm afternoon sunlight. Her stomach grumbled making her realize that she had skipped dinner and today's breakfast. She sighed as she waited for her cherished best friend to appear.