Chapter 312 – Bike Your Bike And Bike The World!
"Welcome to Bike Your Bike And Bike The World!!!" A rather young boy, around 15 or so, shouted with enthusiasm the moment Cassius, wearing the glasses Meadow had given him to hide his red eyes, and Natalia stepped into the store.
He was quite short, pale-skinned, with curly black hair and small yet bright hazel eyes.
He came shuffling and running toward them on his short legs the moment he spotted them together, making it a rather comical, cute sight.
"Hello, we’re here to book a bike." Natalia said, her tone gentle but neutral.
Cassius used the moment to look around, spotting rows of bikes lined up with clearly posted prices for both purchase and rental.
He wasn’t particularly fond of biking. In fact, Cassius had come to realize he wasn’t particularly fond of much of anything.
This was the very lack of passion he’d noticed in himself before. The closest thing he had was reading, and even that had lost its old, overwhelming pull.
That made him wonder whether he’d ever manage to surpass his 12th ancestor as an Architect.
That man had been driven by passion. And he was talented to an almost absurd degree.
’Sigh. Creating a living being from lifeless matter. How am I supposed to reach that level without genuine passion? It would take me an eternity, if I ever managed it at all. Assuming I lived long enough, and stayed consistent besides. Queen’s breath!’
"You’re in the right place!" The young boy said, beaming, pulling Cassius’s attention back to the moment.
"How many bikes would you like to book?" He suddenly grinned mischievously, looking between them knowingly, "I’ve seen plenty of couples come in and book just one to share! Will you two do the same? We’ve got a special couple’s discount!"
"Oh, is that so?" Natalia said, smiling, pleased.
’Girl, why are you smiling?’ Cassius rolled his eyes.
"Yes!"
"Then we’ll book one bike and take the discount. Can we—!"
"Two bikes." Cassius cut in mercilessly, and Natalia’s face spasmed through anger, irritation, sadness, and finally settled on indifference.
"Huh?" The young boy exclaimed, confused.
"We’ll book two bikes, please. And, as the professional here," Cassius smiled gently, "we’ll let you choose them for us. Okay?"
The boy’s eyes lit up like stars, "Professional! I am professional! Please, wait right here! I’ll get you the very best bikes!"
He laughed and dashed off, muttering "professional" repeatedly under his breath.
’Heh. Kids are so easy to work with.’ He thought, then turned to Natalia, who was visibly annoyed.
"Are you upset about this?"
"It was a discount."
"But we’re not a couple?"
"You’ve lied your whole life. Would this one lie have killed you?!"
"I choose my lies carefully. This wasn’t going to be one of them."
"Whatever." Natalia said, rolling her eyes, "You’re paying anyway. I don’t have the EP for this."
"...is that why you dragged me here? To burn through my hard-earned EP? Women these days. Only my Isolde—!"
"Stop right there." Natalia hissed dangerously, making Cassius smile and shrug.
Neither of them had time to say more before the boy returned, wheeling two beautiful bikes, white with red stripes.
He presented them proudly, "These two, dear customers, are among the very best in our store! Ride them, and your bottom will feel comfortable the whole time! Ride them, and your legs won’t tire even after hours of cycling! Ride them, and—!"
"I think we understand, Mister Professional. Could you get to the point?" Cassius interrupted gently.
"Of course! Of course!" He beamed, "You can choose how many hours you’d like to book, and pay accordingly! Please, don’t try stealing the bikes or any parts from them, we do have ways of finding out!"
"Two hours." Natalia said directly.
’Two bloody hours?’ Cassius’s eye twitched.
"Then, for the two bikes, that’ll be a total of 14,000 EP!" The young boy said, "How would you like to pay?"
Natalia pointed shamelessly at Cassius, "He’s the wallet."
The boy looked at Cassius, grinning wider, "How would you like to pay, Mister Wallet?"
"Just take my hard-earned EP, kid." Cassius said bitterly, shooting Natalia a dirty look, which she ignored, secretly pleased with herself.
After paying, the boy handed over the bikes, along with protective headgear and even suggested a perfect route with less carriage traffic and scenic views suited for cycling.
With all that settled, the boy bid them farewell, reminding them that returning the bikes late would result in additional fees.
And with that, Cassius and Natalia set off cycling.
Left alone, the young boy let out a shout of pure joy.
"My first solo booking, and I nailed it! Hahaha! Genius! I’m a genius!" He laughed harder, then pulled out his phone, firing off a message to his crush, "Heheh, maybe she’ll be impressed by how hardworking I am. Yeah, definitely."
He typed the message giddily:
<Chloe, you won’t believe it! I did my first bike booking, and it went so smoothly I could cry! Are you impressed?>
Her reply came surprisingly fast.
<I’m impressed. Now don’t text me again today. I’m at my club and we’re doing something important. We’re having a contest to see who can draw Angel best. He’s so beautiful, Joe, even in a drawing. You should be more like him, and I’ll love you. Bye now.>
Joe’s smile froze. And just like that, the joy of his first successful booking was snuffed out.
"...be like Angel?" He glanced around at the bikes surrounding him, "But does Angel know every bike we have here? Could he explain them all like I do? Could he sell them the way I do? Could he like you the way I like you?"
He closed his eyes, pocketed his phone, and sat down on one of the bikes,
"Why not be like Joe, instead?"
...
Cassius had to admit, it was better than he’d expected. Neither he nor Natalia bothered with the protective masks, choosing instead to let the cool wind wash over their faces.
The horizon glowed a stunning pink and white, adding a dreamlike quality to the whole ride.
They followed the boy’s suggested route, riding along a fairly deserted path shared with a handful of other cyclists.
Occasionally, one would give them a nod and a smile, and it created a strange sense of camaraderie, even between total strangers.
Shared interests like this had a way of bringing people together, regardless of their differences.
It was peaceful, and the Last Born found himself, unexpectedly, relaxing.
Natalia glanced at him from the side, taking in his subtle, achingly beautiful smile, and felt her heart race.
She was glad he was enjoying himself.
This wasn’t her first time here, either. She’d done this alone many times before, whenever she needed to sort through her thoughts, and it had always helped.
So noticing Cassius wearing a more sour expression than usual since that morning, for whatever reason, she’d wanted to help.
But not only that. She’d also wanted time with him, alone.
Natalia had thought riding beside him would be more than enough to ease her permanently aching heart.
That wasn’t what happened.
The pain had only deepened, because now she fully understood exactly what she’d lost.
’You lost something you once had. Was Cassius ever truly mine? No. But I saw him as mine. And the world decided to be cruel and take him away.’
With that thought, as they rode side by side, she found herself unable to hold back:
"Did it ever occur to you what it would have been like, if I were your wife and you my husband?"
Cassius tilted his head slightly toward her, catching her voice beneath the whisper of the wind, then, slowly, "It would have been a very different story."
"A better one."
"Who knows? But that’s not the story the world chose to tell. So what’s the point in dwelling on it?"
"But why does the world get to decide, and not me? Why should I just accept that? I can’t, Cass. I can’t accept it." Natalia’s grip tightened, "There are so many stories of people fighting against fate. And they won. Why not me? Why not us?"
"They won because both people wanted it, together." Cassius smiled sadly, "Please understand that. I can’t give you what you want from me, Natalia."
"She doesn’t deserve your love."
"’The heart wants what it wants.’ Famous quote from MasterofPaths." He replied, looking up at the sky above, "And I honestly believe that if you took a step back, even for a moment, you’d realize I’m not that extraordinary, and I’m certainly not the only option. Look around, there are men out there who love you."
"I don’t want those men." She hissed.
"Then what do you want?" Cassius replied, "This won’t lead anywhere."
Natalia fell quiet for a while at that, before smiling with a deep, profound sadness, "Maybe you were right, after all."
"Huh?" Cassius exclaimed, glancing at her.
"Maybe I do enjoy living in this pain." She chuckled hollowly, "Because this pain reminds me of everything we could have been together. You know, Cass, sometimes I stay up all night building an entire world in my mind out of this pain. It makes me smile. It makes me sad. It makes me feel pathetic. But it makes me feel alive."
Cassius’s chest tightened at her words.
Natalia’s eyes shimmered with tears.
"You don’t need to tell me this isn’t a way to live. I already know that. I know it isn’t." She pressed her lips together, "But you were never just a page in my story, Cass. You were the whole book, one I’d envisioned and dreamed about since I was young. So if I try to break this cycle, it’s like closing that book entirely. Unfinished."
She looked at him, tears streaking down, "What’s worse than something left unfinished?"
"Living stuck in that unfinished state forever, Naty, is worse."
"That’s my choice to make." She said, "And it’s also my choice to never let go of my love for you. I’ll live with this pain until I die. And maybe...just maybe, Cass, one day I’ll build a mirror world, one identical to this one, except we’re together, married. You and me, just like we promised each other as children. You remember that, don’t you?"
"...Natalia," Cassius said, his voice low, unable to meet her eyes.
She smiled, crying silently.
"Don’t pity me..."
Then she pulled on her protective mask and pedaled ahead a little faster, her voice trailing back to him.
"...I already pity myself enough."
—End of Chapter 312—