Olivia
‘Hey!’ she called, trying to keep her head low and out of the biting wind. ‘How much further is it?’ It felt as though they’d been driving for hours, the darkness an impenetrable tunnel that swallowed up everything beyond the road two feet ahead of them.
The bike veered slightly to the left.
‘Jacob
.’ She leant in closer. ‘I’m freezing back here. Do you know how far we’ve got to go?’
‘Notlongbetheresoon,’ came the jumbled response.
‘You said that last time!’ She squeezed him hard in frustration.
The bike jerked violently to the right, sending a jolt of fear up her spine.
‘OK, I’m sorry,’ she joked. ‘I get grumpy when I’m cold.’
The bike continued to veer to the right, pulling them to the centre of the road.
‘Jacob, that’s not funny.’
Olivia tightened her grip around his waist as the handlebars spun off to the left erratically.
‘Jacob.
’
But there was no response. The bike was now drifting dangerously close to the edge of the road.
In fact, it was heading dangerously close to a very large and very solid tree.
‘Jacob, stop it now!’
Why isn’t he saying anything?
Olivia started to shake him hard, his body growing oddly limp in her hands and his head rolling back.
Oh my god, he’s unconscious.
‘HELP!’ she screamed, the wind snatching the words from her lips and carrying them off in its grasp.
Olivia reached her hands forward and on to the handlebars; she could just about get her fingertips to touch it.
How the hell was she supposed to steer this thing from back here?
Adrenaline surged through her as her grip tightened on the bars.
‘JACOB,’ she tried one last time, attempting to use her body to shake him awake, whilst simultaneously steadying the bike.
His head lolled forward and then, as though someone had flicked on a switch, he came back to life.
‘Holy shit.’ He slammed hard on the brakes, twisting the bike away from the tree they were veering directly towards. They hit the trunk sideways on with a sickening crash.
Olivia screamed, half falling, half jumping off the bike.
‘Oh my god.’ Jacob took off his helmet and looked around,
eyes wide and face full of terror. ‘Are you all right? What the hell happened?’
‘You tell me!’ she roared, fear and anger searing through her. ‘You were the one driving the bloody thing.’
‘I … I don’t understand.’ He climbed off the bike and ran his hands through his damp curls. ‘One minute you were talking to me and the next we were heading straight for the tree.’ He staggered back.
‘Woah, hold on.’ Olivia ran to his side and took the weight of his body on to hers. ‘Sit down for a second, will you, I think you lost consciousness.’
Jacob lowered himself to the ground and rested his head in his hands.
‘I don’t know,’ he murmured over and over, ‘I just don’t know what happened.’
‘You must have had some warning sign! You didn’t feel faint or anything?’ She tried to place a hand on his forehead, but Jacob shook her off. ‘How do you feel now?’
‘I’m fine. I felt fine, and I feel fine now.’ He lifted his head up suddenly. ‘Are you hurt?’
Olivia checked herself over; there were no cuts or bruises, only a deep sense of anxiety brewing in the pit of her stomach. ‘I’m OK, but we need to find a way to get you home and to a doctor.’
‘I’ll drive us, I just need a minute.’
‘No, you won’t.’
‘I’m fine
,’ he growled. ‘It’s probably dehydration; too much sun and not enough water.’
She couldn’t help but remember the same reason he’d attributed to her little incident in the market back in Delhi.
‘I’m sorry, but you are not driving us back.’ She passed him her bottle of water. ‘Not in this state.’
‘Well, what do you suggest?’
She looked around for a moment, as if the answer would spontaneously erupt from the dusty ground and the mounds of frazzled vegetation. ‘We’ll call a taxi.’
‘With what? I don’t have a phone and you left yours at home.’
Dread seeped through her skin.
‘Argh!’ She kicked the floor hard. ‘This is ridiculous. We can’t sit here all night. You need to go and see a doctor.’
‘No.’ Jacob’s voice was cutting. ‘I’m not seeing a doctor. I told you, I’m fine
.’
‘Oh yes!’ Olivia threw her hands up in the air. ‘Because every fit and healthy person simply loses consciousness whilst riding a motorbike, don’t they?’
‘It’s a moped.’
‘I don’t care what it fucking is
, Jacob. All I care about right now is getting us home.’ She stood and began pacing up and down, trying to search for a solution amongst the tangled mess of her thoughts. ‘Maybe someone will drive past and help us.’
‘Uh-huh, because how many cars did we pass on our way here?’
One.
‘Could have been a quiet time of day.’
‘And how many have we passed on our way back so far?’
None.
‘Well, what the hell
are we going to do, Jacob? What do you suggest? We sit here by the side of the road in the middle of fucking nowhere
and slowly dehydrate or get ravaged by wild animals?’
‘The way I see it, we only have one option.’
‘And that is …?’
‘You drive us home.’
Olivia’s jaw dropped.
‘You are joking, aren’t you?’
‘No. What other choice do we have? You won’t let me ride the bike, so … who else can?’
‘Erm, not me
.’ She laughed. ‘I’ve never driven a motorbike. In fact, I haven’t ridden a normal bike since I was about thirteen.’
‘Olivia.’ He rubbed his forehead. ‘How many times do I have to tell you, it’s not a motorbike.’
‘And how many times do I have to tell you
, I don’t care
what it is. I’m. Not. Driving. It.’
‘Fine, let’s sit here in the dark and pray that someone comes past and saves us before some wild animal appears and decides it fancies us for dinner. We could play I spy to pass the time. I’ll go first, shall I?’
Olivia whipped her head round so fast her neck spasmed in pain.
‘You think this is funny?’
‘No, of course not.’
‘Good, because if it wasn’t for you and your stupid spontaneous trip and your irresponsible ideas about living life without any communication with the real world, then we wouldn’t be in this mess.
’ The words spilled out of her, taking their aim directly at Jacob’s chest. She saw him flinch a little at their assault.
‘If you had just been a bit more sensible
for once in your life, then maybe we wouldn’t be in this mess.’
Jacob’s face crumpled and his head fell into his hands.
‘I’m sorry.’ He peered up at Olivia with a look that made her heart ache. ‘I didn’t mean for this to happen.’
The sight of him sitting in the dust, head hung low and shoulders slumped, was too much to bear. She needed to
take control of the situation and, as much as she was loath to admit it, it did seem like they had only one viable option left …
‘You’ll have to teach me.’
‘Huh?’
‘How to drive that thing.’ She nodded to the bike, which was now lying on its side. ‘And I won’t be going fast. In fact, I’ll be going so slowly that it’ll probably be quicker for us to walk back.’
‘Really?’
‘Yes.’
‘Thank you, Olivia.’ Relief visibly washed over him. ‘I promise I’ll be with you every step of the way.’
‘Good. Now, hurry up before I change my mind.’
*
‘You’re doing great,’ Jacob reassured her, his grip tight around her waist, his body solid against her back. ‘Keep the handlebars steady.’
Breathe, Olivia.
Remember to breathe.
She tried to straighten up, but instead sent the bike off to the left.
‘Oh my god. I can’t do it,’ she squeaked.
‘Yes, you can.’ He spoke calmly in her ear. ‘You’ve got this, Olivia.’
The bike was bumbling along at a steady pace.
For the first ten minutes it had been very stop and start, with Olivia spending more time stationary than moving.
But to his credit, Jacob had been patient and encouraging, giving her as much time as she needed to get going again.
Not that he had much choice; she was their only ticket home.
‘Now, we’ve got a straight bit of road coming up with no twists or turns. It might be the perfect opportunity to try going a bit faster? If you wanted.’
‘I’m going quite fast enough, thank you.’
‘Your choice; I was only saying.’
‘Well, don’t.’ She straightened up a little, feeling the bike shift under her weight.
‘I’m proud of you for doing this.’
‘Thank you, but you can save your patronizing praise for when I’ve delivered us home safely. We’re not there quite yet.’
‘As you wish.’ Jacob chuckled, readjusting his arms so that they wrapped tighter around her. ‘What do you think your sister would say if she saw you driving a motorbike then, hey?’
Olivia relaxed her shoulders and tried to calm her mind.
‘I think …’ She smiled, knowing exactly what Leah would have thought. ‘I think she’d be impressed. Shocked, but impressed.’
‘Me too.’
The pair sat in silence as Olivia drove the bike steadily on, through the dense vegetation and out into the open. The wind was cold in her face, but she was concentrating so hard that she barely felt its bite.
‘Woah,’ Jacob gasped from behind.
‘What? What’s going on?’
‘The sky,’ he marvelled. ‘You have to look up at the sky right now.’
‘I can’t, Jacob, I’m driving.’
‘I know you are, but seriously …’ He gave her a gentle squeeze. ‘Trust me.’
Olivia flicked her eyes upward.
‘Holy shit!’
It was the clearest night sky she’d ever seen in her life.
Thousands of stars poked their silver heads through the blanket of indigo, clustering around one another in intricate, dazzling patterns.
It was magical. It was intoxicating. And the more Olivia tried to take it in, the more it seemed to grow, expanding outwards and upwards like a glittering ocean.
The tides of the heavens, painted in such spectacular detail that they didn’t look real.
‘It’s amazing.’
‘Hell yes, it’s amazing!’ Jacob whooped in appreciation, releasing his hands from her waist and throwing them up to the sky.
Olivia stole another glance, letting tears of joy stream out of the corners of her eyes. Exhilaration flooded every cell of her body. Was this what it was all about? Was this how it felt to be alive?