To My Dearest Roseanne

Chapter 45

A bustling thunderlight spat out Cho and Roseanne out on the field. They landed in tall grass. Although every muscle kept aching her, Cho kept laying in the grass admiring the beautiful sunny morning and gentle breeze that swayed the tips of vibrantly green grass. Roseanne was the first to get up.

"Here, let me see your wound," Cho stood on her legs and examined the arm patched by the handkerchief. There was no sign of flesh torn by a gunshot.

"We made it! We made it, damn it!" Roseanne suddenly broke out in happiness and hugged Cho.

"Hey! Hey!" they heard a scream.

Emily ran to them across the field, smiling widely. Her Kawasaki Ninja was still parked on the side of the road.

"You were here the whole time?" Roseanne asked.

"How could I leave? You told me to wait till the next day, so I waited. It's wonderful to see you both."

"Emily, my biking bundle of joy," Cho threw herself at the petite girl, nearly tackling her with the weight of her body.

"Look out!"

A large black object emerged out of thin air and flew over their heads. It crashed nearby with a loud thud, rising clouds of dirt in the process.

"It's my trunk!" Cho ran up to the crash site.

Indeed, it was a trunk from her apartment. Cho opened the lid and discovered that all her books were there. A note was attached inside:

Don't forget about your belongings. A book is the best pastime ~ Yukie

"Awesome!" Cho shouted and began rummaging through the trunk.

"What's the matter?" Emily asked.

"Here, it is for you."

Cho gave Emily a book. She looked at the cover.

"The Cat Who Saved Books. Whoa! I don't like reading!"

"That's why I'm giving you this book, to encourage you to read. Here is a bonus that will suit your interests."

Emily received another book. The title was: F1 Racing Confidential: Inside Stories from the World of Formula One.

"Now that's what I'm talking about."

"Rosie, this one's for you."

She got Empress Orchid.

"Thank you very much. I like historical fiction."

Emily hid her books in a backpack and looked at the girls.

"Everything's great and all, but how are we gonna come back to Bydgoszcz? There are three of us and a large trunk. My bike is not a van."

"I've been thinking about catching a bus," Roseanne said.

"To be honest, the weather is so nice. Why don't we walk?" Cho proposed.

"Walk? 30 kilometres? It will take us half a day at least."

"Are you in a hurry to go somewhere?"

"No, as a matter of fact, I'm lazy."

"I'm lazy too," Emily added.

"Please," Cho said. "Let's enjoy this beautiful Sunday morning together. Gabsida!"

"I don't want to hear that language anymore!"

Off they went along the national road. Cho and Roseanne grabbed the sides of the trunk, whereas Emily pushed her bike behind them. The trio walked leisurely, admiring the rays of the rising sun, the beautiful sights of ponds, green pastures with wind turbines far on the horizon, and the cloudless sky above them. Cho once again thought about the poem that originally came to her mind just before she transitioned for the first time. She recited it out loud: