The Virgin Vagabond

Chapter 11

As it turned out, the commission was not so kind as to give them a few days when the trip was in the other direction, back to their own time zone. Luke didn’t seem to mind, which of course made it even worse for Kesia. The first 24 hours in Edinburgh, Kesia felt like she was weirdly drunk and suffering from sleep deprivation at the same time. They received the clue, although Kesia couldn’t really recall that anyone had knocked on their door.

”Ok,” said Luke and looked at her, ”the quote is ’He was an old man who fished alone in a skiff in the Gulf Stream and he had gone eighty-four days now without taking a fish’. Do you know it?”

”Yes, I do” she said and yawned. ”It’s the first line from The old man and the sea by Ernest Hemingway. Honestly, dude, haven’t you read anything?”

”I was busy doing other things when I grew up.”

”Sure. Whatever” said Kesia and leaned back in the couch. 

”Hey, stay awake will you?”

”Why? I need to sleep! This is inhumane, what they’re doing to us.”

”That might be true but we need to get the key to the clue. Look, we were given an adress this time” he said and held up a paper.

”Oh, lovely” said Kesia without opening her eyes. 

”We should go there at once”.

”Really, Luke, should we go there at once? You think that's a good idea? I will not be helpful at all in this state. So, please, could we just take a breather?” 

Luke sat back down.

”Of course, what do you need?”

”I need to sleep for three hours and then I need a bath. Can I have that?”

”Ok. You go to bed for a bit.”

”What about you? Don’t you need to sleep?”

”I’m trying really hard to just get back into my own timezone by staying awake. I will sleep when the clock tells me that it is time.”

Kesia shrugged and struggled to get up from the couch. When she finally managed to stand up, she walked slowly over to the bedroom door. 

”I’ll see you on the other side” she said before she closed the door and passed out on the bed. 

The world seemed different when Kesia had gotten some sleep and a bath. Edinburgh turned out to be a beautiful town with old stone buildings. Although, she missed the heat California had to offer. The weather in Edinburgh was not as pleasant. Whenever she travelled she enjoyed leaving the cold for some sun and warmth, not the opposite. After complaining about this to Luke for about five minutes she could forget about it and focus on the new place they had to explore. They walked on High Street, towards Edinburgh Castle where they were supposed to find the key they were looking for. They passed so many cute little stores and cathedrals, Kesia had a hard time just passing without stopping to look. Luke seemed completely indifferent to the cute stores, like he didn’t care at all. On top of that, he had a really hard time accepting that Kesia wanted to stop. He groaned impatiently whenever she stopped. 

”Come on!” he said when she stopped for the fifth time.

”Just five minutes” answered Kesia and went into the store before Luke had time to react. 

The little store was full of wool fabrics, which is one of Scotlands specialties. Kesia was mesmerized and completely consumed by the little shop with the nice shop owner. Suddenly, Luke joined her in the store.

”Oh, Luke, you have to feel this fabric!” she exclaimed but Luke grabbed her and leaned in to whisper something in her ear. 

”I spotted them” he said and Kesia froze.

”Where are they?” she whispered back.

”Right outside” he said. ”We have to hide in here until it’s safe to go outside without being spotted. Buy something!”

Kesia was quick to oblige and got two metres of three different fabrics. She was happy enough to completely forget about the seekers. Lukes presence reminded her though. He was very jumpy. Kesia was suddenly reminded of the last time they hid from their seekers.

”Hey” she said to get his attention. ”Do you remember in Monterey? When we hid in the closet?”

A smile found its way to Lukes tense lips and his eyes softened. 

”How could I forget that?”

”I would hid in a closet with you anytime” she said and kissed him. It went on for a while until Kesia suddenly remembered they had allies. 

”What about Keren and John? Can’t they help?” she suggested.

”They had some trouble getting here from San Fransisco. Besides, we can’t use them every time we need to hide from our seekers. No, we have to figure this one out ourselves. They might have left now.” Luke went to the door and carefully peeked outside. 

”They’re gone, Kessie, let’s go.”

Kesia said good bye to the nice little shop owner and went outside with Luke. They continued up the crowded street. As they got closer to the castle, the crown thickened. Something was happening by the main gate and suddenly they saw a bunch of soldiers dressed in kilts marching around to the sound of bagpipes. Luke was busy looking for the seekers but Kesia enjoyed herself. The show went on for about thirty minutes before they started letting people in the castle again. There was a lot of tourists in the crowd, snapping pictures with their selfie-sticks. Kesia laughed a little at the fact that her prejudice against tourists were confirmed. She would have done the exact same thing herself if she was a traditional tourist. Unfortunately, there was no time for such things. They went into the castle by just following the stream of people, Luke seemed very pleased that the crowd were so thick, hiding was easy, they could be completely invisible. The rooms inside were impressive and luxurious as you might expect in a castle. The great hall was mainly red and had walls filled with portraits and swords. Kesia wanted to spend more time there but they had to solve the riddle of where they would find the key. The envelope had only provided the quote and the adress, no number or key to any locker. 

”Hey, maybe there’s a portrait of an old fisherman or something on one of these walls?” Kesia suggested. 

”Worth investigating” said Luke and started looking around the portraits.

They quickly discovered there were no portraits of fishermen in the castle.

”Well, it was kind of a long shot” said Luke and shrugged.

”We have to be more inventive” said Kesia and thought for a few seconds. ”What about the interests of the old kings? Did any of them like fishing?”

Luke made a quick google search.

”There is!” he exclaimed. ”James VI liked fishing.”

”Ok, cool, find his portrait” said Kesia and started looking for it. 

They walked into the next room and stumbled across a portrait of James VI. Quickly they checked around and behind the painting but found nothing. They turned to a staff member that sat on a chair close by if there were any other portraits of James VI in the castle. 

”Are you Kesia and Luke?”

”Yes” said Luke. ”Do you have something for us?”

”Maybe. Do you have something for me?”

Luke reached into his pocket and took out the black cube and gave it to the man who gave him an envelope back. After checking the content real quick, Luke grabbed Kesias hand.

”Let’s get out of here” he said and walked towards the exit.

As they left the castle Luke received a text from John. They had landed and were heading in to town from the airport. They were checking into a hotel close to Luke and Kesias and they made plans to meet up when they had settled in. 

”I just thought of something” said Kesia and stopped.

”What?”

”We have Cornelia as our sponsor, right? Who does John and Keren have? Who gives them money for following us around the world? They must have someone.”

”Yes, of course. We can ask them but I don’t think we have a reason to doubt their intentions. Cornelia cleared them. Maybe she is their benefactor too?”

”Sure, that might be” said Kesia. 

”Come on, let’s get back to the hotel to find out were we’re going next!”

They continued down the road and took it left through a small side street and reached the railway after a few blocks. They crossed over the bridge, passed a man dressed in a kilt playing the bagpipes and Luke had to drag Kesia away from the Scottish National Gallery before reaching the hotel on the other side, in the new part of town. 

”Let’s bring out the quote and see what we’ve got!” said Kesia when they arrived in the room. 

Luke sat down in the couch with both quote and key.

”E, N, L, D, I, E, H and W?”

”We’ll figure it out” said Luke and put the papers aside. He turned to Kesia and took her hand.

”There is something you need to know about the next destination” he said and looked at her with serious eyes. 

”What?”

”It is the halfway point” he said, ”which means that everything will get harder.”

”Harder how?”

”The clues will get harder and the seekers will have more information to go on in order to find us.”

”Why is that?”

”Well, they are trying to get people to give up. And some will. Actually, since we started playing, three teams has thrown in the towel. Aside from John and Keren.”

”Really?”

”Yes, well, maybe it’s not fair to say they gave up but they either gave up or they couldn’t figure out the clues on time. As you’ve noticed, the deadlines are not exactly generous.”

”That’s harsh.”

”Yes. The game isn’t designed to be easy”.

”They made that very clear.”

Luke nodded.

”Well, I’m going to take a shower. Don’t open the door while I’m gone, ok?”

Kesia nodded and Luke disappeared into the bathroom. She tore up a piece of paper and started puzzle the letters together. For a long time, she just stared at them. Moved them around. They could only form one city and it didn’t take her long to figure it out.

The crowds bothered her. She missed all the space she was used to back home. Over all, she missed home. Lately, traveling had just been exhausting. It had been fun at first, Cape Town, Assisi, Salinas and then Edinburgh. After that, something just changed. What was first exciting and new had become stressful and tiresome. This place was the worst. Maybe, if there hadn’t been so many people everywhere she would have enjoyed it. The colors, the beauty, the heat. 

”Come on, Kessie, I got us a cab” said Luke who suddenly appeared in the crowd. 

She followed him to a car that had obviously seen better days. 

”Why are there no seatbelts?” she asked Luke when they got in the backseat. 

”Oh, I guess they consider them redundant” he said and shrugged. 

The cab took them to the hotel safely. If it had been back in Europe, it would have taken 10 minutes tops. Here, it took 25. The streets were completely cluttered with cars from start to finish and everybody honked their horns all the time. No one stopped at the red lights. Like it didn’t matter. 

”Have you ever been here before?” Kesia asked Luke when they were finally alone in the hotel room.

”I’ve been to India, yes, but not to New Delhi. It seems to be quite a city” he said and frowned. 

”I can’t get over all the people” said Kesia, ”and I can’t help but to miss home.”

”I get that” said Luke and put his arms around her, ”but keep in mind that we have come so far and we’re doing great. In a day or two, the commission will release the score to all remaining players. When they do, we will know exactly how great we’re doing.”

”You seem awfully confident.”

”I confess I am. I think we might have a chance at winning.”

Kesia raised her eyebrows.

”You think so?”

”Yes, I have this feeling… but we’ll see I guess.”

Their hotel in New Delhi was just as fancy as in the other places but still completely different. They didn’t get to do anything themselves. Someone pressed buttons for them, someone always put food on their plate and someone always carried everything for them. Kesia couldn’t help but to feel like a rich snob. A part of her liked it but another part - a larger part - didn’t. She couldn’t wait to get out of India and New Delhi. 

Just like in all the other places, there was a knock on the door two days in. Kesia threw herself at the door, eager to get the clue and get on with it. 

”Wait!” said Luke as she was about to open.

Kesia rolled her eyes at him but stopped herself.

”Who is it?” asked Luke.

”Just the valet, sir. I have a message for you!” said a very indian voice on the other side of the door. Kesia couldn’t help but giggle when she heard their English accent. She opened the door, took the envelope, thanked the boy and closed the door again.

”It was a pleasure to burn” she read out loud and looked at Luke.

”Creepy. Do you know it?”

”I recognize it but I don’t know where it’s from.”

Luke picked up his phone.

”It’s the opening line from the book Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.”

Kesia felt a shiver along her spine.

”What if this clue is like the last ones?”

”What do you mean?”

”I mean the one in Salinas was about the Salinas river so we had to go to the river and the one in Edinburgh was about a fisherman and so we had to draw our own conclusions. What if this means we have to burn to get the key to the clue this time?”

Luke was quiet for a minute.

”Let’s not jump to conclusions, Kessie, it doesn’t have to be like that.”

They tore up the envelope and found nothing more in it. 

The first night in New Delhi, Kesia couldn’t sleep at all. Partly because of the time change of corse but also because of the noise. The constant noise from the streets outside. The stream of cars didn’t pan out at all during the night. There was a constant stream that never ended. It drove her mad. It also made her think about everything. The clue haunted her mind - it was a pleasure to burn - what could it mean? Where would they even start their search? Surely they would be given more information. They had to get more information to c***k this riddle. So that they could move on. So that they could go home eventually. Oh, how she missed home. Suddenly she realized that she hadn’t been in touch very frequently at all with her parents, as she had promised. What time was it in Sweden now? Just after 11pm. Was it too late to call now? Surely her parents wouldn’t mind if she called, even if she woke them up. She took her phone and snook out of the bedroom to make the call from the balcony.

”Hi honey! So good to hear from you!”

It was her mom who answered and the sound of her voice made Kesia wanna cry.

”Hi mom” she said and tried to keep herself together.

Of course, her mom immediately heard something was wrong.

”What is it, sweetie? Did something happen?”

”No, no, everything is good. This is just very intense and I kind of miss home a little, that’s all. I’m fine, really.”

”So, where are you?”

”We arrived at New Delhi this afternoon.”

”Wow, New Delhi, huh? That’s so far away! And it must be in the middle of the night for you right now? Why are you awake?”

”I guess because of the time difference and the never-ending noise they have over here.”

”Right, did you come from our timezone?”

”Almost, Edinburgh.”

”Ok. What other places did you visit?”

”Salinas, Assisi and Cape Town.”

”Wow, you’ve been around! Must be awful with the time differences.”

”Yes, it has been hard to cope. But we are soon halfway through this madness.”

”Alright sweetie, it was nice to hear from you.”

”Is dad there?”

”He’s asleep”

”Ok, well, tell him I said hi.”

”I will, honey, try and get some sleep now.”

They hung up and Kesia couldn’t hold it back anymore. The tears fell down her cheeks in an uncontrollable manner. Carefully, she closed the door to the room to prevent Luke from waking up. The tears wasn’t just the homesickness, they were tiredness too, and frustration. Maybe some fear that she had taken on too much saying yes to this. Could they just drop out? Probably not without consequences.

”Hey, are you ok?”

Luke was suddenly there and put his arms around her. Kesia tried to wipe the tears off before he saw them. 

”Yeah, sure” she lied, ”just have some trouble sleeping.”

He looked at her with raised eyebrows. 

”Kesia, you can tell me what’s going on you know. There is no point in trying to hide things from each other.”

Kesia realized that he was of course right. There really was no point in trying to pretend everything was fine. She looked at him.

”I din’t think it would be this hard and so extremely intense. I guess I thought it would be much more fun than tough, you know?”

Luke nodded and looked out over the city, contemplating for a minute.

”My first time was overwhelming too. Of course, I didn’t have the courage to be honest about that, like you. I pretended everything was fine. It all sorted it self out, I guess, but I remember it was extremely tough. It isn’t what you imagine, it is much harder.”

”Couldn’t you have told med that before we left? I would have been prepared for this.”

”No, there is no way to describe the feeling you’re experiencing right now and there is no way to prepare for it. It wouldn’t have helped if I had told you, believe me.”

Kesia sighed and wiped her tears. Luke had successfully distracted her and having cried, she felt a little better.