Chapter 3: perfect day for a journey

It was early afternoon and the weather was perfect. The sky was clear save some white fluffy clouds that slowly drifted across the deep blue celestial dome. The intense sunlight caused all the colours of the city to brightly shine in their most vibrant tones, making it seem almost surreal, as if an ever-present veil of shadow and grayness had finally been lifted from the world.

The wind sweeping through the streets provided cooling for the few people who were actually in the open, as opposed to the many who took shelter from the heat in air-conditioned buildings.

The smell of ozone and hot asphalt hung in the air, and as repulsive it might have been for someone from the countryside, this was the typical smell of summertime in the city that most townsfolk had learned to appreciate.

It was a beautiful day and Hobbies Kraft hardly saw anything of it. The bright light blinded him through the small slots. He was sweating heavily and could barely breathe.

“Now you're just being ridiculous!” Maria proclaimed upon taking a second look at the darkly clothed person she now positively identified as Hobbies. “I'm aware that you like being dramatic and all – you know, I saw that thing in the news about the guy you held hostage, heard what he talked about in the interview... – but seriously, there got to be better methods for hiding your identity than this stupid mask!”

The bright light blinded him as he took the covering from his face, but the fresh air that a cool breeze carried towards him made up for that.

“You're probably right,” he admitted after wiping the sweat from his forehead. “The mask wasn't such a great idea, especially on a day like this – Although I don't wear it to conceal my identity...”

“So you wear it just for the sake of looking ridiculous?” Maria cheekily remarked.

“No, well... you know, it's just – It's hard to grow facial hair when you're such a public person like I'm now, and so I thought I'd hide my face until I had a nice mustache going on, you know?”

Maria chuckled. “A mustache … Seriously?”

“Well”, Hobbies replied, “It does have a certain appeal that fits in with the style I'm going for – But I should probably have thought of that before going public, so forget it, no mustache for me.” He put the mask into his travelling bag that rested next to his feet. “Anyway -” He took a look around the street, his gaze scanning the parked vehicles. “I'm here where and when you specified – What now? “

“I've got a plan, don't worry. But first things first, are you really ready to just leave everything behind like that? What about your bar?”

“Don't worry, my life is completely shaken up already. I've nothing that holds me here now, and it might be good to get away for some time. Oh, and the bar – it got blown up today, didn't you hear it in the news?” Hobbies didn't really seem to be concerned by this, the way he casually talked about it.

Maria, on the other hand, was rather shocked. “Oh god, what? I'm sorry... Damn, I loved that bar...”

“Well, it was only a question of time. You'll find some other place to get drunk”, he replied with a grin. “But now, about the journey – What's your plan, where's your car?”

Now it was Maria's face which lit up with a big smirk. “Actually, I thought I could dig up something special for the occasion...” Her eyes wandered to the vehicle in which shadow they had stood the whole time.

Hobbies followed her gaze, then looked back at her in disbelief, looked back at the car and back at her again. “This? Seriously?”

Next to them parked an old VW bus. It was mostly white, but some spots indicated that it might have been blue once. Near the wheels its colour turned brownish from all the rust stains. Overall it looked like it might have been owned by hippies some time ago. And there was a wooden canoe strapped on top of it.

“Is... is that a boat on top? ...And – where did you even get a bus like that?”

Maria savored Hobbies' look of utter confusion and surprise before she answered. “I borrowed it from my mother, actually. She doesn't drive it anymore but still keeps it, so I thought: hey, this is perfect! And you know what? It is!”

Suddenly Hobbies let out a wholehearted laugh. Amused he said, still chuckling, “A nun who likes to get drunk and owns a hippie bus is taking a villain on a trip – Oh, this is gonna be fantastic...” He laughed once more.

Maria smiled at him. “Alright then, let's hit the road, shall we?”