Silvea - Hayni's Wild Ride

  Chapter One : A girl and her bike

  Hayni squealed joyfully as the rickety old tire touched earth. She loved the feel of the clattering of teeth as the uneven ground shook her causing her head to bobble up and down like a dolls. She threw her hands around her mother's waist as she started the incline of the next ramp, bigger than the previous. She clutched her mother tight as before she new it they were hurrling yet again through the air. Her dark brown hair flying in all directions. The fluttering of her stomach her neck and arm hair raising with the adrenaline of the decline coming any second. Then nothing, they were back on the ground. Not good enough! Not long enough! That feeling, that wonderful feeling she was to young to put a name to it but she new she must feel it again longer this time, stronger even. Her heart was in her throat. This hadn't been the first time mom had taken her here but it was the first time her mother trusted to be a little more reckless now that Hayni was old enough to really hang on.

  Just being here was enough to get them in trouble. They were far away from the city now, deep in the mountains out of ear shot and just out of view of the small clusters of houses and shops they lived among. Although, still belonging to the city. Dispite it being unused, far off, and unleveled and useless for anything but riding. But laws were laws no matter how unreasonable they could sometimes be. Good thing Tatiana wasn't one for following them. She didn't see any harm in riding out into the mountain ranges to have a little fun. She looked at her little girl smile spread from ear to ear. If this was illegal, they just have to fine her if they ever found out, because she didn't see the point of it. For as far as she was concerned a ticket for riding in an non-riding zone was just another tax put on her by the goverment. However having Hayni if pulled over might change things if a cop decided to be a jerk. She could get in trouble for endangering a child. She let the thought rattle her brain for no longer than a moment then said to herself " I guess we cant risk getting caught then." She turned behind her "pick one any one." She followed Hayni's finger to the biggest ridge she had ever seen "that one!"

  Tatiana smirked, sqeezing tight to her old rust bucket. She had the bike since if was first given to her at the age of fifteen. It was badly rusted, paint peeled completely off, suspension long since gone and replaced by some old iron she welded on, and no muffler. The engine, however, was hand made and supercharged. She made sure of that. She built and installed it herself with every last penny she could scrounge out of savings. Nevermind the noise violations from no muffler and a very loud, powerful engine, and nevermind the bruises to the behind from hard landings on no suspension. Yes, this jump would be a challenge for the old bike's ability to hold the rusted frame to the functioning engine, but it was worth the test. Once again Hayni grabbed tightly to her mothers waist, and once again Tatiana slammed the gas pedal as hard as she could "were going to need a lot more power for this one. That means were going to have to go really really fast." She smirked as Hayni let out a loud "Whoo Hooo" and the speedometer went from 30 to beyond its highest possible number in seconds, still accelerating past the point of knowing the exact speed anymore. They hit the old battered bike ramp with a splintering of wood. Tatinan didn't exactly pay attention to how big this jump really was until she was at the top of the ramp, looking down from above some very tall trees and seeing the vultures fly out of the top branch underneath her. She gulped and hoped they wouldn't be feeding those vultures in a few moments.

  For the first time in her life she actaully feared for their lives. The jump was maybe 30 feet wide to the other side of the ridge, with a sheer cliff on the other side. The kind you attended shows to see jumped. The kind the movies would usually show a river at the bottom to keep the heroes alive when they fell. There was no water in this dried up riverbed, removing any hope of surviving a fall. Dardevils didn't even do things like this without safety nets. Moms of five year old girls on marternity leave would probably prefer to keep their child as far away from this cliff as possible, not jumping over it. She offered up a quick prayer as the bike left the wood of the ramp with splintering as the top of the ramp broke and fell beneath them, leaving the bike in an awkward spiral. She quickly let go of the handles to grab her daughter, who was in mid fall from under her head as they were upside down. As she caught her child's midsection, Hayni was caught between screaming and laughing from sheer joy, while Tatiana was too busy being terrified her child was going to die to have any enjoyment of the experience. There was a difference between risky and stupid. THIS WAS STUPID!!!! Yet the child was still beaming. She looked at the spidometer her foot still glued to the gas from fear. She gulped as she noticed the shaking of the roaring engine had torn off the speedometer from the handles, and it, along with some other hopefully nonessential parts were smashing on the cliff ahead of them. Realizing she wasn't going to make it, she took a gamble and turned on the turbojets mid spin, giving just enough boost to make the height they needed, almost losing a tire on the cliff as the bike scraped up the top and skidded to a halt. Her heart was beating quick as she went to the edge. She could see the jump now, and looking below she saw nothing but a few parts from her bike and the now collapsing ramp falling for a good thirty seconds before erupting in a cloud of dust and debris at the bottom. They were so high. How could she have even thought she could have made that jump. Nothing but sheer dumb luck and good timing with the turbojets had saved their lives.

  Tatiana laid down on the grass, staring at the sky and pondering how terrible of a mother she was. Her daughter walked over and joined her, shouting and leaping for joy. " That was fun! Mommy when are we going to do it again? Can we do it again right now? Pleaaaaase?" She plopped down next to her mother and looked at the sky with the steaming, scraped up bike a good few feets away were it had rolled and half the handlebar lying opposite that. Tatiana simply mumbled "What kind of monster child did I make?"

  ...

  Tatiana's grip was still very tightly clasped her daughter's hand as they walked side by side. A large round building could be seen off the horizon, reflecting the sun. An eerie grayish sand onto the grass below. "Home" she mumbled under her breath as Hayni dragged her tired feet behind her. "I can't understand why we can't go back mama." Hayni was cranky, like most five year olds would be after a 12 mile walk. Of course Hayni didn't feel the strain of such a walk as she spent much of the time either on her mother's back, being drug along on the bike, or resting. She walked maybe two miles on her own, but now they were home and Tateana would receive a well deserved break. She only hoped her husband had made it home in time to get the groceries, or else the deliveryman would probably leave them sitting outside her door to spoil. This wasn't the first time she forgot to get the groceries, but by the time she remembered they had been ordered she didn't feel like riding the bike in its present state and risking yet another ticket this week, which would probably cost the family more than just ordering new groceries.

  Tatiana dragged Hayni up the stairs to the door. "I still don't understand why we couldn't just ride the bike home" she pouted. Tatiana ignored the complaint, which had been made for the last ten miles at least every five minutes, if not more frequently, and focused on finding out if she had made buttermilk out of the milk she ordered. Well didn't look like there was sign of the delivery men or groceries, so either her husband had made it home or the delivery man decided to file the paperwork for returning it to the grocer and she would be left with a nonretrieval fine for not being home when they arrived. She had a good hope that it was her husband, as the local delivery man was usually too lazy to deal with the paperwork and returning everything to the shelves, instead prefering to leave the groceries outside doors to be found later. She walked up to apartment 6D, and sure enough to her dismay there was a envolope taped to the door. Great. They did take it back and leave her with a fine. Where was Jon? How much did they owe this time? Jon was going to be upset when informed no one was here for the groceries. He didn't terribly agree with her little trips to the abandoned bike park in the mountian region. He certainly didn't agree with spending his excess pay on bailing her out of jail or on fines for being "rebellious" Even more so, he completely disagreed with the way she was teaching their child to be an adrenaline junkie with a complete disregard for the law. He would constintly remind her they weren't children anymore and had to think like adults, with a child to care for. Jon thought their child would like to have a new dress and shoes every now and again, or even a vacation or some fairy toys that they could never afford with the multitude of fines Tatiana accumulated. Hayni enjoyed their time in the mountains, not realizing that it cost their family anything at all. Tatiana was convinced that this one on one time in the mountains will be much more important to the child later in life than a new dress or new shoes would be now, and absolutely despised that her husband was constantly filling their child's mind with fairy tale nonsense.

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  Tateana ripped off the note and walked inside. She planned on reading the bill later, after she had herself and the child showered before her husband saw them covered in dirt, scrapes, and bruises with a bike in worse shape than ever. To her surprise she found the lights on and the figure of a man dressed in lounging clothes sprawled on the couch, face covered by a newspaper. He didn't bother to look up or speak as Tatiana snuck by and hung the bike in it's usual place, taking the time to hang a towel over it to hope he couldn't see the damage. She finally realized one reason Hayni was constantly crying she needed to stop when she tried to remove Hayni's shoes. The child was missing one, and it was probably at the bottom of that cliff. Hayni's leather jacket was sporting some new tears too, and was probably garbage now. This was going to be fun to explain. Walking through the door, Tatiana realized she was exhausted, but quickly forgot that fact as the adrenaline rushed through her veins again while her mind raced for a plausible explanation that wouldn't involve almost killing the both of them. The child didn't let her get a chance. "We went on the biggest jump ever today! It was so fun, I was flying until mommy pulled me back onto the bike! She says the bike needs to be fixed before we can go out again, and that we probably won't do that one again, but it was sooooo fun!" Tateana sat down on the couch next to him as the newspaper came down from in front of his face and she looked into his big brown eyes. "You didn't shave today. I like when you come home scruffy." She said as she ran her fingers across his stubble into the puff of mustache he normaly had. He sighed and brought the newspaper back up to read more. " And your not going to ask me about my day?" Tatiania teased.

  He closed his eyes and threw his newspaper back behind the couch, sitting up. "What's there to ask? I already know the story. Hayni just told me all I need to know. Between her excitement and the mess you made of the two of you, plus the bike. Yes, I saw it before you buried it, I think you need to sell it for something safer for all of our sakes at this point. No, I don't need to ask about your day. Let me tell you how my day went though. It should interest you. After the past couple days of putting out that wildfire that sprang up near where you like to play, we finally got rid of the last of it this morning. It wasn't long at all before we got a call about parts of the old bike park falling onto the road below, and I recognized this as yours" handing her the speedometer. "That is about all I could salvage, since it got caught on a tree." Tatiana turned bright red as he continued. " So after that, I leave work early to hope to find you home and safe. Guess what. You weren't, but the delivery man was in the middle of writing us up a nice hefty fine before I stopped him and took the groceries inside. Believe me, he had the paperwork finished and didn't want to let me take the groceries inside, just because he was tired of us not being around to help him unload." He pointed to the envolope in her hands, "Yes, I noticed that as well. How much do we owe now? Or have you even checked yet?" I just left it on the door because I didn't feel like finding any more bad news. I hoped you would have been home hours ago, but nope. Instead I had to call a few buddies on the police force to look for you. They said they should be able to recognise your loud bike quickly, but after a couple hours they called back and said they couldn't find you and hoped you were still alive. As we speak they are still combing that cliffside for BODIES! So, how do you think my day went so far?" She smiled and kissed him, "For your information this isn't a fine. I didn't even get stopped today." "I know. For once I actually wish you had." She jumped up and sat on his lap, planting a big kiss on him. "lets take this to the bedroom and see where this leads." "I don't think so. I'm too tired for you to try to distract me. I'm too tired to even be mad anymore." "Okay good. I was afraid you were." He sighed. "So what is that paper anyway?" "I have no idea. I thought it was from the groceries, but you already took care of that...." Her tone changed and he looked at her. "okay, just read it so we can get to bed early. I would like to put this day behind me." She waved the paper out of his grasp as he reached for it, opened it and began reading.

  To Mr. & Ms. Prescott

  We are pleased to remind you that on Feb. 11, your oldest child will be of age to attend an educational program of your choice designed to educate minors between five years of age to nineteen years of age in career and life skills that will enable them to grow and mature into succesful, productive adults.

  In order for your daughter Hayni Prescott to qualify for these manditory educational programs, she must first receive a physical by your family physician. Our records indicate that your family is filed with Dr. Marco Braysull, so he has been informed to expect you. Dr. Braysull indicated that he is available tomorrow morning, Feb. 8, between 9:00 and 11:30 for this mandatory physical. If you cannot make this appointment please notify his office immediately to reschedule. It is highly recomended that you keep this appointment, as there is very little time remaining before the deadline. This is your third and final advance notice and prescheduled appointment, as indicated by the preceding letters four and eight months ago.

  As stated by law, all minors are required to attend an educational program to prepare them for their future. After all, parents aren't going to stick around to take care of them forever. Failure to allow your child to be taught to live a happy, productive life is considered child endangerment, and carries strict penalties under the law.

  We are glad to celebrate with you on this joyous day in your lives, and hope for the best for you and your family. Don't forget, maternity leave ends on the child's fifth birthday as well. It is encouraged to report to your employer several days early for refreshment training and to allow time to get back on track and reconnect with coworkers. After all, you haven't seen them in five years, so there is probably a lot to talk about.

  Best Regards-

  Uureta Valley branch of the Federal Human Resource Department (UVHR)

  Jon refolded the paper, " You can always trust the goverment to say the meanest thing in the nicest way." Tateana laughed, "Its called diplomacy honey" Just as she said it Hayni came crashing back down the stairs dressed in a child sized apron and chefs hat, " Mommy mommy! look what i made you! It's soup." She looked over at the mystery goo globbed on one of there perfectly good dishes. "Don't you want to taste it mommy?" Jon looked at Tateana, " You want to tell her or should I?" "Tell me what? You don't like my soup? You haven't even tried it. Grandma always says don't say you don't like something until you try it." Tateana sighed removed the pillow beside her, took the paper out of her husbands hands and tapped the seat beside her as Hayni's face went from excitement to curiousity and she sat down next to her mother, dropping the "soup" straight onto the carpet as she went.