sure. wait. what?

The night began with E and me meeting for dinner at a downtown restaurant. Y joined us an hour later, and the three of us walked to a nearby patio for drinks. When Y got hungry, we headed to another bar to get cheaper and better food. The second bar also had a patio, but it was packed, so we had to settle for an indoor table, forcing me to leave my bike outside. Ugh.

I locked my bike to a rack a few meters away from the bar. Bike theft is big in my city, so I made sure to keep a close eye on my bike’s GPS location through my phone. E, Y and I were gearing up to go to a karaoke spot, our third move of the night, but I needed to drop off my bike at home first so I could enjoy a few more drinks and sing freely. Just as I was about to dip, I checked the bike’s location and noticed that it had shifted. I went to the rack where I had parked it, then it hit me: my bike was gone.

I texted E and Y, alerting them that my bike had been stolen. They offered to help, so I shared my location with them. I also texted L. With no concrete plan, I began walking toward the GPS coordinates, which led me to a corner near the downtown library. The area was dimly lit, with (homeless) people lounging on benches and staircases, their expressions dazed and vacant.

Suddenly, from around the corner of a building, emerged an old lady, one hand pushing a shopping cart and the other pushing my bike. I had no choice but to follow her. She was short and frail, and she moved slowly, as if lost in thought, and her steps were unsteady. I saw L’s car approaching. He got out, phone pressed to his ear, and I waved frantically. L spotted the lady with my bike and went over to her. Without a word or a hint of resistance, the lady just shrugged and handed my bike over to L.

I dashed over to L, who handed me the phone as we hurried back to the car. The 911 operator on the line instructed me to let her know once we were inside the vehicle. I ended the call as we closed the car doors, only to hear Y and E’s shouts from behind. They were running and panting, catching up with us.

“I guess that ends tonight’s adventure,” E said, breathless.

“Hop in the car,” L told them. “Let’s get you all home.”