❝ 女は度胸
焦れさせるのアイツを❞

xiii. life: clueless ending

──

The cold breeze was almost suffocating, everyone squeezed the last bit of oxygen inside their lungs for respiration. The eminent moon was shining as if its the last source of energy in this damned world. In the dark, a few herds of people were waiting for the race to be commenced and to enjoy the satisfaction of mocking the loser; to savor the thrill of each and every unpredictable turn of the racers. The two cars of Blaze and Lisa were lined next to each other right at the starting line.

Grayson was standing next to Blaze, he was restless since remembering what Blaze told him after accepting the offer for the race, and before disappearing from his sight, she suffers from nyctalopia (night blindness). Nyctalopia is not a helping hand in this situation, especially with the race being held during the night due to the request of our very own Blaze Scarlett. He was still not sure of why Blaze chose to play with her disadvantage, he knows she is well known for having tricks undersleeves all the time but, in this case, he was afraid she is gonna be the talk of the town for losing. 

Blaze on the other hand seemed like a whole new person. The unpredictability in her eyes was fazed, they have now tinted with softness and not the insane cider she always reflected during a gamble. Grayson was drowned in his thoughts thinking about what has gotten into this whole new different aura emitting Blaze. Blaze's car was resembling fire: with ferocious red paint surfacing the car, ashes sprinkled near the wheel and given a small touch with wood prints. The tiny details were expressed neatly, after all, Blaze's personal secretary has an upper hand in picking the best art.

Lisa's car was covered in yellow, the warm and bright color has a dark side of its own. It was decorated with black stripes like a bee. 'Fear this' was written boldly on the backside of Lisa's car, the sticker was given to her by her father for successfully beating him on a small race. Jisoo was accompanying Lisa and they were discussing something totally unrelatable to the race. As a ring reverbed throughout the whole area, everyone who was seated on the gallery's attention was diverted to the racing area.

"The race's rules are very simple," said the women with dark red hair and parakeet-colored eyes who popped out of nowhere to instruct the rules and regulations of the race to the racers. "You shouldn't get inside the car unless we give you the signal, the starting line is checked with black and white boxes as you can see before and you are required to start your engines from there, and for the ending point, you have to find it. You need not park your car in the ending line, we need you to be outside of the car when you get to the ending line to announce you as the winner."

Blaze was at her wit's end and the whole sixth sense acquired organisms there were no exceptions. The girl continued, "you would be given two clues, and after decoding it you will find your ending point. The first one to reach it will be declared as the winner." Lisa was always at the top of her game, so this little snag is not going to snatch her victory away. Blaze was deep inside her thoughts, Grayson and Jisoo looked at each other accidentally and averted their gaze as fast as flash with an awkward smile.

"A statue of trickery was his gain to the master
Fear was his foe in this tragic matter
Nevertheless he won the title of fabrication
Who knew a lie would be his path to deception?"

Everyone was bewildered with a little poem recited by the pretty woman, even though it was not a well-constructed one, it surely achieved the reason for its birth. The girl cracked her knuckles and rotated her head in 180 degrees in intention to relax her muscles, "the second clue is life." The word life is such a simple word, but the perspective to it differs from every individual making it the tougher clue. The girl clicked her tongue before pulling out a gun from her ripped jeans packet and held it above her head, "this is the signal for you to get inside your vehicle."

The gun sound pulsated above, Lisa paid heed to the sound faster than Blaze, thanks to her amazing reflexes. She never looked back to see if Blaze has entered her car or not, she started her engine and pushed her energy on the accelerator shifting the gear. She was thinking widely while driving her car not knowing where to end it. She gripped the steering wheel tightly and banged her head on it slightly, "the statue of trickery? gain to master? fear was his foe? title of fabrication? path of deception?"

It didn't even take Lisa 30 seconds to think of the answer. Greek gods are getting famous around her area, and all the words given in the clues matched him perfectly. The answer to this riddle is none other than Dolos, the god of deception and trickery. Dolos tried to recreate the statue his master created to trick the people by letting them see the copy; when the master left his state for some time, Dolos started to twin his master's statue but, ran out of clay so he couldn't complete the feet of the statue. Dolos was quacking in his boots wondering what his master would do when he found his trickery out, and as his expectation the master found Dolos trying to recreate his masterpiece. He was not angry, instead, he was impressed by the accuracy and rewarded him the title of 'the god of deception.'

Lisa smiled changing the gear, she and Jisoo have visited the nearby museum many times due to the love of Jisoo for greek gods. She knew somehow Jisoo must have conjured the clue someway for Lisa to decode it easily. The clue was easier than she expected to unravel but still, she had no doubt in her guessing. The museum has sculptures of Dolos so, the ending point must be 'the museum of greek mythology.' Lisa drove her car faster to the destination stubborn with her answer is the right one. But not all times you always gain, and definitely not when it mentions deception.

Lisa took off her seat belt and opened her car door fastly and ran towards the statue, the last time she visited this place was not a long time ago so she found the place quickly. Everything shattered when she saw no one near the statue of Dolos, not even a small line saying you won but, only visitors rushing outside since it was time for the museum to close. Lisa hit her head hard and thought about what she missed, and when she found it out, a dry smile was plastered on her lips thinking how silly it was for her to miss out on the big clue, life.

Lisa sighed and saw the portrait hanging on the wall, with a mesmerizing painting with a meaning she can't find behind it. She squinted her eyes and pulled her head in frustration, what did she miss? Lisa averted her eyes on the painting, and a little line was written under it with a sign of the painter. Her pupil dilated and a nervous tear dropped from her colorless eyes.

"Life ends where it starts."

──

❝ Being a woman is all about guts
I'm gonna keep him guessing❞