Race Of His Life

Chapter 9

"Um, sure," Jack muttered before he parked the bike between the trees and bushes and hid both their helmets in the trunk of a nearby hollow tree, before he grabbed his bag and walked over to her. "So the waterfall we're heading to is called the Winter Falls?"

"Yes, but to be honest, I wouldn't even call it a waterfall. It's just a medium-sized stream flowing through a mountain and falling down on some rocks and continuing on. But there is a pond right below it and the whole area is surrounded by rocks so its really beautiful," Elsa smiled.

"How do you even know about this place?" Jack asked, walking alongside her through the woods and he heard the water falling in the distance.

"It used to be a really well-known tourist spot back when my parents were teenagers, but over the years people stopped coming here. But my father loved this place too much so we kept visiting on a regular basis, and soon enough the people who were running this place also left, leaving it open for all. So, here we are," Elsa explained.

"I... was also wondering," Jack started, hesitant whether he should proceed with what he wanted to ask, "is it just me- or are the customers at the rink kinda very less? Because from when I arrived, you haven't exactly had even a single customer so..." He trailed off awkwardly.

Elsa stayed silent for some time, and Jack panicked for a second whether he angered her. "No, it's not just you," Elsa spoke, causing Jack to internally sigh in relief. "Since the rink is too far inside the forest, we have completely stopped receiving customers. The only reason we're able to live something close to a comfortable life is because Manny has plenty of other occupations, and he earns almost 60% of the money we use.

"And then there's Mr Dunbroch, Mr Corona and Kristoff, all of whom visit the nearby town for work. Kristoff leaves in the morning and comes back in the evening, but the other two men come by the rink thrice a week to visit us and their respective families. I guess that sums up about 30% of our income." Elsa explained.

"Um, I know you know that I was eavesdropping on Manny and Anna's fight the other day, and she mentioned that you are the reason everyone's able to live comfortably. What did she mean by that?" Jack asked.

"So you remembered huh?" Elsa looked down at the ground, never stopping their walk as she continued explaining, "That isn't exactly true. I work to keep us comfortable as well, but my work would be the remaining 10% of our income. It's not that big of a deal. I just work for my father's friend but I try my best to stay in the rink for as long as possible because when Manny is not present, the responsibility of the rink shifts to me."

"What kind of work do you do?" Jack questioned again.

"Nothing much. My dad's friend is the President of an association of a group of sports grounds and pieces of equipment, ranging from your normal roller skating rinks, playgrounds and ice rinks to official stadiums of massive games like soccer and cricket. I work under one of the different departments. I manage most of my work here in my house, but sometimes I would have to go to the next town for meetings and such. That's all," Elsa informed.

"Damn, that's a hell lot of work right there, is that all you do?" Jack asked.

"Yup, and other minor stuff like managing our bills, seeing after the water supply and all that is also my responsibility. So yeah, that's pretty much my life here in the rink," Elsa gave a sad smile.

I'm kinda having the feeling that she's hiding something... Jack thought to himself.

"Well, anyway we're here," Elsa said, gesturing to the scenery ahead.

Because of the serious conversation they were just having, Jack had almost forgotten about the waterfalls and just blinked at the scenery before him.