IT DOESN’T HURT TO ASK

The bike sputtered, and Carola frowned at the blinking steam gauge. She needed to find a service station before the power ran out and stranded her by the road. No matter how beautiful the French countryside was, she had no intentions to push her bike through it.

Slowing down, she tried to spot signs of life, and after a while, a ramp appeared to her right. Carola cruised to the station, but cobwebs, thicker than curtains, hung from the broken windows and the tanks stood rusted over. No point stopping here.

She made it back to the road before the bike coughed again and lost speed.
“No, no, no, darling. Just a little bit more,” she pleaded, but the bike kept slowing down. Carola cursed under her breath, desperately looking for a station. There had to be one somewhere!

A huge shadow rose over the hill and Carola blinked, then she blinked again. It was a massive, gargantuan wild boar. Staring at it almost made her miss another exit. She followed the dirt road and from this angle; it became clear her eyes were not tricking her. The road led to the biggest boar statue she had ever seen.

The bike stopped. Damn, she almost made it. Carola hopped off and pushed the bike the rest of the way. By the time she got the bike parked, sweat trickled down her back and her muscles ached. It was way too hot to push a bike around. For a second, she was tempted to leave it behind and continue on foot. The boar loomed over her and Carola could feel its disapproving stare.

Might as well check the enormous thing out, she decided.
“You wouldn’t have a solution to my problem, Mr. Boar?” she asked, strolling around it. Of course, it wouldn’t, she knew that. But it didn’t hurt to ask.

When she turned to go, the boar’s shadow shifted and a beam of sunshine landed on the small hatch at its base. Carola read the markings twice before she grinned and rushed to get her bike.

As her tank filled, she walked over to pat the boar’s leg in thanks. It didn’t hurt to ask, not at all.