My bad premonition turned out to be right.
I really wished it hadn’t been. My motorcycle was gone.
I had let my guard down. I should have at least locked it up with a chain.
Whose doing was this? Was that photographer playing a prank on me? Or was it some mischief by the kids? Whatever the case, I was completely helpless without my bike. I couldn’t even leave this mountain. Along with the bike, my tent, stove, food, and change of clothes were all gone.
This is bad. Isn’t this what they call being stranded?
“Yes, I’m completely stranded,” I muttered. I never thought the day would come when I’d be making a pun about my own disaster. Dammit, anyway, there was no denying it: I was currently stranded. Calm down. Don’t panic. Let’s take a deep breath. Okay. I’m calm. I probably haven’t gone crazy yet. I should still be sane. I must not give in to panic and actually lose my mind.
Wasn’t there a way to test whether you’ve gone crazy or not? I couldn’t really remember. But somehow, I felt that as long as I was actively making an effort to check whether I was sane, I couldn’t be entirely crazy yet. At the very least, I wasn’t so far gone that I couldn’t even attempt to verify my own sanity. Well, either way, it seemed like I was still okay.
For now, let’s check my belongings. Wallet. Money. My smartphone still had plenty of battery. Yeah. I was starting to calm down.
Yes, I am a rational, decent adult. I’ll be fine, I’ll be fine. Right now, I just had to believe in my own sanity. If I wasn’t sane, I’d be finished either way. How do I get down from this mountain? I needed to focus my mind entirely on that single task.
In the end, my only choice was to go back to that village and ask them to let me stay. Or rather, I didn’t seem to have any other option left. It was creepy as hell, but it couldn’t be helped. I’m sure if I set out first thing tomorrow morning and crossed the ridge, I’d be able to reach the hot spring inn. Yeah. It’s no big deal.