Free While the World Is Still Asleep (The Century Trilogy Book 1) by Petra Durst-Benning Page B

this, ever, anywhere.”
    Lilo hesitated for a moment, then said, “All right. But tomorrow, not now. I have to get home soon. Let’s meet again here tomorrow morning. And if you utter so much as a single traitorous word . . . !” She climbed back onto the bicycle, then rode off down the hillside without turning back.
    Josephine lay awake for a long time that New Year’s Eve. But it was not thoughts of the year before or the one ahead that kept her from falling asleep. And it was not her cough, nor her homesickness, that disturbed her rest. It was the thought of sitting on that bicycle the next day.
    “Hold both hands tight on the handlebars. Tight, I said. And stop shaking like that. Now put your left foot on the left pedal.”
    Josephine laughed nervously as she followed Lilo’s instructions. Her skirt was crushed into a wad beneath her, but despite the many layers of cloth, she felt the hardness of the saddle between her legs.
    “I don’t know . . .” She looked at Lilo in embarrassment. “Is it decent . . . sitting on this thing with my legs apart?”
    Lilo laughed. “Do you want to try it sidesaddle? Like the fine ladies on their fine nags? I’ve tried it. It doesn’t work. Either you do it like this or you don’t do it at all.” The firmness in her voice drove the last scraps of doubt out of Josephine’s mind. She tensed the muscles in her thighs to get a better grip on the saddle. But as she did so, those same muscles began to tremble and—
    “Look, no one’s here to see us,” Lilo practically shouted. “Focus on the path ahead of you, then go.”
    Josephine nodded uncertainly. The forest path that Lilo had used the day before to demonstrate the bicycle looked a lot narrower today. It had rained overnight, a cold rain that had frozen into a thin layer of ice in the higher parts of the forest. Josephine had slipped and almost fallen several times on her way here. Perhaps the conditions were not suitable for riding?
    “As soon as you swing your foot up onto the right pedal, you have to start pushing. Go on!”
    Josephine ordered her right foot to rise from the ground. Nothing happened.
    “There’s no need to be afraid. I’ll be running alongside, holding you, so nothing can happen.”
    “I . . . don’t know. I’m sitting so high. I’m going to fall over as soon as I lift my foot . . .” There was no way that petite Lilo would be able to hold her up.
    “You won’t fall over. I showed you how it works,” said Lilo with touch of impatience.
    Josephine nodded miserably. “I know, I know. But I don’t trust myself.” While her left foot rested on the pedal, her right remained on the ground as if it had put down roots.
    “Then get off and let me ride. I don’t get this opportunity often, either. I won’t get to ride anymore once Mr. Braun comes back to Schömberg.” Lilo was already reaching for the handlebars.
    Josephine chewed her bottom lip. If she didn’t trust herself now . . . she might never get another chance.
    “Just a little ways, straight ahead, OK?” said Josephine, looking beseechingly at her new friend.
    Lilo grinned. “Do you think I’d let you ride down the mountain on your first try? And riding around a corner is also an art. You won’t master that the first time, either. Just go as far as that cluster of three trees up ahead, then stop pushing the pedals.”
    That didn’t sound too difficult. Josephine took a deep breath, lifted her right foot, and set it on the right pedal. Now she had to be quick. “Push, push, and don’t stop pushing,” Lilo had told her.
    The bicycle started to wobble forward. With every turn of the wheels, the movement became more fluid.
    “I think I can . . . do it!” Josephine laughed, moving her legs in vigorous rhythm.
    “That’s good. But hold the handlebars straight. You’re all over the path!” Lilo ordered as she ran along beside Josephine.
    “So what? That’s why the path is there!” Josephine