Daynight Racer (Completed)

Chapter 12

That night, Lyst hit the sack, and her mind wandered into dreamland. She was transported back to Brands Hatch.

"Why here?" she asked herself.

She glanced up at the scoreboard. It seemed like the race was ongoing.

Why am I not in my car?

Lyst tried to focus on the actual words written on the scoreboard itself, but everything was blurry, as if she had a few hundred degrees of short sightedness affecting her vision. As such, she couldn't make out what position she was in, which was unfortunate, because Lyst would very much like to know how the race would pan out.

Racing aside, Lyst wandered around and explored the venue. Fans crowded almost the entire place. Some leaned against the trees scattered around the track, others sat down in groups, chatting with each other while admiring the cars from afar. Most of them enthusiastically cheered for the drivers and teams that they supported.

A smile crept up Lyst's face as she noticed a group of girls cheering her name. Nice, she thought.

As she continued walking, two figures, a man and a woman, caught her sight. They looked oddly familiar to Lyst, so she went ahead to investigate.

Her eyes went wide when she figured out what she was looking at.

"Mom... Dad?"

The two figures turned around to find Lyst hurtling towards them. They embraced her, holding her tight in their arms. "Oh, Lyst..." muttered her dad as he caressed her hair.

"We missed you so much," said her mom as the three of them let go from their hugs.

At that moment, Lyst felt like a child again. The nostalgia hit her hard, and her emotions were going haywire because of it. She wiped off a tear of joy from her eye. "I'm so happy to see you again."

"Of course you are." Lyst's dad patted her daughter on the shoulder. "We're so proud of you."

Lyst smiled. "Thanks, dad." And then she suddenly thought of something. "Dad, mom, what happened during the night of the accident?"

Her mom was the one to reply. "Let's not talk about that, shall we?" Her dad nodded in response. "Cherish the moment while it lasts, sweetie."

As much as Lyst was dying to know how the fateful night panned out, she decided against pressuring her parents to spill the truth.

Besides, it's just a dream, she reminded herself.

For the remainder of the dream, the family of three rested against a tree, watching the race as spectators. Everything was blurry for Lyst. It was a dream after all, details were missing all over the place. But Lyst's enjoyment didn't waver a single bit in spite of that.

In real life, Lyst lay on her bed, fast asleep in a comfortable position. Her lips curved up to form a smile as the dream played out within her consciousness.

***

R: Park your car on the sixth grid slot, please.

L: Okay, done.

Lyst lined up behind the starting line, waiting for the race to begin. In the meantime, she strategised.

Lyst currently sat on the left side of the track, which meant she would be on the outside line for the first two corners. That would make her vulnerable from attacks, and that wouldn't be ideal. Instead, what Lyst wanted to do was to swerve towards the inside line the first chance she had. Then, she would attack the cars in front, gaining a place or two if she was lucky.