May 1 - 2017

A drop of  water plummeted from its land of comfort and friends into a cold, harsh abyss. It moved gently, uncertain, up and down with the swell of the air - a new, exciting friend. The rain traveled far from its home, alone, providing for a mere moment the gray landscape with sharp color. In a time that was in reality very small, the rain drop found a new home. The house was green, tinted dark with the lack of light, and the drop quickly made itself home.

Not long after it was joined by a friend, and together they rolled down their green home onto a new brown one, soaking deep into the ground. Once there, they joined even more friends in a giant pool, becoming a single entity.

That was the gentle sound she was awoken by; paired with the smell of heavenly tea and she was promptly out of bed and downstairs, bar tripping on the suitcase she had dropped next to the bed.

The landlady already had a plate of food ready in her seat, an unusual choice to say the least.

She, for the most part, ignored the general hum from the other guests while she broke her fast and took her tea. The rain clouded out the landscape and the sky; though it was past eight in the morning, the world was a dim as eight at night.

It took her mere minutes to eat, then she put the plate away and curled up, tea clutched in her left hand, eyes wide. There she stayed for the majority of the morning. It wasn't until the rain had begun to let up, visibility rising to a couple dozen paces, that she finally decided to move.

When she next returned downstairs, a backpack was fitted to her left shoulder and a camera hung around her neck. There was a faint upwards turn of her lips as she made her way to the husband of the landlady, seated at the check - in.

"Maps?" She asked quietly, leaning slightly over the countertop to peer at the stack behind the man. He smiled and moved to the side, waving a hand.

"Plenty of 'em, what are you looking for?" The camera lens was uncapped, his reflection bright and shiny in the tiny mirror. "National parks, hiking trails, city maps - you name it and we have it."

"One, two, and three." Pointing, she smiled while her other hand pulled a folder from her pack. The inside was bare - it was black, plain, unscratched and completely unused.

He passed them over with a smile, handing her a pen as well. "Trace your routes." He said mysteriously, winking at her.

Soon she had donned a raincoat and placed her camera in a case, and then she entered the real world.

•••

There was excitement beginning to buzz in her veins. She could feel it all the way down to the tips of her toes, tingling on her scalp and causing her fingers to twitch. Despite this her steps remained unhurried and she kept her eyes wide. Her first priority was a to-go lunch, because she wasn't to go anywhere without some form of food. And she had no plans to return any time soon for lunch.

A market just down the road from the hotel had a couple good stands; she picked up some fruit and bread and cheese and placed it in her bag. Though it was still drizzling, people were mingling in the road. The local cathedral had opened their doors and people were streaming in to listen to the choir practice.

There had been a wedding the night before, and a major part of the town had been out partying. She had driven in past the crowds, but had gone to her hotel room to lie down. It had been a long flight; she wasn't even aware she was that tired until she was suddenly asleep.

The town seemed immensely more subdued now, though it was still lively. People seemed excited it was a bank holiday, as they were walking the streets lacking the usual accoutrements that come with work. It was going on mid-afternoon by the time she finally decided to tour. She had stopped in to listen for a moment to the choir, circled the church on her map to stop back in, and then had decided check out the town.

Twenty-one days she had, twenty-one days to do as much as possible in this town. She made an abstract mental note to look into local day trips and tours; she loved to tour on her own, but there was also plenty to learn from local guides and the tours. They knew the area best, after all. She followed the owner's recommendation and began to highlight her route in yellow highlighter. Marking a small number one on the market as the beginning of her route, she began to walk deeper into town. The main road she was on was rather bland - she took the first left hand turn that was possible and was quickly consumed by narrow turning alleys.

The sun, high in the sky, reached down to light the planter boxes that were up on the second floor. Purple pansies and yellow daisies fluttered about in the small breeze. Someone was cooking on their first floor, the smell warty gently into the street. She lifted her camera and took a picture, going so far as to sneak a shot of the woman cooking.

The woman, hand frozen in midair, let tiny sage leaves flutter into the pot of stew she had resting on the island. Behind her, the stove was overflowing with pans and pots and food. Tucked back into the right corner, her son was sneaking a cookie, hand halfway to his mouth.

Lingering for a moment, breathing in the air, she was soon moving down the road. She nearly tripped on a cobblestone, but caught herself at the last second, her backpack digging into her shoulder from where it caught on a flower box. In an elegant move, she whirled on the spot, grabbed her bag, tugged, and fell to the ground.

"Oomph!" Her breath came out in a whoosh of air, her camera hitting her stomach. For a moment she sat their, bewildered, feeling the rain on the ground soaking into her pants.

Light laughter disturbed her from across the way, and her cheeks enflamed immediately in embarrassment. A young girl was feeding clothes onto a clothing line, leaning out of a second story window, peering down at the sight.

"Are you alright?" The girl asked, pausing mid attachment, reaching behind her to pull out a towel. "Would you like to borrow a towel?"

She wasn't really given much of a choice, for the girl dropped the towel down for her to catch. "Thank you," she replied, looking up, "I am much appreciative."

The girl laughed, going back to her laundry. "You're a foreigner. I like that. Whereabouts are you from?"

"A ways across the sea. May I take your picture?" She lifted her camera in an attempt to justify the question, and nearly beamed when the girl shrugged in response.

"Doesn't matter to me either way." She fed a couple more clothes onto the line, her fingers nimble and skilled. "You ought to try the Kesmo Pub, on the corner of Luc de Rooe and Main Street. They make the best comfort food and it is a little off the beaten path. And you can just leave the towel there when you're done."

She checked her camera a couple times as the girl talked, trying to get the best angle for the photo. They chatted for a couple minutes more - mainly saying thank you - before she learned the girl's name is Lucy. They parted ways friends, or as close as one could be after only a couple minutes' conversation, and then she was back down the alleyway to find more people to converse with.