Day 2
My favorite kind of beach is the wild ones, those surrounded by rocks. Whenever we encounter them in the summer with the gang, I always wander off at some point to explore.
Running over the rocks with my headphones, discovering places few have seen.
It makes me feel free.
We were at such a beach that day, but this time, I wasn’t alone.
She came with me, just the two of us.
For the first time, we were truly alone, with only occasional suggestions breaking the silence about which path to take.
We reached a challenging spot, where the only options were to swim around or jump.
To be honest, I wanted so much to jump, but I had promised everyone that I would be more careful this time, after what happened last year.
She passed first. I had to take off my shoes and continue barefoot.
I met her on the other side, we shared a laugh and then... silence.
I looked her deep into those brown eyes, and with a bit of hesitation, I finally kissed her for a few seconds.
Hesitation because I have put too much daydreaming into that moment.
I could feel that she knew it, and she was also hesitant.
“Should we continue, to see if there’s another beach nearby?” she asked.
I nodded in agreement.
As we continued our exploration, I found a huge, flat rock. We lay there, just hugging and staring at the sea in silence but with tenderness.
That was the memory, the capture, that I was aiming for, but it faded in light of what came next.
As we headed back to rejoin the gang, she paused.
“I'm going for one more dive,” she declared, shedding her clothes and diving into the water.
I am just standing there.
"Won't you come?" she asked
"Well, why not?" I thought, following her into the cold sea.
I am getting closer, I want to kiss her again.
“I don’t want to,” she stated firmly,
I froze, I kind of lost my sh*t since I didn’t expect it, and I almost ran out of the water, I didn’t want her to feel pressured by my presence.
She looked at me with a surprised expression.
“You don’t have to leave.” she said
I mumbled and put on my clothes again.
We rejoined the crew, and I was trying to play it cool and not ask her questions during the return.
As I confided to Teddy later, while I was attracted to her, I was more interested in the touch, the shared stories, and the spiritual connection. Something that happened to me, around two months ago, may have played a major role in that.
So, I figured, if she wasn't interested, I could just be friendly and enjoy the vacation.
I laughed at myself, as I wrote the above sentence.
Things weren't going to be that simple...
Day 4
The day began with a slap in the face from reality.
UNIC responded to my scholarship application for the MSc in Metaverse.
I had passionately dreamt of that moment: seeing the mail, running until breathless, collapsing to my knees, and shouting "WIN", feeling the sentiment of atonement through my whole body.
That didn’t happen, though.
My enrollment advisor suggested an appeal.
I dedicated the day to crafting that email, near the sand and under the trees.
No laptop or ChatGpt.
Just me, my phone, notebook, pen, faith, and a talent.
The way I ended that email, it was the only tweet I shared during my trip.
While I spent over 8 hours on it, I felt atonement once I finished, knowing I had tried my best. Whenever I do that, the outcome doesn’t really matter.
It’s past midnight...
I finish the mail, and I join the gang.
She appears.
I handed her the towel she had left on the beach earlier.
Her look was a mix of happiness, surprise, and realization.
We sit at the table beside the crew. They are playing a board game called Avalon.
We talk.
She tells me about her life, how she left her Greek village at 18 to explore Europe, studying, working, and often changing places and situations.
I am so seduced.
“How many stories she could tell me”, I am thinking, and just like that, over an hour passes like it was a few seconds.
Then she asks me:
"Would you like to see me playing with the fires?"
I am like, “Yooooo, say no more.”
⏳⏳⏳⏳
We went to the open parking lot behind the camping.
It was just us, a few cars, and a white lightbulb.
We were joking: “What a place for a performance among all the nearby choices?”
But it made the whole experience so surrealistic.
She prepared the fire stick and set up the speaker with some kind of medieval music.
“I don’t know what you're expecting, but this isn't some grand performance.”
I smiled, but I didn’t reply, I could already sense that she was wrong.
It’s windy-She can’t fire the stick. "Let me try." I said
I torched it within a few seconds, like I was lighting a candle.
She looked surprised. “Want to give it a try?"
I hesitated, wary of the fire, but then thought, "When will I get another chance like this?"
I played a bit; it felt strange and nice.
The sound of the fire, as I was waving the stick in the air, was a unique one I'd never encountered before.
I give it back to her, and I sit down on the ground, rolling a smoke.
She starts.
I put the kind of smile you have when you are sleeping and dreaming of something happy on my face.
What a mystical scene. Two people with a clouded connection came together randomly under the stars, communicating more with their eyes than their words.
She started slow until she felt comfortable with the fire and my presence before speeding up.
It wasn’t only the way she danced with the fire, the music, the atmosphere, or the fact that I watched this for the first time in my life.
It was the expression and the feelings pictured on her face while she was performing.
I could see that time and space had disappeared around her.
She was in the Flow; just her existence, the fire, the fear, the wonderful battle.
It’s always breathtaking to see people in this state.
She finishes, sits near me, and we talk. Then I say “Can I hug you”?
She lies between my legs, her head on my chest, my hands around her body.
My back is in pain; I don’t care; let it break. I don’t want to interrupt that moment.
We are kissing.
I said: "What a creature you are!"
"Likewise," she replied with a soft smile.
We hung out a bit more and returned to the camping.
As we neared the crew, she paused.
"I think I'm going to turn in for the night," she said.
"It was beautiful" I responded.
We exchanged a warm hug and a smile.
"Goodnight," we said in unison.
You know these moments when you are feeling very blessed to be alive and everything until then, the mistakes, the pain, don’t matter because they have led you to this moment?
That’s how I felt.
And thankfully, that happened many times during those days.
I returned to the gang very happy, I thought we had finally found our communication.
I was wrong, again.
What followed on Day 6, was a journey from a living dream to a living hell.
Until our next story unfolds,
Much love ❤️
Senti 🪄
