Darcy

After many strenuous moments of people pushing and shoving and trying to get their bags into place, we finally got to our seats and buckled up. As the plane started to move, the heavy sounds of the runner against the wheels made me nervous. It wasn’t often that I got on planes, so this was getting my nerves up, probably more than it should. I placed my headphones over my ears and reached for my bag to get out my Mentos. My ears had a tendency to pop on planes and this flight was no exception. My music selection began to play as I felt the plane taking off.

Here I was, sitting on a transportation device, for the next nineteen-and-a-bit hours, going to Santorini, Greece. One of the most romantic places on Earth. Oh, how I couldn’t wait to bathe in the rock pools and secluded beaches. I couldn’t wait to be surrounded by ancient boulders, while the warm sun displayed itself upon me as I checked out the hot Greek-born men. As I eased into my seat, I let the music drown out my thoughts as I drifted off to sleep.

TO BREAK UP THE TRIP, we stopped in Dubai for two hours. I sat in the airport, bored and exhausted from the long journey thus far. If we’d had more time, I would have explored outside the airport and done some shopping. Though, as it was only a two-hour stop, and it was the middle of the night, I would leave that to the way back home. I was so exhausted from flying and jet lag, that I felt like the walking dead; and this zombie, needed some coffee. “Dad, do you want a coffee? I'm going to go get one.” I asked my father, who was rubbing his tired eyes.

“Yes, please, honey.” He adjusted his neck pillow as he sunk into one of the airport waiting chairs.

I needed to search for a bathroom. Getting changed was first priority, coffee was second. I followed the airport signs, and finally found one that led to a bathroom. As I took out my pajamas from my carry-on bag, I spotted myself in the mirror. Yuck! My dyed red hair was a mess all over my head. A large knot made itself known as I tried to comb it through with my fingers. Quickly, I piled the entirety of my hair on top of my head, securing it with an elastic. Happy enough with the improvement, I changed into my pajamas and dabbed some eye cream under my puffy, sleepless eyes.

Next stop… coffee. Everything was closed, apart from a small bar that sold alcohol and a few other necessities, including chips, magazines, and coffee.

“Hi, I will have two long black’s, thanks. Oh, and this.” I added a magazine to my order, throwing it onto the counter. A few moments later, coffee in hand, I stalked back to find my father. Spotting him, I handed him his coffee.

“Thanks, Sweetheart.” He grabbed it a little too fast and it spilled all over both of us. I jumped back from the sting of pain. “I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm really tired.” he said, apologetically.

Setting my own coffee down, I grumpily walked back to the bathroom holding my shirt away from my body, with my dad following close behind. By the time we were changed and all the mess was cleaned up, there was only twenty minutes before we had to board our plane again. I sat in my seat, legs crossed, and flicked through my Cleo magazine. As I got to the last page, star signs, I found mine and read through it. “Virgo - You will experience a passionate love affair of a lifetime.” I laughed at how accurate it had been for my life thus far. I read on “Expect a new love this summer, a whirlwind romance, if you play your cards right, he might just be the one.”

Yeah right, a romance was in the cards for me? I don’t think so. I had never had so much as one ounce of interest from any one in my entire life. Not even little Nicki Spencer in the seventh grade. He was the school nerd. I had the biggest crush on him that year, and he didn’t even like me. Why would that change now?

Our gate was called and I flipped the magazine shut as we made our way into the line.

Dad put his arm around my shoulder, “Sorry about that, kiddo. I'm so clumsy sometimes. I think it comes with old age.”

“It's fine, Dad. Let's just get to Greece.” I hugged him with my free arm.

RELAXING INTO MY SEAT ON THE PLANE, I was prepared to not move until we arrived in Greece. And that is exactly what I did. When we landed, the air was warm and the scenery was different than I had expected. We arrived in Athens, taking a boat over to Santorini. And though the boat was rocky, the view was incredible. With a mixture of islands, and just open water, I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else. Santorini was just one stop of many on our trip over the next few months, and as its beauty was abounding, it tripled my excitement for the places to come. Dad and I really wanted to experience the culture, so we booked in for a donkey ride to transport us to our villa. We took a small bus from the boat along a never ending dirt road, and to the destination of the donkeys, that would be transporting us to our home for the next month.

Once we had arrived, I almost fell out of the bus with all my luggage weighing me down… I had two bags in each hand, and if I'm being honest, I think I could have packed more, though I was trying to be sparing. Watching the guides strapping our luggage to the sides of the donkeys, I was both in awe, and felt pity for the poor animals. How could one animal be strong enough to carry all of our luggage as well as a person on its back? The guide saw my morose expression and reassured me that the donkeys were in no pain and were more than capable of carrying the weight of the luggage, as well as us on its back. This set my mind at ease, at least for the moment.

Half an hour later, we were still riding donkey-back, bumping around, and feeling insecure. I had mixed emotions about losing my luggage in the ocean, if the donkey were to tip off of the cliff's edge, and for the donkey's wellbeing. Deep in my thoughts, I began to notice the horde of locals staring at me, and became suddenly embarrassed at becoming the spectacle of people's attention. I guess they weren't used to seeing such pale skin, blue eyes and red hair. After about ten minutes of pointing and whispers, I felt as though it was never going to end. And then, just as I was contemplating getting off and walking to give the poor donkey a break and cease the eyes on me, I saw our villa.

When we finished collecting our luggage and taking it inside, I stepped out for some fresh air and to wander around. The sights I saw made me never want to go home again. Standing on a cliff of rocks and out to as far as I could see, was the clearest blue water. The sun shone down, displaying the perfectly toned white sand. The local buzz of the people on the beach served as a reality check that I wasn't dreaming. I guessed by the small crowd, that this particular beach was designated to the people that lived in the villas close by. I decided I would plan to buy a blank canvas and some paint so that I could set it up on the cliff and look down on the water as I created art. Perhaps this piece would be displayed in my next art exhibition for school when I returned home.