I'm All Aboard! (Eurovision 2018 fan fic)

Hear Them Calling

My phone lights up as I got a message from my dear friend, Fiona. She had sent me a picture of a sheet of music. I quickly glanced at it, knowing that this wouldn't be the subject of our conversation.

Fiona🌻

Hey there, Lynxth <3

So my dad has some work to do in Portugal 🇵🇹. I talked to him aaaaaand he suggested that you could come with us to Lisbon, if you want to. I told him that you hadn't been out much throughout your life, and he thought it was a shame.

He'll be working, but for us it's basically just a vacation.

So what do you say? Would you like to come with me and my dad to Lisbon for a month? 😗

Lynxth

Are you serious? I mean, not to sound rude, but is this really a normal thing that friends do? Leave for a month without focusing on studies or anything?

Fiona🌻

Well, yeah. We're young and have both been outta school for years, so now's the time where we especially should get out and see the world. I know Isabella supervises you 24/7, but if you're up, we're leaving next week.

Besides, we don't have to be doing things all the time. You can take your studies with you.

Lynxth

Okay. I'll think about it.

I looked at Fiona's message a few more times. A one month trip to Lisbon? That would be amazing. Henrik had mentioned that the city was beautiful, and this trip could expand my studies on Portugal, its people, language and culture. But I knew that my aunt would never let me. She wouldn't even let me travel to the other side of the country without her. So she would definitely not let me leave Sweden. Especially not with Fiona.

It was weird. She fully supported my interest in other countries, yet she didn't want me to go to any of the countries. You'd think she hadn't been married to a traveling book collector.

All my aunt ever wants from me nowadays is that I hang out with Henrik. Those are the only times she will even consider letting me go out alone. But I haven't been other places than to his house, and all he ever talks about is its fine architecture and what not. It's frankly really boring, but my aunt insists that I keep contact with him.

I quickly wrote the sum of our conversation down in my note, before deleting the messages. My aunt always demands looking through my texts. Especially those with Fiona, so I delete our conversation.

At dinner I decided to try and see how flexible my aunt was. She was reading in a magazine, but noticed I was looking at her.

»What is it, sweetie?«

»I was wondering if I could go to Kalmar«

I asked innocently, showing no signs of an alternative motive.

Her eyes turned serious. It was an expression I knew all too well. Most people would take it as an automatic no. I had learned what things to say and what not to say to avoid it, but there were few times where bringing it out could yield good results in the end.

»Why? What business do you have there?«

»Henrik has lately talked about castles and how beautiful he thinks the one in Kalmar is. And I thought we could go there together since there's also a lot of history that could expand my studies«