Soy Alícia Sierra

7. Road to Recovery

Dear readers, here is a longer, lighter chapter, for you to take a breath from all the drama. Enjoy!

London, Autumn 2001

It was early morning when Alícia's plane landed in London. Even though she knew the city well, she preferred to have a first go on what would be her new home at daytime and while it was still relatively quiet before people, buses, cars started to fill the streets and chaos reigned. Not that she didn't like it. She adored it, but not so soon. Therefore she chose the first flight of the day, dragged herself out of bed at 4 a.m. and let her father drive her to the airport with only a small suitcase in that late spring day.

Once safely out of security, Alícia headed to the tube. She had flown to Heathrow precisely for its easy access to the city by public transportation. She had even managed to find an old oystercard from her last trip there with Germán, who didn't linger too long in her head, otherwise her plan to start over would fail before it even began. To her surprise, the card even had sufficient balance to take her to her first destination, which was right in the middle of the city at Covent Garden. It was her favourite spot in town, always filled with the joy of street artists, tourists and surrounded by fantastic shops and restaurants. Her hotel was right on the corner; she couldn't have picked a better location for her first days at the English capital. She would later look for a more permanent place. For now she would just enjoy it.

During her last weeks in Madrid, Alícia had managed to save some money by working extra hours at the bar, which at the time proved to be a great distraction and helped her go through the days. It also enable her to spend her first week in London eating in fancy restaurants, going to the movies, doing some shopping, for she was only human, and going to the theatre. Oh, she had forgotten how much she adored watching plays. The only thing she avoided were the parks, what proved to be a challenging task as the city was filled with them. Though she used to love spending her afternoons among trees, and the Londoner parks were some of the most beautiful in the world, they were also full of families with young children playing around, and this she could not bring herself to watch yet. Seeing them on the streets was already taking its toll on her, more than she wished.

When money started to become short she knew she couldn't delay her search for a room and for work anymore. In fact, she practically had work already. Her friend Anna knew someone who owned a small shop in London who had promised she would sort something out for Alícia. She woke up early on that Tuesday and headed to her usual Starbucks for a Cappuccino and some toast. Once there she checked the city's map for directions to the address Anna had given her.

"Camden? Interesting." This was London's most lively neighbourhood, a haven for counterculture and popular among tourists, teenagers and punks, with its famous street markets where one could find hidden fashion treasures and all kinds of curiosities. She wondered what kind of shop Anna's friend owned.

Alícia decided to take a bus instead of the tube. It was a sunny morning and a great opportunity to admire a part of the city she hadn't yet explored. She almost had to fight with a boy for a place in the front row of the second deck, though. He had rushed past her almost knocking her over.

"Careful there!"

He shot her an embarrassed look and found her accent somewhat funny, but didn't say anything. Instead, he looked for his mother, who had sat elsewhere further back. Alícia's gaze followed him as he went after her. The woman muttered "I am sorry" to her and the redhead smiled politely, but happy to have her seat back. She got off two stops earlier than she should, planning to have a look at what the place could offer. The address on her note led her to the stables market, a site that had once been composed by a network of stable blocks, horse tunnels, tack rooms, saddler's workshops and a horse hospital. Not too many people knew that, but she still remembered learning it from a tourist guide when she was there with school on her late teens.