If You Stay

An Unexpected Encounter

    A new country has endless things to offer, endless experiences waiting to be discovered. The key to enjoying the beauty of a new place is to always keep in mind that everything ends after you go home. A week of freedom is what everybody desires, a week to discover the thrills of a faraway city, but sometimes it's too easy to forget that we are not allowed to grow too fond of the place we don't call home. Life is unforgiving and cruel in letting us dream, but even the nicest dreams end when we wake up. All we can do is be grateful for the chance to feel, as it is denied to so many others. Love is a gift as much as it is a curse, God damn it. But when Arya stepped out of that train she had no idea she was going to crave that curse more and more.

     Arya had sought the quiet charm of The Netherlands, hoping to get away from it all, to live her dream of being free for five days and leave behind every stressful aspect of her life. She had enjoyed Amsterdam, but something in her yearned for this new city, a city she had never heard of before. 

     "I don't know about you, but I feel      like I need a drink", Anne   complained, carrying the heavy    suitcase after her.

    "I agree, this day has been a handful", Lena answered immediately.

      They hadn't arrived for more than five minutes and yet the city lights blinked in the night, welcoming the girls. The train station was buzzing at that hour, chatty tourists going back and forth, all care-free. Life felt like less of a nuisance when you looked at them.

     "Come then, we'll surely find a shop on our way to the hotel. It's across this bridge"

      The girls nodded and followed Arya, trying their best to avoid the wild bikers while crossing the street. 

      "What do you want to drink?", she asked

      "A cider would be nice. Or two. Or three", Lena laughed.

      Arya smiled down at her feet and walked on. She was supposed to be the responsible one, the care-taker, because all her life she hadn't known any different. But those five days were supposed to be fun, therefore Lena would have her three bottles of cider. As they were walking, she spotted a shop that was still open. Anne offered to watch the bags, as she went inside with Lena. They searched the shelves, carefully scanning them for the desired cider. Arya stopped and looked around.

      "Do these people not drink cider?", she asked.

      "Seems not, let's go"

      "No, wait", Arya gestured.

      She had spotted a guy who was putting some beer in a fridge.  Arya approached  carefully,  so as not to scare him, and asked:

    "Sorry, do you work here?"

     He turned around, offering a smile.

     "Yes. What can I help you with?"

       Arya blinked, suddenly forgetting her question when he fixed her with a pair of bright blue eyes. She looked at him for a second, trying to find her words, but they were lost on her. 

       "Do you need any help?", he asked politely.

      Finally, Arya remembered what she was there for and answered:

     "Do you have any cider? I can't seem to find it"

     A quizzical look came upon his face as he thought about it, running a hand through his sandy hair. Arya couldn't take her eyes off of him and she couldn't help but smile when she noticed him looking just as intensely.

    "Uh, this is the beer section. I've never seen cider, actually", he finally answered.

      Another smile was offered to her as he held out his hand.

     "Do you have Google Maps on your phone?"

    "Yes", she said, passing him the phone.

    Their fingers touched for a split second before he typed something on Google Maps and showed it to her.

   "This is the biggest supermarket we have. If they don't have it, we surely don't", he explained.

     He handed Arya the phone as she said her thanks, stealing a last look. The stranger's eyes never left her, glowing brightly in the strong lighting of the shop. She finally left, pushing Lena outside.

      "Hey, what was that about?", Lena asked, amused.

      "What was what?"

       Lena turned towards Anne, grabbing her bag.

       "She totally had a moment with the pretty boy inside"

        "Oh, really? And I missed that?", Anne complained.

        "You didn't miss anything", Arya protested. "I just asked something", she said blushing.

          As they walked towards the hotel, her thoughts kept running back to him, to the handsome stranger who had stirred something inside her. He had awakened the part of Arya that she had thought numb and incapable of feeling again. As crazy as it was, she felt drawn towards him, a physical attraction she had never experienced before. Arya wanted to see him again, see those big, beautiful eyes look at her again. Chuckling, she shook her head. She was being stupid about a simple attraction.

         "He was cute, that's all", she told her friends.

          Looking at the moon, a chilly breeze ran down her arms, even though the air was warm. The feeling was almost unsettling in its intensity, odd and new. She had never looked at someone the way she looked at him, lost in his blue eyes. Arya tried to shake off the feeling, swearing it was the effect of being on vacation. Five days. Five days and she would be back home, she couldn't forget that simple, yet hard truth.