To The Ocean And Back (Part 1 of a Luca Series)

Funny, Thoughtful, and Painful Conversations In The Dark

May 27th 1968, 9:12 PM

If a bathroom mirror had a brain, it would probably be wondering why a seventeen year old sporadic girl was pacing back and forth in front of it. Her mouth was set in a firm line and her eyes were narrowed, as if trying to solve a thirty sided rubik's cube. Now, a bathroom mirror didn't have thoughts-none that Giulia was aware of- but hers were solely focused on one task and one task only.

She stopped in front of the bathroom sink, eyeing the lone black bobby pin that laid on it's edge. She picked it up and looked directly into its nonexistent eyes . "Ok, listen up soldier. Today is the day of all days. You've been training for this moment your whole life and as your sergeant I am proud that you made it this far in your journey."

The bobby pin said nothing, but Giulia continued on as if she was speaking to a soldier just out of school.

"Now, I'm not gonna lie to you. Many others have died before you. Thousands. Heck, one can say millions. I wish I could say that a majority of your squadron made it, but alas, war spares a few, but takes the lives of thousands." She peered over to the small trash can under the sink where exactly thirty snapped in half bobby pins lay. "I'll be sure to notify their families. Anyways, today, you will be joining the part of your squad that is still living, who are thriving in paradise." Giulia looked in the mirror, watching the twenty bobby pins pinning her hair in coils. "But whether you join them in the fiery forest or end up in the trash is up to you. Is that understood?"

The bobby pin said nothing.

"I said is that understood?!"

Again, the inanimate object said nothing. With a flick of her wrist, Giulia made it nod.

"Excellent. Godspeed."

Planting her feet wide apart, she examined her hair in the mirror. Out of the abundance of bobby pins she was able to put into place, only one spot remained. This was it. It was do or die, now or never.

"Steady," she said, her hand trembling slightly. "Steady. You're my last hope."

She was only inches away from clipping her hair in place when a knock at the door made her jump. She whirled around, thinking that maybe her enemies from The Evil Empire Of Injustice were on the offensive and decided to ambush her while she was trying to tame her unruly hair. Quite rude, if she thought so herself. Having only the bobby pin, she raised it as if it was a sword.

"Sorry! It's just me." Letting out a nervous laugh, Luca raised his hands. "Should I back away slowly or continue to stare into your eyes?"

Sighing, Giulia lowered her arm. "I prefer that you look into my eyes. That way you can see the unadulterated rage for interrupting my most important nightly rituals." She waved her hand over her hair with a flourish, though with a little more vigor than necessary. "My hair's practically a time bomb. You're lucky that none of these pins started flying off in all directions or something."

He dug his hands in his pajama pockets and walked farther into the bathroom. The light cast a glare over his glasses. "Is it wrong to say that I was kind of hoping that that would happen? Not, you know, saying that I deliberately would startle you to make that happen. I would never do that." When Giulia looked in the bathroom mirror, she caught Luca's playful smile. "Of course," he continued, bumping his shoulder with her, "say I, oh, I don't know, were to accidentally set it off."

"Hey, quit it." She laughed, elbowing him lightly in the ribs.

Luca began to tilt to the right, feigning dizziness. "Whoah, whoah. Giulia, I think...yeah, I think I'm losing my balance."