Stay with me

Chapter IV

The sky was cloudy and seemed to rain, as we closed the door, I handed her a traditional map where she could pick wherever place she wanted.
“Tell me miss Laura, where do you want to go?”
“Maybe...this one” she said pointing her finger on the map.
“Schatten?” she declared “I have never been there, but a lot of people say it’s worth going to”.
“Alright, let’s find out!”
I started the engine, pulled down the hand brake and drove to the undiscovered city.
“here” said I as I handed her my phone “play some music for us, we’re not expecting this trip to be boring, right?”.
She took my phone, nodded her head then she suddenly spoke: “your playlist is the same as mine, can you believe that...look!”
As the song started, Laura and I sang all along the way and danced like crazy, at that moment specifically I wished my life would have stop right there, a time where I was making the best out of my life, having fun to the fullest with my favourite person. I was missing nothing in my life at all, everything I needed I already possessed.
Five hours later, we felt a pain in the stomach, we were on the highway and there was nowhere to park to have lunch. I pulled over on the right side in a place where nature was everywhere and that was a proper spot where one could really enjoy lunch. We got off the car, opened the trunk and picked bags containing variety of food and drinks. We took them to the front of the car and sat on it and began to eat. The weather was hot, we kept along the way bottles of water on the back seats to get a sip every time we felt thirsty, we had to stay hydrated the whole trip. A while later, Laura’s eyes were sleepy, she was looking at the road, trying to stay awake until the last destination.
“Come here darling” I whispered as I grabbed her shoulder, I placed her head gently on my thigh and caressed her back with complete compassion. She rolled her arms around me and fell asleep like a newborn child. Laura, the beautiful mystery, I kept one hand on the wheel and the other on her cheek.
Driving hundred miles per hour, I could see the mountain covering the city, only three hours left to arrive. I could see the waterfalls and the cloudy sky. The place was crowded with cars, it looked that everyone planned to come on this day. The toll was full than ever, we stood on the line as well waiting for our turn to pay.
“Welcome to Schatten sir, fifty Kram please”
I put the money on the counter and got my change and receipt.

 

It was about five o’clock, I came across the end of the highway and started to look around, it was all green, full green, we were at the top of the mountain, the coulds and the cold wheather were just a stop. The heat came back only when we got deeper into the town. The place was like a civilized jungle, nature everywhere with many choices of activities, people were checking out museums, nature and many other attractions.
When I parked the car, Laura suddenly woke up, very excited about the adventure.
“Where are we?”
“Hey, you woke up! We are in Schatten!” I exclaimed.
“What!!” She cried aloud and looked out of the window and the signs of joy dominating her facial expressions. What she liked even more was the design and the colours of the city, buildings, infrastructure, gardens, the people’s dress, as well as their magical behaviours. All things were grey and decorated with red matte. A vampire’s world, the place was with a gothic look, even the sky itself matched the zone.
“I never thought it would look this way...secret society...but it looks cool!”
“I wonder why they chose these colours” she added.
“It is said that there was a king called Tod who used to like the colour black, he was a great warrior, a merciless military leader who was called Koshmar Vragov at that time, for the sake of being an unconquered man. And his wife Senora Lyubov, who in contrast loved the colour red which symbolises according to her the blood of the people who fought for their homeland.” I explained.
“So, to please his wife and himself, he painted all the city with these two colours?”
“Correct”.
“Interesting... I’m excited!” She declared “by the way, how do you know all that?”
“Books!”
“Right...how could I forget your passion for history...that’s awesome!” She said “come on, let’s discover” she held my hand and waited for my directions.
“Have some water before you leave, direct sun outside, and wear a cap as well”.
She obeyed then opened the door slowly and came to my door and stood. I took off my jacket, she took off hers as well, dealing with the burning temperature.
“Oh, that’s my favourite t-shirt!” I informed.
“I love your clothes, they always smell like you...I feel like I’m covered by you, I feel safe”.
I caressed her hair gently and led her the way to the heights. Climbing to the top, we could see cable cars crossing up our heads; some were going up, others going down, Laura was thrilled following the flying cars with her eyes, she already imagined herself inside one of them, she was there already!
We went up to the cable car reception, booked two tickets then waited in the line like everyone else.
“next” cried the ticket collector.
We got into the huge vehicle and sat together holding each other’s hand, acting like crazy for this first-time experience. We would stand and look around us, see those behind and those in the front. The cable car was going fast, and the view was holding its position at its best that we couldn’t cease to take endless pictures of that so called natural painting. Our time ended at sunset, we enjoyed the whole hour romantically and then returned quick to the car, to make more out of this day.
It took us around twenty minutes to get back to the heart of the town. The road was long, but the view still fictional.
“Look at that huge palace...I wonder how the king and the queen could live in such a gigantic palace like this” she inquired.
“They never lived alone, the maids, the servants, the chefs, animals, and the guards too”.
“Animals?”
“You see the covered corner over there” I pointed with my finger “that’s the zoo of the palace”.
“Adorable! Does anyone still live there?”
“Unfortunately, no one does, but rumous say that the government would turn it into an accessible historical monument”.
“So that means we’re not allowed in there” she replied desperately “my bad luck followed me all the way to here”.
“No, don’t say that, it’s not your fault, and it’s still not the end of it, we can return next time. And keep in mind that we have plenty of other things to see, alright?”
She nodded her head smiling, thinking about what can be done in the hours we have ahead of us.
Near the closed palace, there was a notorious cafe where all tourists come to check, overlooking marvellous waterfalls. The heavenly cafe it was called; where music is played, nature to check and even one could notice how fashionable were those people.
“Good evening, sir” said the security at the door.
The cafe had a massive square full of tables made of grey and white marbles, it had several Greek columns, and at the end of the square an edge rounded by tough glass overlooking to that panoramic view. Both me and Laura got amazed by that incredible place.
“Hello sir, hello madam, I’ll be around to serve you” informed the waiter.
We discussed our orders and I finally spoke for us.
“tell me about tomorrow’s plan”
“alright” I replied  “tomorrow morning we’ll be in Koryfi, it’s far from here, about 150 Kilometres”
“And what can we do there?” she inquired
“we’ll go skiing...but first we will have to climb the mountain”.
“Sounds cool”
“Then in the evening we’ll drive to Vivilia”
“what’s so special about it?”
“it’s a book museum, then...”
“What!” she interrupted “that will be fun”.
“Yeah, please continue...”
“To conclude our trip, we’ll go to Aygin”
“No doubt this will be the best trip ever!”.
 
We got into the car, put the seat belts on, I started the car heading to the countryside, Laura and I rejected the luxurious lifestyle, we didn’t look for hotels, nor motels, we only intended to achieve the road trip dream in its truest form.
Once we arrived, Laura and I sought for a good spot, safe and secured, and we especially chose a place where few trees were and an isolated place from the city to avoid noise and insects. We quit the car, jumped on the top of it, watching the stars above, telling jokes and reciting poetry of all kinds. In a moment, I saw Laura with eyes closed and smiling, she was perhaps picturing something in her head. I held her hand to my chest and I could feel my heartbeats on my hand as I was breathing.
“I never thought I’d be able to live a moment like this one, I saw those dreams illusions, and far to reach” she stated.
“Now you got me, alright?” I sat addressing her “all my intentions in life are building a great future with you, an unforgettable love story and we’ll make endless memories together, okay?”
“Besides, I don’t care if anyone thinks we’re still young to think about marriage or future, me and you will walk in the same line and make the best of our lives. That’s what we’re here for.” I added.
She put her soft hand on my face, she smiled with a giggle, then approached me with a kiss who would be the treasure of that night. As I laid within her arms, I could hear her heavy breath and feel the comfy surface of her stomach. The evening was all about ourselves, we didn’t mention anything more about the trip, the conversations turned into childhood secrets, we laughed about our old souvenirs, tickled each other and we even howled like wolves. No blanket was on us, simply the sky got us covered. We just fell into the wild.