Saudade

Prologue

"Please buckle you're seatbelt miss." A blonde haired flight attendant said passing by. The seatbelt clicked and Cecilia put her head phones on hoping that this flight would pass by quickly. She used to hate the seven hour flight to Portugal, she wouldn't be able to sleep because she was so excited. Now she hates the flights because she dreaded going. She had just gotten the call from her mother a few days ago that her great grandmother Maria had passed. It wasn't a big surprise, she had smoked her whole life and was 90 but that didn't mean Cecilia didn't cry.

Cecilia would spend every summer as a kid at her grandmothers house in Portugal, in a small town called Apulia. Her parents grew up there, before they immigrated to Toronto, Canada. Cecilia was first generation Canadian, Both her parents were born and raised in Portugal. After she was 18, she stopped returning ever summer to Apulia, due to summer jobs and other reasons. Once she graduated from McMaster university with a degree in creative writing, She went but stayed in porto with her parents. She was too anxious to run into anyone, and when she did, she never returned. That was 6 years ago.

Cecilia tried to sleep, but she couldn't. She thought about having to see her old friends in Apulia. Her whole family, Grandparents, Tia's and Tio's would all be there too. They would ask her about how her life in Toronto was going, she would say it was good but the truth is, it was anything but good. She missed her family, her parents had moved to Porto, Portugal for retirement. She had a bunch of cousins who lived an hour outside of Toronto but she only ever saw them on holidays, they were all busy with work. Cecilia was a writer, she wrote reports for a news company. She hated her job, she loved writing just not that kind of writing. She was a poet.

Cecilia was going insane without internet. She couldn't go 20 minutes without texting her best friend Ali. They were like therapists to each other. Cecilia quit therapy since she felt there was no need, which Ali disagrees with. She started taking anti depressants and anxiety medication so she thought there was no point in paying for it even she had no problems with money. She was actually pretty well off, she owns a loft in downtown Toronto, drives a convertible Mini Cooper, had monthly nail appointments and bought Starbucks coffee every morning. That is the therapy that she needs.

The same blonde flight attendant who looked worn out. Walked passed offering drinks, "What can I get for you?'' she asked. "Sprite please." Cecilia said as she pulled out her table tray. "We are all out." She said, making Cecilia sigh. "Diet Coke, Please." The flight attendant smiled as she handed Diet Coke to Cecilia. She finished her coke, took two melatonin pills and slowly drifted off to sleep with faint memories of Rui flashing through her mind.