Snow on Christmas

Onward to Spain

Still annoyed, Ash left the airport. She already made a plan on how to bring the charm to Liora, but if she wants to go to Spain, it might be a good idea to pack some essentials first. So, she called another taxi. The drive took longer than before because the apartment was further away.

As she arrived at the apartment, she quickly threw the bag with the book on the table. On the way to her bedroom she was abruptly stopped by her friend and colleague Nicolas.

"Ash, we have to leave tomorrow before ten, I just checked the mail again", he informed her before he looked at her. "Everything okay? You look stressed."

"That's because I am. I have a flight in less than three hours and need to pack", Ash replied hastily.

He gave her a questioning look, raising one eyebrow. "Where are you flying? I thought we took my car tomorrow?", he asked.

Ash took a breath to calm herself down. He couldn't know what happened this day. "It's a long story and I should really pack my bag now."

"Well, tell me your long story then? You don't need that much time to pack your bag. Mostly even I take longer than you do", he said with an irritated smile.

Ash rolled her eyes again. "Okay, but let me at least start packing while I tell you." Nicolas nodded and together they went to Ash's room. "So, I was searching a gift for the Secret Santa at work, you know? I have drawn Tina. And as I was walking through the town, I found a small bookstore and I remembered her endless stories about baking. I thought maybe a cooking book would be nice then."

"That's nothing new so far, come to the interesting part", Nicolas said impatiently. From time to time he reminded Ash of a child or a puppy, but at work he always seems so serious.

While starting to pack pants, t-shirts and some jumpers into her bag, she continued. "If you don't let me talk, I can't reach the interesting part. Anyways, in the bookstore there was this beautiful girl, looking through the books from a bookshelf. Naturally, I asked for her help, and she helped me find a good gift, even though she doesn't even work there. We had such a nice conversation, and I couldn't stop myself flirting a little. Anyways, she lost her lucky charm, and she needed it because she was about to leave the country. I offered my help and so we were walking through the town to find her charm. It was lovely, despite the heavy rain."

She continued packing her things into the bag and her friend listened closely. "Sounds romantic", he said in her talking pause. "But I still don't get what that has to do with you taking a flight?"

"I'm not finished yet. So, she had to leave for the airport, before we could find her charm, but there was only one possible place left, and I went there alone and found the charm. Then I hurried to get to the airport, but she didn't see me on her way to the gate, and I couldn't reach her, because she gave me a wrong phone number. And I couldn't get past the check-in, because no ticket. "

Nicolas rolled his eyes and dramatically dropped himself on the bed. "Don't tell me you bought a ticket, only to bring her a stupid charm?"

"I did. But don't judge me, unlike you, I am romantic. But it didn't work, I still have her charm and a ticket to Spain. So, I'm following her, I guess", Ash finished.

Her friend quickly got up again and held her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes. "You're stupid. What is your plan when you get there? Ask your way through thousands of people? And IF you find her, what then? Give her back the charm and leave? Or ask a random person if she likes you too? You just met her and don't even know if she likes girls as well. I can't believe you're doing this and have the audacity to call it romantic. You know how I call it? Crazy. Insane. Deranged."