Glimpse of Hope

-Chapter I-

Here, on the busy streets of Paris, the love for culture and architecture was filling thousands of souls, that sweet, powerful coffee smell was inviting them to stop by the bakeries nearby. As always, the landmarks, like Louvre Museum, Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame Cathedral and the famous Champs- Élysée boulevard, were full of children's gentle laughter, of professional photographers, of all kinds of people from all over the world. Also, the Charles de Gaulle airport was as crowded as always, due to all of the tourists who decided that it's time to leave France behind, or that they should explore its secrets for the first time.

With small, measured steps, overwhelmed by her flower decorated suitcases that the taxi guy handed her as soon as they arrived in front of the airport, Caroline successfully passed the sliding doors, almost running on the huge buildings corridors. On that fine summer day, time became her biggest enemy, no one could deny that. Between her and the flight that was about to change her life, there were only 10 minutes. That being said, with a maximum determination, Caroline has rolled up her (invisible) sleeves, she showed her freshly home-printed ticket (thank you, Internet!), and ran as fast as she could. Just when the supervisor wanted to close the door, the girl stopped it with her foot, begging him to let her pass. After countless attempts to convince the supervisor, he gave up and let her continue her way to the plane. Once she got inside, she let all of her worries melt away with a long breath. Her thoughts were then immediately blurred when she heard a young , slightly annoyed woman speaking through a megaphone, telling everyone to take their seats and to put their seatbelts on.

After searching for the seat number, she discovered that her place was not as far she thought it would be. She then found the most comfortable possible on her seat, and decided to check her phone. Gliding over the motley flower path on her screen, there were two messages:

Mom: Hope you arrived safe and sound at the airport. Just don't forget to call us when you get to Miami, ok? Can't wait to see photos of you two!!

Grace: Don't forget - I'm at the airport at 4. I have tons of surprises for you! This summer is going to SLAY! Take care!

Caroline: Can't wait! See you soon!

She stretched her arms and legs a little bit, just to feel her body relaxing, as the air conditioning was suppressing the heat. Her white , polka-dotted hat was put aside for her to feel the cold air blowing above her head. Then, after a quick scan through her phone, she made the perfect playlist for the trip (considering the fact that she had to spend some great hours in there, enough to make her legs feel like jelly sticks when she'll arrive). Whilst almost everyone on the plane decided to be absorbed by their laptops and smartphones, Caroline thought it would be good to finish her favourite book , because where she was going, she won't have time for that.

Adjusting her headphones to the minimum, she saw a tall, brown haired boy smiling wide after he spotted the seat beside her. 'Please don't stay here.... please don't stay here....please don't stay-' her thoughts were interrupted by a loud thump on the other seat. '-here...Oh no! Oh no, oh no, oh no! Why now?...I bet he's going to ask me something stupid just to make conversation... imagine: 10 hours with him near me - like it's not enough I mess up with everyone who tries to talk to me for more than five minutes, and you want me to stay 10 hours with him? Are you kidding me?! Last time there was an old lady with her incredibly fat cat...Why not bring her here now? I mean- yeah, I had to keep watching after Whiskers while she was sleeping, but still... Ok, just calm down.. take a deep, deep breath and it'll be fine .Maybe he wont even notice I-'

"Erm... are you okay?" the boy asked with a seriously worried face, leaning his head really closed to hers after seeing her watery eyes and her clenched fists.' Oh, sweet cheese and crackers...'