Tandem

Arina Kostas

Arina buried her face deeper into the collar of her jacket. A cool autumn breeze had started blowing through the trees. She opened and closed her hands to prompt them into warming up. She wished she'd tucked her gloves into her coat before she'd left. She wasn't used to the English weather after all.

The gloves had been knitted by her elderly grandmother, shortly after she'd found out about Arina's plans to move to England. She hadn't been thrilled to learn that Arina was moving so far away.

"That place! That freezing country!" She had cried in her native tongue, waving her hands in the air dramatically to emphasise her point.

"Oh Grandma," Arina had sighed. "I am not moving to the North Pole!"

Her grandmother would just smile at her in that knowing way that all those who have experienced much in life do. The truth was that Vada Kostas couldn't have been more excited for Arina and the adventure that awaited her but as any guardian would, she worried for her granddaughter. She may have grown up but when Vada looked at her granddaughter, she could still see the little girl who would run at her and wrap her arms around for a cuddle. It seemed like only yesterday that they would sit next to one another and play with Arina's dolls.

It had been her most cherished toy and Arina would joke about how one day she would own a grand house much like the one she played with. They'd talk for hours about how she would decorate it and the two would get lost in their imagination. Vada missed those days greatly, but she was grateful that she had the memories to look back on, especially now that Arina would no longer be close by.

Age had not been kind to Vada and with each week that passed, she could feel her body growing ever more tired. Moving around unaided had become a painful struggle. Her limbs would ache with every movement. She knew however, that it would be selfish to hold Arina back despite her own failing health. Whilst it saddened her to admit it, Vada knew that she was coming to the end of her time. Arina's life was only just beginning and so Vada decided early on that she would support Arina no matter what. Her son, Arina's father, was always busy at work. He tried to keep himself busy as much as possible and as a result he rarely spent any time with them. Since the death of his wife, he preferred to stay away from the family home.

Vada had become her mother figure when Arina's mother had passed away after a long and brutal fight with breast cancer. Arina and her father Xavier moved in with Vada so that she could support her grieving son and his young daughter. She had big shoes to fill but she had tried her absolute hardest to do a good job.

Over the years as Arina and Vada both aged, the roles reversed. Vada became increasingly dependent on her granddaughter although she hated to admit it. Arina enjoyed caring for her grandmother; she felt that it was the least she could do after everything Vada had done to help her. Nothing ever seemed like a chore to her, and Vada deeply admired that.

Nevertheless, the sadness of losing her mother so young was far from Arina's thoughts as she strolled along the stream at the bottom of the slate steps that led up to her cottage. She noticed the little fish darting around under the smooth surface of the trickling water, swimming powerfully against the stream of water. The reeds slithered around like snakes as they got caught in the current.

Arina could feel the winter sunshine caress her face, its beams finding gaps in the tree canopies. She shut her eyes and drank in the warmth. She felt like she could stay like this forever.

Suddenly, being on her own and waiting for Bertie didn't seem such an awful prospect. There was nowhere else she'd rather be waiting, and this place was so peaceful. Her grandmother would have loved it here. She'd have known what each bird was simply from their call, and she'd have dipped her toes in the stream.

She could have been in a dream. She stood still and looked up at the sky; life here was going to be really good.