Vivi Vidi Amavi

two

  I followed him to the boat, which was followed the fishing aesthetic I'd imagine. There was a pile of fish in a net in the corner and the smell of it wavered heavily through the air.

    "My pleasure. My name is Isidore, but you may call me Isi. My son here,"  He held onto my hand and helped me on the boat. His son turned towards us. When he mentioned his son, I was expecting a 10-15 year old. Not whoever this was. His hair was dark, almost black, and he had slight facial hair grow in around his jawline. His eyes were as blue as the water was. He instantly made me nervous and I had no clue why. "Cameron. My wife was American and she won the baby naming argument. She said Cameron was easier than Stavros."

   "Thank God for that one," Cameron laughed at his father and put down whatever metal rod he was holding. He spoke in a slightly less thick accent, but it was well enough to tell her was a native. He held his hand out for me to shake and I hesitated before doing so.

   "Veronica. It's nice to meet you both, and again, thank you so much for taking me to the island." I smiled at the both of them. Isi walked over and pulled up another net from the side of the boat, bringing up another load of fish.

   "You get used to the smell after about five minutes," Cameron laughed and nudged my arm. I nervously laughed back and looked up at him again. His appearance was intriguing, and it only made me want to know more about him.

   Looking over the water, I finally caught a glimpse on the Greek scenery. The water was the clear, but not clear enough to see the fish. There were no mountains around, just the surface of Pelion and the sea. I was caught up in looking at the water, than when the boat started, I stumbled backwards.

   A pair of arms caught me before I could fall. I looked up to see Cameron. He smiled down at me and helped me upright. "Sorry about that, Dad's not too good at giving warnings on the old boat."

    I looked over at Isi. He stood at the top of the boat, focused on steering it smoothly. I've known him for about 15 minutes, but in the moment I could tell that that man loved the sea. You could tell by the way he closed his eyes and let the salty air around him be his navigator.

   "So, you're from America, I can tell. What brings you to Greece?" Cameron asked while putting some rods away.

   "Well, I just graduated and I figured I'd come see more of the world before I went off to college." I kept it short and simple, because telling someone I just met the main reason I came would be too much.

     "So the infamous Skopelos Island is your first visit? What's next?" He pulled over a chair for me to sit in. I sat down and tie the nets tighter to keep the fish in.

     "Florence, Italy. To see the Uffizi Gallery." I smiled to myself, excited to see the Tribute to Cosimo I. Although I couldn't paint or draw to save my life, art was definitely something I was interested in always learning more on.

    "Really? I'm going to Florence on Saturday to see my giagiá- my grandmother." Cameron's cheeks raised slightly at the usage of his native language.

   "What a coincidence, that's when I leave too." I laugh a bit and looked over the water. Isi was going fast against the water, but the ride was smooth. "Have you ever been to Italy before?"

     "Many times. My mother loved it so we would go as often as finances would allow us. Her mother loved it as well and moved there just a couple years ago. Have you ever been outside of the States?"

     We sat there and talked about our previous traveling stories. I've only ever been outside of the United States once on a class trip to Niagra Falls, so my road trip stories to different states weren't as fascinating as him traveling all over Europe and the Middle East. It felt like minutes with him, and I honestly didn't mind. It wss the first time someone was ever really interested in learning more about me. It felt so good to have a normal conversation without a political point behind it.

   "And if you look to your right," Isi's voice shouted from the top deck. "You will see Port Chora. And behind it, Skopelos!"

    The city grew more into view as I got up and walked to the other side of the boat. It was beautiful, more beautiful than Momma Mia made it out to be. Just by seeing it in person, I knew that I was never going to want to leave.