Dawn in Florence[ Sample] now available on Amazon

Chapter 2: Lonely soul in a stranger city

"Mamma, why are you going? Please don't go. I promise I will behave like a good girl. I will drink Bournvita every day. I will not ask for more toys and I will go to sleep without bedtime stories. Granny will not tell me bedtime stories and Ansh bhaiya will irritate me all the time. Mamma, please don't go. I want you."

The monsoon season of 2018 ended with the blink of an eye and October entered along with my date of departure. I knew that I would have to stand strong but the tears in Kaira's eyes were making me weak. My three years old angel was trying her best to stop her mother and a pang of guilt feeling along with the deep pain of separation from my babies was making me devastated. But, as always, my mom stood up as a pillar of support and gave me the courage to fly to Italy.

"Leena, don't worry, I will take care of Kaira and Ansh. Whatever you are doing today, it is for their better future. After one year, when you will look back, I am sure you will feel proud of yourself. It is a matter of six months only, time will fly."

"I know mom but I am worried about them. Ansh is behaving matured but Kaira is too young to understand anything. Will she be okay?"

"She will be fine with her granny and grandpa. I will take care of her, don't worry."

I didn't want to cry in front of my kids, but holding back my tears seemed impossible. I was trying to console my kids with a fake smile on my face but the lump of emotions inside my throat didn't even allow me to speak much.

"Kaira, Ansh, I will be back soon. It's only a matter of six months. We will do video calls every morning, every evening. My babies, please don't be sad. Mamma will bring lots of gifts from Italy for both you and till then granny will take care of you. Please behave well and don't irritate granny and grandpa. I love you both so much, my babies".

"We love you too mamma."

                                                                                    ......................

After a 10 hours long flight with a halt at Cairo airport in Egypt, I landed in Florence, my new nest for the next six months. Although I had landed in one of the most beautiful countries in the whole world, I couldn't feel any happiness or excitement inside. All I could feel was emptiness.

One of my colleagues, Samuel, came to receive me at the Airport. Samuel Williams is an architect in Welon Architecture with whom I had worked on a few projects earlier but never got a chance to meet him personally.

"Hello, Leena, it's a pleasure to meet you. Hope you had a great flight. Welcome to our country."

"Hi Samuel, it's really nice to meet you too. I look forward to a great time in your country and I am very excited to work with you guys."

That guy seemed to be a real gentleman who not only dropped me at my new residence but also helped to know the foreign city a little bit. He took me to a SIM card store to get a new SIM card, explained to me about the local transports of Florence and also took me to a tram station to give an idea of the ticketing system. After giving me a brief idea about the lifestyle of Florence, he dropped me at my Airbnb apartment located at Federiga, which was provided by my employer.

The host of that Airbnb apartment Maria was already waiting for me outside and she welcomed me with a warm smile.

"Hello Leena, I am Maria. Welcome to Florence and this is your new apartment. We are providing all the amenities as promised. Come with me, I will show you everything."

It was a spacious and well organized 2BHK Airbnb apartment with all the amenities and Maria gave me a nice tour of the apartment with every small detail. I was wondering what I would do with such a big apartment when Maria called me again.

"Leena, come here I have to show you something. All the utensils are kept in this shelf and if you want bigger utensils for cooking, they are kept in that upper shelf. WIFI password is written on the left wall of the hall along with the map of Florence and tram station details."

"Thanks Maria. My office is located in the city center. Will I get a direct tram from Federiga?"

"Yes, you will. You have to catch a tram to Santa Maria Novella and the tram station of Federiga is less than one kilometer away from here. There is also a supermarket nearby. If you want to buy something, please go soon because it will be closed by 7 PM."

"Okay sure. Thank you for all the details, Maria."

"Wish you a lovely stay in Florence, Leena. I stay nearby. If you need anything or any help, don't hesitate to call me. I will take my leave now. Enjoy your stay. Bye."

I had lots of queries in my mind but I was too tired for a long conversation. I was also dying to make a video call with my little Kaira and Ansh. To be very honest, I was eagerly waiting for her to leave. She left after handing over the apartment keys and soon, I opened my laptop for a skype call with my kids.