Nowhere But You

Chapter 42

The sweet but pungent sound of Galician pipes filled the air of that sunny, crisp Sunday morning. It came from one of the alleyways that led to the main square, in front of the enormous Santiago Cathedral, Robin and Nathan's final destination after their journey on foot through the north of Spain.

Santiago de Compostela, Galicia, Spain. The end of their Way.

Robin looked around, still incredulous of what she had achieved. She was feeling particularly energetic that day. There was barely any sweat in her clothes and her strawberry blonde ponytail flew loose in the breeze. Her shoes were already part of her feet by this point. Some days had definitely been rougher than this. Days where she was so tired she couldn't get out of bed so she made a concession with Nathan that they would start their walk a little later and take it easier. But that day, it was almost as if she could feel that little being in her belly giving her some extra life.

She couldn't say she felt happy, though. This was the end, the very end of this. But she was as confused as in the beginning. Perhaps more.

At the square, they witnessed people cheering, laughing, weeping, hugging, taking off their shoes and massaging or tending to their tired, beat up feet. A few others walked that last part of the way barefoot, or even on their knees.

Nathan was quiet behind his usual Camino attire of sunglasses and baseball cap. His choice of outfit for that day was full-on black: black t-shirt, black leggings and shorts. He was also wearing a content, slight smirk.

In fact, he had barely uttered word in days, after they stopped by 'Cruz de Ferro,' a landmark of the Way represented by an enormous iron cross on top of a small hill, standing tall as the highest point of the Camino, where pilgrims leave stones representing their burdens and regrets.

Robin didn't know that Nathan had actually left two stones there. One, representing his own burdens and regrets, his own mistakes, wrongdoings... and another representing hers. He had this tendency to take her pain as his own, ever since they were little. She looked for him as comfort and he never minded it, but as time went on, the load over his shoulders became heavier and heavier. He didn't even realize it. He just did it because he cared deeply for her, because his soul would always be tied to hers.

Once there, in front of the cross, with one stone in each hand, a wish came out from within Nathan, in silence (as he often did most things), for his sins to be forgiven, but mostly, for something, or someone to help him carry this load.

He had to let go.

When he placed the small stones on the ground, on top of many others, he felt that burden lifting. As if someone had physically removed it from his back.

But back to their arrival in Santiago. The two friends followed others to the Pilgrim Centre, just by the Cathedral, where they would hand in their 'passports' full of seals representing all the places they went by during their trek. In exchange they would each get a certificate that they had walked at least 100 kilometers (62 miles) of their way, the famous 'Compostela.'

They had done the entire French Way, around 500 kilometers or 780 miles.

Robin looked at the piece of paper in front of her. The only thing she could understand was her name, as the rest was written in Latin. She stopped and looked at her last name. Andrews. She held her breath for a second until she felt Nathan's presence beside her.

"You never believed I could do it, huh." Robin elbowed her friend.

Nathan shrugged. "Only for a minute."

"But I did it!" She squealed. "We did it."

"I know. Brutal, huh?" He turned to face her, removing his sunglasses and putting them on his cap. "How are you feeling?"