REUNION

Chapter 8- The move

March 18, 2020

Mia, my mum, and I had spent all of yesterday's day and night packing. There were six boxes in total. Two of them were full of clothes, two with utensils such as bed linen, towels, decorations, various charging cables and so on. The other two were filled with things from the bathroom and kitchen. I already had furniture in my new apartment. It was pretty central in one of Manhattan's many glass skyscrapers. My mum now seemed to be earning pretty good money because she offered me to finance most of the apartment and I knew these apartments were pretty expensive.

In an hour we would be driving to London Heathrow Airport. The flight left at 2:30 a.m. I flew with my mum, while Mia would follow as soon as the boxes would be picked up and she was somewhat settled. Together with my mother we decided that she should finally move out with her parents and move into our house.

We got on the plane and took our seats. I took a deep breath in and out. Isolated tears welled out of my eyes and again and again a quiet sob escaped me. Saying goodbye to Mia was very difficult for me. Even if I saw her again in a few days, it hurt to know that I would be moving to another continent for three years. That there would be a whole ocean between us. Exactly this one ocean that we just crossed. The atlantic ocean. This is where the Titanic sank. She had started her way in Southhampton, England. Thousands of people were excited to arrive in America, the land of opportunity. In New York. My new home. But so many died. Almost 1500 people sank with the huge ship in the cold waters of the North Atlantic near Newfoundland. The remaining 700 had survived, but had to continue to live without their loved ones and come to terms with this traumatic experience. For my part, I would very likely have killed myself. Especially in Rose's place. Watching my soul mate freeze to death and then sinking into the infinite depths must have broken her heart. She was stiff and carried on, got married and became a mother. She loved her husband, but Jack would always have a special place in her heart. They had their own story and for a long time nobody knew about it. I always interpreted her death after she threw the diamond into the Atlantic and told her story as letting go. I feel like she wanted to share what happened to her and then come back to Jack afterwards. As if she had to get rid of it to let go. The thought that Jack died for Rose and Rose lived for Jack is so wonderful. Even if the story isn't true, there was still the "Titanic's dying couple." Isador and Ida Straus lived together - and died together. This fact is so heartbreaking and yet beautiful. The last survivor of the Titanic died in May 2009. I found that there were movies that were filled with so much love that they gave some of that love to people who saw the movie. Titanic was one of those films. If movies made the world a better place, our earth would really be perfect. Does this even make sense?  With these thoughts I fell asleep. 

"Honey, honey, wake up we're here. We're in New York and have to get out of the plane." I looked out the plane's small window. It was already dark. It was 8 o'clock in the evening. I saw a lighted sign that said: LaGuardia Airport. New York. My new home.

We got out of the taxi in front of a huge glass tower. The driver opened the trunk and carried my bags and suitcases into the elevator. Then he gave me a key, saluted and wished me a lot of fun in New York. I had the feeling to see him more often. But that didn't bother me in the least. He was a very nice and open person. The elevator took us to the 78th floor. Pretty high. I walked into the apartment first and it took my breath away. It was beautiful. One side consisted of a mirrored window front which would  lit up the whole apartment over the day. Otherwise it was kept relatively simple but modern. Some of the walls were painted. My bedroom wall was a light gray, the kitchen was a beautiful light blue. It was connected to the dining room. Both rooms had a wonderful view of the city. I continued into the living room. From there you could see the sea directly. I wasn't sure how it worked in the middle of a big city like this, but it worked. It was the same with the bathroom. It had a rain shower and a bathtub. Two sinks and a toilet. There was a huge mirror on the wall. The curtains could be controlled by cell phone to get some privacy. The light and temperature in the apartment were also controlled with the mobile phone. I didn't want to know how much it all cost. On the dining table I found a note:

"Dear Ms. Byalt,

we look forward to welcoming you as a new resident in our house. Hopefully you are happy with the decor and everything. Your fridge is filled with food and drink. We see it as a welcome gift.

If you need help, just call the number below and report your problem.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Have fun with your new home and enjoy your first day in New York!

Regards,

Mepast Companies "

"Wow Mum, come over here and read this through." "Give it to me."

She scanned the piece of paper with this beautiful writing and stared at me with big eyes. Then we both rushed to the fridge. Indeed, it was filled to the brim. We decided to make spaghetti pesto. During the meal, I thanked my mom at least 1000 times. She was just the best!

*2 days later*

"Hey, I'm Lizzy and I moved in here two days ago. I live one floor above you and wanted to introduce myself. " " Uhm hello Lizzy. I am Tom. Nice to meet you. Would you like to come in? "

While Tom poured some coffee into a cup for me, I eyed him. He was attractive. Very attractive. And nice. The perfect man.

After three hours I said goodbye to him: "Well then, bye. See ya " " Sure. Bye." I waved to him again and then the elevator doors closed.

My mum and Mia had left this morning. I have shed some tears. But I'm fine and I'm looking forward to my first day tomorrow!