A long, six-hour flight wasn’t exactly what Charlotte had expected when she agreed to go on vacation for the weekend with Annette and her friends, but they were finally back on the ground in Cyprus. She still wasn’t completely comfortable with Annette’s friends Aira, Eliisa, and Julia but Charlotte hoped that over the course of the next few days she would gain some new friends out of the trip. As they sat down at a small café for a light lunch, she couldn’t help but notice how different everything felt for her. She was more aware of the rich aroma of the coffee Eliisa sipped and the vibrant purples and reds of Aira’s pasta dish seemed to pop out at her.

After they paid for their lunch, the girls decided to do a little sight seeing before settling down at the hotel for the night. Even though it was December, the island was a lovely sixty four degrees Fahrenheit and a nice breeze blew inland from the coast. The girls explored the streets along the beach, finding cute shops full of colorful knickknacks offered by locals.

None of the five of them had ever been to the Mediterranean before so they stopped at a firehouse they were passing to ask some nice young men what type of things there were to do this type of year.
“There are tons of beautiful trails to hike and explore, but if you girls aren’t into the outdoors you can check out downtown at night. There’s always trouble to get into down there,” one of the guys informed them. Charlotte couldn’t help but notice his bright, hazel eyes against his olive-toned skin and blushed as she noticed him staring back at her.

Julia wanted to explore more and asked Charlotte to go with her so she wouldn’t get lost by herself, Annette, Eliisa, and Aira headed to the hotel to unpack and map out their plans for tomorrow. As the girls walked around they chatted about where they were from and what life was like where they grew up. Julia was born and raised in Barcelona but her parents moved to Helsinki when she was 16 and that’s where she’s stayed ever since. Charlotte described Savannah to Julia, who’d never been to the US, and told her how much she missed it. Charlotte loved how easily she seemed to be able to talk to Julia even though they’d just met- they laughed at the same things and even liked the same kind of art. Both of them had their eye on a beautiful blue and yellow bulls eye painting they watched a young boy paint in a small shop off the street, they loved the texture of the paint and the contrast between them.

After killing a couple hours walking around taking pictures, Julia’s memory card for her camera was full and they decided to head to the hotel to upload the pictures to her laptop so they’d be ready for tomorrow. Charlotte and Julia finally found the quaint little hotel and went inside to unwind. Charlotte was exhausted from a long day of travel and sightseeing, but as Aira handed her a martini she smiled and thanked her. Cyprus was a much needed break for her and Charlotte was glad that Annette had invited her along.