Olive Branch - Part Two

Harvest seasons came and went many times over but Roma’s eyes never stopped searching.  Wandering aimlessly in the vast orchard, she ignored the ripe fruits overhead having lost her desire to climb trees.  Puberty hit her unannounced and over the years her blossomed beauty became the talk of the town.  Days became longer as she felt smothered by her family’s attentions and missed the one person she could seek adventures with.  When her parents surprised her for her 18^th birthday with tickets to spend a summer with relatives half way across the globe, she jumped with delight.

On the eve of her departure, Roma rummaged about in her room fidgety with excitement.  Carefully sifting through her closet, she selected two pairs of jeans, flip flops, walking shoes, several shorts and t-shirts ready to cover new grounds in the unknown terrain.  As an after-thought she reached into the back and pulled out her floral summer dress with matching sandals and stuffed it in a corner of her duffle bag under the clothes she had already packed next to her swimsuit.

Thirty thousand feet above the ground, she didn’t understand why the people around her complained of the length of the journey.  From the time the plane took off and reached above the clouds to the time it landed, Roma’s eyes remained glued to the tiny window.  She spotted shapes in the puffy white clouds as she had done from the earth below, but instead of looking at a vast blue sky through the patches of openings, from the plane she saw a gleaming ocean.  As the magical sunset dropped its rays onto the water below, it sparkled just like her mother’s diamonds.  Her perspective began to change as she tried to imagine looking down over her house, the orchard, their land down below instead of always from within.  Her thoughts travelled to her tree climbing days when she saw things differently, played with the help, ran around in dirt smudged clothes.  Suddenly, she missed those days and thought of Gino and wondered for the thousandth time what had become of him.

No one seemed to know where his family disappeared to after that one frightful afternoon and she had no leads even if she wanted to find her friend.  With unanswered questions, she decided for now to revel in the sweet memories, tucked away in a quiet corner of her heart.

Watching the sparkle of lights from the city below as if in a magical welcome, Roma felt excitement rise as her plane descended.  Her aunt and uncle met her outside the bustling airport and she fell into their embrace.  Speeding down the highway in their convertible, she felt the ocean air kiss her cheeks, lace through her dark hair swaying them over and around, and sending liberating vibrations down her whole body.  Ancient dark rocks with sprouts of grass or short trees lined the roads as if modern constraints did not exist in this warm land surrounded by water.  The car turned towards a steep decline as they made their way into a valley.  Lush greenery greeted them where she spotted horses unbound to any owner running wild or grazing as they pleased.  With a glowing smile she entered her relative’s cottage in the middle of their farmland.

Her mornings in the valley started before the sun with a walk covered under the blanket of mist.  She ventured deeper into the vale, observed the wild horses up close, followed unused trails, and picked wild flowers to bring them back to the cottage.  Other days she climbed up the hill and watched the sun slowly make its ascent before she made her descent in time for breakfast.  On these excursions, she spotted farmers who gave her polite nods or greeted her as they made their way to the fields.  She smiled back and occasionally stopped to converse with them to feed her curiosity about the lands around them, or about a fruit she had picked but was unsure if it was edible.

A week into her vacation, on one of her morning excursions she met a handsome young farmer.  At first, she stood frozen in place unsure of why his eyes held her there.  Then their legs, of their own accord, moved towards each other until only three feet lay between them.

to be continued......