Page 4 of Stronger Than Fate
“Have a good trip!” I heard him shout as I was leaving.
I looked at him and gave him a thumbs up to thank him for his farewell. I left there and instinctively looked for Henry, but there was no trace of him. I headed toward the elevators with the certainty that I had never met a man as confident and attractive as him. I shook my head in denial. There was no point in continuing to think about him. It would be better to focus on my trip and all the wonderful things ahead of me.
When I reached my suite, I took a shower and got into bed. When sleep overcame me, my fantasies featured those beautiful and hypnotic blue eyes.
Chapter 2
«The most important meetings have been planned by souls before the bodies have even seen each other»
—Paulo Coelho
At four-thirty in the morning my phone alarm went off and I woke up immediately. I let out a sigh and covered my head with the comforter, I was still sleepy, but I knew I had to get up. I had rested for a few hours, but my body was begging for more. After a few minutes I sat up in bed and stretched. A long journey awaited me and I needed to get moving. As I was getting up, my phone rang again, this time it was a call from my friend Sol. We had been friends since childhood. Sol was a beautiful girl with brown eyes, dark chestnut hair that fell in abundant waves halfway down her back, and a tanned complexion that gave her an exotic air.
—Helloooo
—Are you awake already? —Sol asked.
—What do you think? I don’t usually answer the phone while sleepwalking.
—I see you’re wide awake. Frieeend, a wonderful island awaits us to enjoy for several days. You packed a sexy bikini, right?
—Obviously. I’m going to have a huge coffee because I worked late yesterday and I’m about to collapse from exhaustion.
—Better that way, so you can sleep on the plane —she assured me.
—With you next to me… I find that difficult.
—You’re the worst. See you at the airport —she said, pretending to be offended.
—Mykonos, here we come!
—Here we come! —she repeated, returning to her cheerful self, and ended the call.
After a long flight of almost 19 hours, we landed in Athens, from there we boarded a ferry and arrived in Mykonos. The small, paradise-like island was a beauty, with its rounded houses painted pristine white, but with doors and windows painted in vibrant colors, its narrow and charming streets, and its extraordinary beaches.
Our routine was generally to get up relatively early, spend the morning at the beach enjoying the transparent and wonderful water, eat something light and typical of the area, and watch the sunset. Upon returning to the hotel, we would take a shower and go out again in search of a nice place to have a drink or one of the beaches that turned into a nightclub as soon as the sun went down.
The days spent there were delightful and we rested and had a lot of fun. We also met several girls and boys with whom we had a good time and promised to stay in touch. With one of the girls I formed a nice friendship because she was also Uruguayan. She left the island a few days before us, but we promised to get in touch as soon as we returned to Uruguay. Her name was Nicoletta, but everyone called her Niky.
We landed in Montevideo with the certainty that our vacation had been wonderful and that, at some point, we would return to that dreamlike place.
—Is the hotel driver coming to pick you up or one of your brothers?
—The driver. Given the hour, I didn’t want to bother my brothers —I replied, because we had arrived at five in the morning.
—Can you drop me off at home? —Sol asked.
—Of course, you don’t even need to ask that.
—You know? I’m sure that when I return to Mykonos, because I’m definitely going back, I’ll do it with the love of my life, because I’m also convinced that trip will be like our honeymoon. That island felt very romantic to me and I couldn’t stop imagining myself there with him —she stated, convinced of what she was saying, while we waited to be picked up, sitting in the main hall of Carrasco International Airport.
—You’re the romantic one and I hope your dream comes true. But tell me, when you say ‘him,’ are you referring to someone specific? Do you already have a love interest? —I asked, surprised, and noticed that Sol looked at me hesitantly.
—No; I’m referring to the man of my dreams. Because I’m going to fulfill that dream, whatever it takes. Don’t you expect the same? —she asked.
—If you’re referring to love, I don’t expect anything. Destiny will know if it has reserved for me one of those unforgettable loves. And in case my destiny isn’t a great love, I’ll be one of those aunts who devotes herself to her nieces and nephews. Because I hope my brothers will give me lots of little nieces and nephews.
I don’t know why, but when I spoke about that feeling that was so elusive to me, the person who came to mind was HenryWoollardy, the attractive man I had met at the hotel bar, but whom I hadn’t mentioned once to Sol. The strangest thing was that it wasn’t the first time it had happened; while in Mykonos I had caught myself thinking about him on several occasions, especially when I saw couples cuddling. That longing always managed to throw me off balance.
