Litz went straight from the airport to the taxi spot, feeling anxious. She had got used to panick attacks, she just had to switch to her emergency mode and find the first solution available. The taxi brought her fast to the hotel.
It wasn’t as sunny as she had expected. However, it wasn’t cold. The receptionist was such a gentleman that he even brought her to her room. The room was designed to accommodate four girls, but she was alone that night. Selina was the most famous hotel chain among international travellers and Litz knew it very well. At the bar, right in front of her room, many people from all over the world had already gathered for the happy hour. She took a white Martini and relaxed.
Fernanda, her Portuguese friend, arrived soon. She was the typical girl next door: easy look, light make-up, big smile and loud voice. They hugged each other tight, it had been so long since they hadn’t met each other. They spent the following hours to tell each other about their lives, both crying and laughing at their past adventures. The two girls were both feeling lonely and needed some time to have fun. They decided to meet some friends for dinner.
Litz was surrounded by people’s accents from many different countries, while she was eating her bowl of rice and tasting an amazing glass of Portuguese red wine. Eventually, they drank the whole bottle. Their talks became loud and the bar full of a happy folk. The two girls were really close to the hotel, so Fernanda chose to stay and sleep at Litz’ room. Coming back home drunk at night wouldn’t have been a good idea even in a safe little city like Porto.
The following day they enjoyed an amazing breakfast together. Espresso coffee was not that bad in Portugal, Litz thought. The weather hopefully got better, so Fernanda brought her to visit the city. After a nice walk at the local market, they stopped at an amazing artisanal design shop called “Manufacture under Design”, where Litz got astonished by the presence of an old cave hosting a vintage bicycle.
Fernanda explained her that artisanal products used to be a strong asset of Portuguese economy and the two girls started to talk business. Both had a passion for it, Fernanda being even an economist. The talk went on till a late lunch, as usual in Southern European countries in summertime. They ate the famous Francesinha, with lots of spiced tomato sauce, watching the local teams’ football match on TV. Suddenly, it started raining. Fernanda called an Uber and the two went to have coffee at her place.
Fernanda used to live a bit far away from the city centre, at a residential area close to the ocean. They enjoyed a little time out of the noise and Litz could get a sense of how it was to live in a different way than she was used to. A friend called, and they jumped into his fancy car, its roof open. Jorge was easygoing and could drive fast, Litz thought, while her friend asked him scared to slow down. He was a close Fernanda’s friend, so she wouldn’t involve him into any sort of unwelcome flirt. Fernanda knew that Litz just wanted healthy fun with friends.
Jorge brought the two ladies to see a spectacular sunset on the beach. The three walked without shoes on the cold sand, silent. Jorge took amazing pictures of the waves and a flock of birds passed by. When the landscape went dark, Litz couldn’t help staring at the Moon. She had tough memories to deal with. She looked at the ocean’s waves, saddened, yet smiling inside.
The Moon was not full that night.
