Catharsis

by Payton Comazzetto (Canada)

I didn't expect to find Greece

The smell of salt in the air, sunshine kissing my face and sand hugging my toes; what an incredible start to the last day of our escape. “Should we head over to another beach?” Justin asked. “Why not? Let’s see what this island has to offer,” I replied. We strapped our bags into the back of the buggy and headed off. Whipping around corners, spraying dirt in our blazed path, as the wind whistled passed us. Then, suddenly, the engine started to sputter, and the buggy began to crawl. “Did we not just fill the tank?” I asked, as we came to a halt. “Well I handed the man a five,” Justin stated. “But I don’t remember him actually filling up the tank.” Stranded on the side of an unmarked road, cellphone-less, and miles from civilization; for the first time in weeks, we laughed. Nothing on this trip had come easy. “Can you believe we made it this far?” I said. Justin leaned back in his seat, “No, I can’t. I mean, after that first night in Athens when we followed a cat back to the hotel, I figured we might be done for.” “Yeah, we put a lot of faith into that cat, and into the cab driver who drove us in a circle for 45 minutes trying to find that hotel. The cat was much more reliable!” I exclaimed. “How about the fact that we only booked accommodations for the first two nights of the trip and showed up to each new place praying someone would have a room,” Justin added. “We really had no idea what we were in for.” “I kind of liked having no set plans though. Like, we met some of the coolest people because of it. Remember, Mama?” After an unforgettable weekend in Ios, our haggard duo fell on Mama’s doorstep looking for a place to stay. She took one look at us and said, “Just call me ‘Mama’.” She showered us with food, shelter, and kindness; even making a traditional home remedy to heal a bad burn I had endured. “We would have never met Mama if we had booked accommodations.” I reminded. “We’d have never met her if we didn’t meet those Canadian’s who convinced us to go to Santorini,” Justin stated. “How’d we met them anyways?” “When we tried to get back to the hostel in Ios, but every street is a little ally and we were completely turned around,” I recalled. “They fed us fries while walking us home. Remember?” “Just like Hansel and Gretel! How could I forget? It seems like we have been lost a lot on this trip…” Justin added. “The alcohol might not have helped us out with that… or the fact that you and I mostly fought the first three weeks.” A stillness fell over the buggy. We stared at the gravel in front of us; barely making a move. “Honestly, didn’t think we’d be such good friends at the end of this,” Justin said breaking the silence. I took a deep breath. “You know, we both came on this trip to get away from what was going on back home,” I stated, as tears kissed my cheeks. “You remind me of him you know. This whole trip I was trying to forget that he’s gone, but every day I was reminded: my brother is gone, and never coming back. I see him in everything… and everyone.” Justin reached for my hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “I know it’s hard. The memories aren’t going to go away.” In the distance, a brown cloud started to form. It crept closer and closer until a black sedan became visible. “You two look lost,” the driver said. “Need some help?” I glanced over at Justin, “How is it that we are always found?” “Well, someone has a brother the shows up in many disguises,” Justin smiled.