The marathon of a broken heart

by Kinga Evelyn Antal (Romania)

A leap into the unknown Spain

She suddenly opened her eyes and in a mere second she realized that every inch of her body was shacking and her heart was beating so fast as if it wanted to break through her chest and dissolve into the thin air. She tried to look around to remember where she is but her sight was foggy and she could only distinguish some female silhouettes that were moving around. While trying to clear up her mind, she felt a warm vibration that spread quickly from her toe up until her fingernails, taking over the control of her whole body and bringing her into the darkness of unknown. She fell asleep again. When she woke up she was still dizzy but this time she knew that she has to prepare her nice smile for passport control. Deep inside, she felt utterly alone. All she could sense under her skin was pure emptiness speckled with a drop of freedom and one of fear. She believed she was running away from a broken love, but the truth was, she was running away from her own broken heart. After collecting her luggage she headed to the exit. A seemingly perfect couple was supposed to wait for her. A couple she barely knew on a totally strange island. With each step she made towards the doors the thought grew bigger and bigger: ‘this was a terrible mistake.’ As soon as the doors have opened, the hot air hit her face and she knew instantly that her totally black outfit was a mistake. She spotted the beautiful couple as they were waving excitedly. Her journey, the marathon of her broken heart has just started. While driving away from the airport, her ocean-blue eyes were moving tirelessly in every direction to capture and to absorb the delightful scenery of the island that was unfolding at every turn of the road. It was nothing she imagined or saw before. Driving through the island gave her a strange, yet somehow familiar feeling. Every day was dedicated for a new discovery. The beauties of the island had to be seen and felt. The couple knew that all this broken-hearted young woman needs is to connect with the healing power of nature. She was silently enjoying the rides to the places that would eventually cure her terrible emptiness that captured her soul. Hearing the absolute silence next to the Teide volcano was something that disturbed her at first. While walking on the paths of those strange mountains, she couldn’t help but wonder how everything can be that quiet. No chirping. No insect sounds. No distant city sounds. No trees around whose leaves could rumble. All that could bother her was just her swaying hair in the wind. And her silently screaming soul. But for a strange reason, she loved it. She loved watching the sunset in this seemingly no-man land. She imagined that the burning, slowly disappearing sun on the purple-orange sky was her old love. On that early September afternoon she buried her love for him between the volcanic rocks and the foams of the Atlantic Ocean. For the first time in the past three years, her soul was smiling again. From that moment on she was joyfully enjoying the cold water, the swimming with the little and colorful creatures of the ocean. She was roaming around the touristic areas, she let the sun burn her white skin, and she inhaled deeply the salty air. Between those uneven mountains and the burned bushes she discovered quite villages, local fiestas, people with beautiful souls, abandoned houses, beaches with almost transparent water. Eventually, she discovered herself. Her true self. She came to realize that on that island, not only that she let go of her broken heart, but she also found another home. She grew so close to this island that her heartbeats were synchronized with the waves that were endlessly coming back to the black shore. That utter loneliness that followed her all the way, disappeared on gentle harp-sounds.