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Rocking back and forth the weight of my body abruptly moving from head to toe, the scent of salt and sea wisping around my face and entering every orifice of my body making me breathe in fresh air of the new day. The soft sound of waves caressing the side of the Moja Maja coaxed me out of my sea salt fueled dream. These sounds, senses and motions woke me up for days that blissfully skated by, days that merged into a sliver of perfection. The Moja Maja was a golden wooden yacht that glided through the rocky Adriatic sea. She was now my home but just for a few more days. Josip the waiter thudded along the side of our cabin shouting in Croatian to the chef Jimmy. The Moja Maja was still in motion slicing through the waves. Swaying, I darted down the passageway to the dining room seeing if there was anything left of the continental breakfast. “GOOD MORNING Nafisah, how do you want your eggs?” came a loud voice from behind. Startled, I twisted around to see Josip’s beaming face. The boat stopped. We were here, our swim stop. Every morning before lunch our captain would stop the boat in a clear section of the sea and anchor the Moja Maya down for an hour for the guest to swim. Not wasting any time I told Josip no thank you and after a quick change, I climbed up onto the top deck where DJ Steve was already belting out Australia’s best club hits, the thrum of the music vibrating from the floorboards, a dizzying shifting beat that sounded out into the sea. A fine sheen of sweat coated my back from the lashing the sun gave me. The sea bed calling to me tempting me to enter its cool realm. The sunlight glistened glimmering along the surface of the sea, dappling the cerulean blue with silver. Looking down into the deep blue abyss, all I saw was the entrance to heaven Carefully, I climbed over the rails, holding tight to it, I paused for a moment, breathing in deeply. The beat of my heart lay trapped in my ears, the pit of my stomach, a twisting pulse of nerves. Breathing out slowly, I lept. I gave a delighted gasp, silenced by the splash of water. Upon entry, my body tingled the icy cold contrast to the warm sun, it coursed through my veins till I was one with the sea. After lunch we explored the vibrant town of Dubrovnik; Upon entering the city walls we were sucked into a whirlwind, the energy of the city engulfing our small group. Life could be felt through every part of the city, the vibrations of the cobblestone, the soft murmur of tourist and locals, the church bells tolling, the ringing echoing within the city walls. A miasma of lavender blanketed the city, an inescapable sweet scent. The euphoric scent trailed after us, leading us to a path of never-ending steps. Above there were lilac sheets billowing in the wind dancing around the washing line they were bound to. Further on was a store selling lavender ice cream, the lavender was fresh from the islands covered with fields of it nearby. Refreshing and cool, juvenile as it was, it made my heart ache with nostalgia at something so familiar. It took me back to a childhood memory of eating parma violets in the sweet shop. Our walk ended at the base of an archaic tower; the Gornji Ugao a silent gigantic obelisk ruefully observing the past and present, while all along hiding in plain sight. Next to the tower was a place we didn’t foresee. The open space had three sides that were guarded by the stone walls of the tower the fourth side didn’t have a wall but was open the only thing separating the court from a steep drop into the city was fencing. Past the fence was the skyline of Dubrovnik littered with rusty terracotta tiles and alternating lay lines. The bell tower pierced the skyline, standing tall over the city and tolling every hour and telling all those within its range what to do and when.