The sixth symphony E-Book

Giovanna de la Hoz

• Herausgeber: Books on Demand
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 347

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2021

Beschreibung

Eileen and Nora, two main characters for a story that can be split into two. Or are they two stories that can be told as one? Whatever the case, the truth is they share more than just one thing. Scottish and only children, they both head north to their grandparents for their summer holidays, where they are to create long lasting memories. From writing a novel, to finding out the truth about their past, or making new friends and following the wishes of an old legends book, their stories will keep you enchanted from the minute you agree to commit to them.

Leseprobe

Note from the author

This novel can be read in three different ways:

as it was printed;

following first Arabic numbers (including Prologue and Epilogue) and then Roman numerals; or

following first Roman numerals and then Arabic numerals (including Prologue and Epilogue).

Whichever option you go for, I guarantee you will not feel lost at any point. I could suggest a way of reading this book, but I do not want to bias you in any way. If you acquired a physical copy and you decide to read it as indicated either on numbers 2 or 3 however, you might want to add a sticker to the ‘Index of chapters’ page, as you will be coming back quite a lot.

I sincerely hope you have a good time reading my debut novel.

All the best,

Giovanna.

Index of Chapters

Prologue

- 1 -

- I -

- 2 -

- II -

- 3 -

- III -

- 4 -

- IV -

- 5 -

-V -

- 6 -

- VI -

- 7 -

- VII -

- 8 -

- VIII -

- 9 -

- IX -

- 10 -

-X -

- 11 -

-XI -

- 12 -

- XII -

- 13 -

- XIII -

- 14 -

- XIV -

- 15 -

- XV -

- 16 -

- XVI -

- 17 -

- XVII -

- 18 -

- XVIII -

- 19 -

- XIX -

- 20 -

- XX -

- 21 -

- XXI -

Epilogue

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Prologue

The suffocating heat they had been experiencing since the beginning of that summer was something she had not experienced ever before. She was by herself in a now-not-so-unknown, yet excitingly new city, and on her last day of work before the summer holidays, she was pondering about the options that her first holidays as a young working adult offered her. She had just moved into her new place, where she was to live for what was remaining of her contract. Or so she hoped.

Even though her previous housemate had been a nice and easy-going girl, they had not gotten along more than what had been extremely necessary. Despite of how awkward their encounters within the small apartment had been however, they had always been kindly friendly to each other. Yet that had been it.

Determined to live a much pleasant experience with her new housemate, she had moved in a couple days earlier than what they had first agreed on. Unfortunately for her, her first night at her new place had not felt as welcoming as she had dreamed it would be. Besides having gotten her period that very same morning, which was a circumstance that was annoying enough on its own, the extreme heat they had been experiencing for the last weeks had made sleeping a real struggle. A struggle that was twice as annoying when one had to get up early to go to work. Nonetheless, she had gotten up that morning wishing for the last-day-in-the-office mood to help ease that pain to smoothly get along the day.

She had had to relocate to her current location because of work. She had been all in since she had gotten the job offer. That much in fact, that the excitement of the transition from being a university student to becoming a young working adult had gotten her blind to the need she had of her family. She had not spent a single day without having a thought for everyone she had left behind, yet she had so often found herself in the midst of a such fast-moving reality, that she had sometimes forgotten to phone her loved ones. Thus, as soon as she got home from work that day, she took out her mobile phone, and dialled her grandfather.

‘Grandpa!’ shouted Eileen, relieved when her grandfather finally answered the phone. Even though he was nimble enough for his age (some youngsters wished they were as agile as he was), he had probably been working at his vegetable garden, and thus it had taken him a longer time to answer the phone. The waiting for Eileen had been tedious, but luckily for her, it was over now. ‘Thank Goodness you answered! I was starting to worry. You alright?’.

‘Sure I am, Eileen. Why wouldn’ I?’.

‘Nothing… Just forget about it. The heat might have gotten me more sensitive’ said Eileen, trying to downplay her concern. She had always had a special connection with her grandfather, and the sole thought of him having any problems made her worry in excess. ‘Anyway, long story short… we got home earlier from work, so I’ll be able to head off to Pitlochry today! I might as well just take a nap before though, I didn’t really get much sleep last night. So… yeah, I guess I could be home for a late dinner. How do you like that?’.

‘Fer real? That’s awesome!’ said Alick. He had decided to let Eileen’s first comment go on purpose, and just focus on how excited the news had gotten him. ‘Yer grandma is going to love it when I tell her. Lemme just finish up watering the plants, and I’ll let her know. But please, don’ hurry. Mind yerself on the road!’.

‘That I will, grandpa’ said Eileen, restraining to let the tears that had suddenly come to her eyes roll all over her face. If only he knew how excited she was to finally visit them… ‘I was originally coming tomorrow, but I’ve realised that what I have left to do here can be done when I return after the holidays. Also, you know what we say, don’t you?’.

‘Family fi’st’ was all Alick said for a reply.

‘Always’ said Eileen while letting two emotional tears plough through her face. She wiped them away with the back of her hand, and remained expectant to whatever her grandfather might add. But neither of them was able to speak without emotionally cracking, so gathering all her strength, Eileen added: ‘see you later, grandpa’.

She had tried for her voice not to tremble, but she could not be sure she had managed that wish. Her grandfather had always seemed to have a sixth sense regarding her, so she had since long learned that there was no hiding secrets from him. As determined as she was to kick start her holidays the best way possible however, she set an alarm on her phone and got herself ready for a quick nap before departure.

She had initially planned to unbox everything that day, and head off to her hometown the next morning. But she was so eager to see her grandparents again that the situation got unbalanced the minute she thought about it. All her belongings, and specially her winter clothes, could remain as they were until she came back to Dundee after the summer holidays.

She was not a fan of driving. She had never been, nor she will ever be, but as independent as she was, she needed doing things by herself that she would rather not do if she were with someone else. For such reason, she always planned her trips ahead, always making sure that no matter how delayed they might become, she would not have to drive long distances at night-time. Such was her fear of driving in the dark in fact that, despite of the one-hour nap she had taken, she got to Pitlochry long before the sun had even started setting.

The fifty-two miles that separated her two homes were gone faster than she had expected. It was true she loathed driving, but in order to make her journeys more pleasant, she always sang the whole time. She would never sing in public, but when she was all by herself, it was something completely different. She was aware of how bad of a singer she was, but when it was only her ears that had to listen to it, she just did not care.

As a scientist, she found the process of creation from scratch quite complicated. She had never had a good hand for anything artistic, from painting to playing any instrument, so she admired every single person that had been gifted with those skills. However, something she was quite good at was at remembering quotes and the lyrics to any song. Anything that regarded words actually. Although… as shy as she was, she had not let many people know about that side of hers, and thus words had remained her little secret.

‘The number of things we can express through words equals infinity. Mastering the process of putting them in the right order is a gift on its own as well’ she had repeated to herself as she had gotten into her car, ready to kick start her summer holidays.

The town looked busy because of all the holidaymakers that had decided to spend their holidays inland. That busy indeed, that she had a little bit of trouble to find a spot to park her second-hand car. She was getting quite anxious about not finding a place, although luck shined on her the third time she drove pass the main road of the neighbourhood. She skilfully parked her car two houses away from her grandparents’, took her belongings from the boot and headed herself to the house.

‘Hello!?’ greeted Eileen when she opened the front door. ‘I’m back…!’ she added, while leaving her cases by the cupboard under the stairs. She then took her shoes off and put on her old comfortable Scottish rugby-themed slippers. When she turned around she realised that her grandmother had walked into the hall to welcome her home: ‘Evening grandma! How do you do? I am so happy to be back again. I have missed you a lot’. It was the longest she had been away from her grandparents, so all the emotions overflooded her the moment she saw her loved ones again. Such was the case in fact, that she could not hold her tears when her grandmother said:

‘Oh sweethea’t! It’s so good to see ye. Come hug this old lady, ye will’.

Feeling homely welcomed by her grandmother’s strong accent, Eileen walked the few inches that laid between them, and hugged and kissed her grandmother for all the times they had not been able to do so for the last seven months. Happy tears kept running along their face the whole time, which from the outside did not make it seem as though they were feeling as happy as they were. Or so thought her grandfather when he walked into the hall.

‘Who would say ye were happy!’ exclaimed Alick when he saw the scene from the dining room door. Neither Eileen nor her grandmother had noticed him until he spoke. The moment they did however, they undid their hug so Eileen could offer one arm for him to join them. Without any hesitation, he shortened the distance that separated them, and joined the hug.

Not even today can they tell how long they hugged for, but they do vividly remember the connection they felt for as long as it lasted. Eileen was the only grandchild of the Bruce marriage, so joy overfilled them whenever she returned home. The opposite held true for when she left the house, but they all tried their best not to think about that beforehand.

After recomposing, they all got ready for dinner. They were to have it at a much later hour than they all usually did, but that did not stop them from chitchatting for hours. They talked about everything and nothing, catching up on each other’s lives and forgetting about the fact that time was a free soul that ran at its own pace, which resulted in them going to bed passed midnight.

‘Look at the hour!’ exclaimed Eileen when she glanced the clock hanging on the wall. ‘I can’t believe I’m not feeling sleepy at a…’ she said, although a yawn took over her right then, which made her lose all credibility. ‘I’ll help you get ever…’.

‘No, ye go to bed righ’ now’ interrupted Alick. ‘I’ll get this sorted out meself’.

‘It’ll take us haaaaaalf…the time if I help you’ replied Eileen, yawning again.

‘Ye can’t even talk, Eileen. Ye are tired. Please, go to bed straight away’ said Leagsaidh, caressing her grandchild on her arm.

Assuming that arguing with her grandparents would not make any difference, Eileen decided to kiss them goodnight and head upstairs to her old room. Halfway up the stairs she realised she had left her suitcase in the hall, but because she still had some old clothes in her room, she decided it was not worth the risk going downstairs again. As the winter clothes she had left at her new apartment in Dundee, everything she had brought to Pitlochry could wait for the next day.

Once upstairs, she went to the bathroom to brush her teeth and comb her hair. Out of the three bathrooms in the house, the one on the second storey was her favourite one. It had a skylight that allowed for a beautiful view of the Scottish night. And even when it rained it looked stunning. It allowed for natural light to come inside the house, which made everything acquire a unique look.

Once done, she went to her room. She had played strong in front her grandparents, but the truth was that she was feeling really tired. So much, that she was unaware of how full her bedroom looked until she switched on the lights. Afraid of having been tricked by her subconscious however, she blinked her eyes repeatedly. But nothing changed. Her room was indeed full of balloons.

There were balloons of different sizes and colours, but none seemed to have a note to highlight the fact as to why they were there. And just as she was about to run downstairs to ask her grandparents, she saw that there was an envelope lying on her old desktop. She walked towards it, and then stretched her arm to get hold of it. She recognised the flickering handwriting of her grandfather straight away, and wondered what it held inside.

‘You know me like no other, grandpa’ said Eileen when she flipped the envelope around. Her grandfather had drawn some small letters and books all over it.

She then laid on her bed to read the letter that she had just retrieved from the inside of the envelope.

- 1 -

The day after her arrival in Pitlochry, she woke up at almost lunchtime. She had been sent to bed passed midnight, but she had not fallen asleep until around 2 a.m. After having read the letter that her grandfather had left for her, she had spent almost two hours thinking of that she had always thought about doing, but that she had never found neither the determination nor the inspiration for. As a result, she had woken up feeling really sleepy that morning.

She was so happy by the coast enjoying herself, but there was nothing like going back to one’s roots for a full battery recharge. It had not been invented yet, something as glorious as a grandmother’s meal. Eileen was a cook herself, as long as her always busy schedule allowed her to spend some time in the kitchen, but her grandmother’s meals were the best. She did not recall a single time that she had not enjoyed something prepared by Leagsaidh, whereas her owns… more than once she had had to eat things that if anybody else had cooked them, she would have not dared trying.

‘The perks of living by myself’ she thought while getting out of bed and opening her room window for the air to get renewed. She let the fresh air welcome her to a brand new day for a couple seconds, and then decided that the only thing that would truly wake her up would be a morning shower. She turned around to head to her wardrobe to pick up some clothes, and as she was about to open one of the cupboards, she glanced her grandfather’s letter lying on the floor, right next to her bed. Assuming that it had slipped from her hands as she had fallen asleep, she kneeled down and grabbed it:

Dear Eileen,

Welcome back!

Grandma and I have thought about setting up your room for your arrival as a surprise for our young working adult. You will never get to experience this first time ever again, so enjoy it to the fullest. You coming back is a reason good enough for us to party. At the end of the day, you are our only grandchild, and we can’t be happier to have you with us again. We hope you enjoy your time inland.

Lots of love,

Your grandparents.

PS: I know you are a very young talented woman, and that anyone in their right mind would love to have you around. But I also know you are a very reserved individual. I believe you should let the world see what is inside of you. Let everyone experience that your heart has beaten for, for as long as you can remember. Bring that dreamer back, do it for this old man.

She had never been a very emotional individual, but we all go through that phase at some point in our lives. She had grabbed the letter with galloping tears finding their way to her eyes so naturally, by the time she finished rereading it, they had already found their way out. She had never been good at showing her emotions in public, but she was a complete different person when in her room. Whenever she felt she had no eyes on her, she felt she could truly be her. The silent freedom her room provided her with, allowed for her brain to lose control in favour of her heart. That was when she would cry, or dance, or sing as her body asked her to.

Still whimpering, she folded the letter back into the envelope. She then took some clean garments, and headed to the bathroom. Her stomach was complaining because it had not been filled for a really long time, but she still had to get that much needed shower.

The skylight in bathroom welcomed her by letting the sunlight get through it, which made her smile widely. A day that started like that could not let anyone down. She then took a quick shower, put on some joggers and a T-shirt and went downstairs to join her grandparents.

‘Ye were tired, ye! C’me jein us h’re, sweethhea’t’ said her Leagsaidh while standing up to serve her grandchild a full dish of traditional Scottish haggis. ‘Ye eat that all or ye don’ move’ she warned Eileen, mimicking the tone she used to use when Eileen was a kid. Unfortunately for her grandparents, she had never had a good appetite.

‘That I will grandma. Thanks’ said Eileen while sitting down at her spot. She had sat at that very same end of the table for as long as she could remember. ‘By the way, thank you so much for my welcome back balloons. I was not expecting any of that whatsoever. You really did make my day last night’ she added before taking a big mouthful.

Her grandparents looked at each other and smiled before Alick replied: ‘It is ye who make ou’ days eve’y day, sweethea’t. And have ye given a thought to it?’ he quickly added, knowing full well that Eileen would understand what he was talking about.

‘I have indeed. And of course I am into it! I have been thinking about it for months now, years probably. But I have been in this busy spiral lately that has forced me away of what somehow makes me, me’ she said, suddenly becoming a bit sad, for she had not realised how much she had missed doing that until she had voiced it. ‘Actually, I have had this idea for weeks now. I just wished I were able to make it real’ she added, more to herself than to her grandfather.

‘What is it? I bel’eve ye’ve got 3 weeks off fer ye to work on it’ said Alick, winking his eye at Eileen.

‘I don’t know grandpa… I mean, I believe that if I were able to make it real, it’d be an awesome book. I haven’t read anything like what I have in mind ever before. But I still struggle trying to make up the story. Besides, I have never been able to go that far in my writing’ she added downheartedly.

‘Don’t ye think like that girl!’ replied Alick. He then took a few seconds to reconsider his arguments before he added: ‘How ‘bout ye tell me what ye’ve got in mind? I’d be more than happy to help ye out’. Afterwards, and in order to persuade her, he moved closer to her, and kindly caressed his grandchild on her arm. He was aware she was not one to be touched that freely, yet he knew she made exceptions for those she truly cared about.

Letting her grandfather do, Eileen pondered the options she had, and whether or not telling her grandfather about the ideas she had had would be the best of them all. She could try and explain what she had envisioned, although that would probably spoil the whole concept. She also thought about explaining how she had gotten the idea, wishing that he would get the point straight away, but she declined that idea the minute she had it. All in all, she had been left with just one option: producing the manuscript and letting him give her his feedback. Besides, that way, he would become a key element on the writing process, as his comments would definitely shape the story.

She gave it a longer thought, but she could not reach any other conclusion, and thus told her grandfather that he would officially become her assistant. Alike Eileen had expected, he agreed the minute she proposed the offer, which made her laugh and say: ‘You needn’t agree with me on everything I say, grandpa’.

‘I’m not agreeing on doing it because ye suggested it, young lady’ said Alick, defensively. ‘It’s jus’ that I think it’s a great idea. Besides, I guess that would be the closer I’ll ever be to writing a story meself’ he quickly added, understanding that he had not sounded convincing at all.

‘Is that it? Really? Give me a wink if you’re lying!’ challenged Eileen, suspicious. As an only grandchild, she knew that she just needed to blink her eyes a few times for her to get away with her whims. Assuming that him not blinking meant he was being honest, Eileen decided to trust his word. ‘As you’ve said, I’ve got three weeks off for me to focus on the project. I believe it’s better if we arranged timetables though. I shall have one for me to write, and you shall have another one to revise my writing. If we both commit to them, we shall be done by the time I must head to the coast again’.

‘Sounds fai’ to me’ said Alick.

As a reply to his commitment, Eileen jumped off her chair and headed to her room to pick up her laptop. She knew she was being too optimistic thinking that she would be able to produce a whole novel in just three weeks when she had not written anything for years. And even more when those she had written in the past had not been long enough as to be considered more than tales. However, she had the feeling that that summer would be different. She should at least give it a try. She had had an idea for months, and there were no plans awaiting for her at Pitlochry, so what could go wrong?

Eileen and her grandfather agreed that the writing would be done in the mornings, whereas the revision and discussion would be twice or thrice a week in the evenings, depending on how many pages Eileen had been able to produce. That very first day however, as she had gotten up so late, they had agreed to go for a walk around the neighbourhood, as that might help her get some extra ideas.

‘Ye reckon the village doesn’ show like this when eve’ybody is wo’king, righ’?’ said Alick matter-of-factly a few minutes into their walk. ‘I me’n, when holidaymakers are at their places. We don’ attract employers. The area is condemned’ he added mournfully.

Eileen knew her grandfather was right. She herself, who had been born and raised in the area, had had to leave to find a living. She had first moved to Edinburgh at the age of 17 (she had been born in late November) to study at university. After graduating, she had found herself a job in Dundee that she was enjoying a lot. Nevertheless, and even though she liked it at her new location because of all the opportunities it offered, she was sad she could not make a living at her hometown.

‘When ye become a famous writer, ye could c’me back. No worries ‘bout that’ said Alick as though he had just read through his grandchild’s skull.

‘You’ve got very high expectations about me, grandpa’ said Eileen, blushing. When she first started writing at the age of nine, she dreamed of producing such good stories as her favourite author, JK Rowling, so she could be able to become as famous as her. She knew however that the difference between her and JK was that people had not had anyone to compare JK with, so the sky had been the limit.

‘I don’ see but what it is’ said Alick, gleefully. ‘Anyway, I know we had agreed fer me to jus’ read the manuscript as ye produce it, but… couldn’ this old man get a glimpse of what is to come? I’m certainly curious ‘bout how ye gonna work’.

‘I guess there is nothing wrong with me telling you how I plan to work. After all, whenever we find a book at the book shop, we get to read a few lines about the story to create expectations’ said Eileen. ‘So… what I plan to do is, I will first go through a story I wrote when I was doing my A-levels, so I can get a contest for the characters. I will then use those same characters for a complete different story. Thus yes, I first need to reread it and take notes about the main aspects of each character. I would then be ready to start creating the new story’ she added.

‘Could I have a read?’ I’m intrigued ‘bout what the characters looked like when ye created them’ suggested Alick. He enjoyed her writing so much he could not keep to his word of not trying to take things from her beforehand.

Eileen had not foreseen her grandfather would be asking for that, so she had to give it a thorough thought. She did not want to spoil the new story, but him reading the somehow origin of it would not necessarily do that. Besides, what if he were right and that could be helpful? What if him reading the story could give her new ideas for the now growing one? ‘I guess you could, yes. I shall give it a read first to correct minor mistakes though’.

‘Fair enough. Do ye reckon ye could be done by nigh’ time?’ asked Alick, nervous for his dare.

‘I guess I could’ replied Eileen among laughs. ‘We shall head home now though, or you’ll have to wait ‘til tomorrow morning’.

- I -

Red-haired Nora enjoyed her summer holidays as much as other fifteen-years-olds did. She was a good student and got extremely good grades at school, but this did not stop her from wanting summer to come as fast as possible.

She wanted to be a normal girl, and she was in most ways indeed. But there was something that made her different: she was a wonder girl playing the piano. She had played piano for as long as she could remember. She liked it, but it was also tiring at times…

She came from a humble family from northern Scotland, and had moved to London to take piano lessons with one of the best teachers of the moment. When she had heard Mr. Ross wanted to be her teacher, she had been completely unable to hide her excitement. She had started packing all her belongings the minute her parents had told her the good news, but the reality she found down south was not the fairy tale she thought it would be. After a couple of months, she was not that enthusiastic. Her timetable had been filled with must-do activities that she enjoyed on their own, but that became sort of wearisome when there was no other way to get through the day but by doing them.

She often wondered what would have happened if she had not been an only child, or whether she had not stood out due to her piano skills, but it was already too late for her to find out what her life would have turned into. Luckily for her however, she did feel the freedom of no timetables when she was allowed at her grandmother’s in Scotland. She was aware that her parents did not approve of her not going through her must-do activities, but her grandmother was on her side, and that meant the argument was always balanced in favour of her interests. Like that one time a few years before when she had started feeling hungry and had gone downstairs to grab something to eat, to find herself eavesdropping from the corridor. Her grandmother and her parents were having a very heated conversation in the kitchen. She had realised they were talking about her before she heard her name, yet she had to quit listening the moment she noticed someone was sobbing. With drowned eyes, she had run upstairs to her room, where she had locked the door, wishing for the argument downstairs to finish the sooner, the better.

A couple hours after that, her grandmother Mary had found her lying in her bed. They had always been very close, so they had not needed more than a look into each other’s eyes to find out what they were dealing with. Their bond was so special, that even though Nora never voiced all the questions her then out-of-control brain was coming up with, she got all of them answered. When Mary finished her explanations however, they were both in tears, and thus were completely unable to talk. Their sobs and running noses prevented them from speaking, but not from bear-hugging each other. Because there are times when no words are needed to express one’s feelings.

That bear-hug they shared that day lasted long enough to strengthen the bond they had shared for as long as Nora could remember. Hence, from that day on, that bond did not stop from growing bigger and stronger, as they worked on it by pouring their feelings onto the dedicated letters that they sent to each other. Just like the one that Nora had received that very same morning:

Dear Nora,

I am pleased to hear you are doing well at school. Keep on like that, sweety!

There is not much time left until you come around, so I have already started preparing your room. I am afraid it will not look like the one you have got in London, but I am trying my best to make it cosy for you so you don’t notice.

I haven’t got room for your piano-keyboard at my place –I know you wanted me to convince your parents to stop playing it during your stay here, but they have not gone through. Sweety, I am afraid you will have to practice a couple hours a day. Since I don’t have one of my own, your parents have agreed for you to go to my friend Amy’s to practice on her grandchild’s. He is your age, so you might become good friends with him.

Please, tell your parents to let me know when exactly you are coming; I have got yet another surprise for you that still needs prepping.

Lots of love,

Granny Mary.

Due to the delay on the post-mail, that letter had arrived just a few days before their planned departure at the end of the week. Nora had read it over ten times, trying to find out whether her grandmother had left any secret hints to what the surprise might be. But because by the tenth attempt she still had nothing, she had decided to let the investigation go. Although reticent, she had accepted the waste of time that pursuing the analysis any further would be. Assuming her grandmother would let her know the minute she laid her feet in Scotland, she had deemed convenient filing it in the box she had handcrafted for the purpose. Then, she had headed downstairs to join her parents for lunch. She was aware that they were not approving the situation, yet she was determined to not letting anything get in between her and whatever her grandmother had planned for that summer break. Thus, before leaving the corridor behind, she swallowed saliva and opened the door as calmly as her raising heartbeat allowed her to. She then asked her parents whether they had done as her grandmother had requested. She had been very careful to not leak anything that might make them suspicious about the surprise. She had a feeling that they were better left aside on that topic.

‘Oh… sorry, Nora. I haven’t had time for that at all. We’ve been running from meeting to meeting for the last two days. But I promise I’ll phone her after lunch’ said her mother, pinky-promising her. ‘Also…, once you are done having your meal, could you please go upstairs and finish up your French homework? I’ve gotten an email from the academy requesting it to wrap up the course’.

‘Will do, mum’ said Nora. She was so used to being asked to doing things, that she had since long learned to not let the circumstances determine her mood. After all, in just a few days she would be back in Scotland!

It took them more than half a day to get to granny Mary’s by car. But for Nora, it was all worth it. For the next two weeks, she would be allowed to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted to. She could stay up until late, sleep in, skip both breakfast and brunch, or simply enjoy the scenery. She had been obsessed with the Scottish landscape for as long as she could remember. The northern part of the island looked completely different from the southern half. Up there, even the air felt different.

The closer they got to the small village however, the faster both the excitement to be around her grandmother again, and the fatigue built up. Her legs were feeling numb, and her stomach was craving for dinner. She was used to travelling long distances, but that did not mean she did not loathe the last minutes of every journey. At the end of the day, that was when one was too tired to even protest, but also too excited to eventually reach their destination.

‘That new billboard is as big as the village itself!’ exclaimed Nora’s father, breaking up her daydreaming bubble.

Nora had been dealing with her excitement versus fatigue dilemma, and thus had not realised that from where they were, they could already see the first houses. She looked outside the window, and damned her short-sightedness. They would have to get much closer before she would be able to read anything.

Yet when she could read it, she thought her eyes were tricking her. She was feeling so tired that should had she been in a desert, she would had seen oasis everywhere. Claiming for her rational self to prevail her tiredness, she rubbed her eyes and waited for an image to be formed again. But the new image did not differ on anything with the first one she had gotten. She had no other option but to agree that there was no trick whatsoever. What she was seeing was exactly what she was supposed to be seeing.

The huge billboard her father had pointed out, which was right next to the one that read the name of the village, was plain white except for just three words: Welcome back, Nora! She had known that her grandmother had planned a surprise for her, but she never thought it would include the whole village! Although she had to agree that one never really knew what to expect from her grandmother. However crazy the idea, if Mary wanted to carry it out, then she would find the way to do it.

Once they drove pass the huge billboard, Nora let the excitement take over her. Laying back, she closed her eyes and recreated in her mind the way to her grandmother’s… ‘first to the left, three houses and again to the left, five more houses and then to the right…’. She had felt her heartbeat raise with every turn, but she forced her eyes closed until she felt her father stopped the engine. She was finally back! When she opened her eyes she saw her grandmother was awaiting at the bench by the entrance, so she hurried to unfasten her seatbelt, jump off the car and run towards her grandmother. Despite the warmth that every single letter from Mary had filled her heart with, there was nothing like an actual bear-hug. Because it is never about how much we tell someone we love them, but how much we make them feel loved.

‘Honey, we are off to Berlin tomorrow’ said dad, leaving Nora’s suitcase by the entrance door. ‘I needn’t add you behave properly, do I?’ he added, planting a soft kiss on Nora’s forehead.

‘I thought you were at least staying tonight! ’ exclaimed Mary, searching for her keys in the pocket of her skirt.

‘No mum, we are not. We have got business meetings in Germany, so we have booked ourselves a hotel room in Glasgow for as to fly to Berlin tomorrow morning’ said Nora’s mum, closing the door behind her. ‘We’ll join you for dinner today, but we are leaving right afterwards. Although… could we talk to your friend Abby first? We’d like to thank her in person for lending Nora her piano. Besides, I’d like to check with her whether the timetable I’ve arranged suits her…’.

‘We have gone over this a hundred times so far’ said Mary, clearly making an effort to sound as firm as she could. ‘She is both on holidays, and at my place. She will do whatever I say. And I do not want to argue’ she added when her son-in-law tried to speak.

Nora witnessed the tense encounter keeping her breath. She was aware of the many sacrifices her parents had had to face so she would have everything she did. And she was very pleased for it all, do not think she was not. But she was also sorry they could not see they were taking her teenage years away from her. She was responsible on her own, and as thus, she knew that the best thing she could do was to take a break from time to time.

Despite that uncomfortable moment, the soiree was really nice. They enjoyed their dinners, which made Nora and her parents recover from the long journey. But as much as they wanted to stretch it out, Nora’s parents needed to head to Glasgow in order to keep on with their duties.

‘Dinner was delicious, mum’ said Nora’s mum, taking her purse from the hook, already next to the entrance door. ‘I wish we could enjoy your meals a little bit longer, but work is work. See you both in a couple weeks!’ she added, sounding really sorry to have to leave only a few hours after they had arrived.

Mary and Nora greeted them their good-byes from the front yard, and once they saw the car disappearing at the nearest crossroad, they shut the gate close and went back to the living room.

For the first time in six months, Nora had nothing planned ahead for her, if we intentionally exclude her few piano practices, of course. Her must-do activities would be non-existing for over two weeks! She wished she could stay at her grandmother’s in her current situation for longer, but she had to remain sensible about her situation. After all, she had been left with only two options: she could either complain about it, or make the most out of it. It was just up to her whether she wanted to enjoy her summer, or regret she did not embrace the situation.

‘May I get my suitcase unpac…?’ tried to ask Nora.

‘And how about we go for a walk? Let’s leave the being-formal-behaviour for when you head down south again. Being naughty sometimes is soul healing, you know’ interrupted Mary, caressing Nora’s face.