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“After I’ve had a hard day at work, I usually come here.” Nicolas said.
We were in a field where wildflowers were in bloom. Tall, slender-stemmed flowers were swaying in the wind. A beautiful blend of colors ranging in different shades. Petals in pink, purple, blue, yellow, orange, red and white as far as my eyes could see. Lilies, fiddle neck, primrose, verbena and all kinds of poppies.
All was quiet except for a slight breeze. The flowers were moving to an unheard melody.
This was Nicolas’s sanctuary. He was showing me his place of refuge.
“You job must be so hard, Nicolas. You take care of those who are ill. You become the guardian of a person’s life. You give hope to their loved ones too. My work seems trivial considering that,” I said.
“I don’t see it that way at all. We are both the same, Eleanor,” Nicolas replied.
“Really? How is that possible?” I asked.
“We both have the task of healing. I do it practically. Your work does it abstractly, almost transcendentally,” he said.
“We are both healers?”
“Yeah.”
“You know some will say you are crazy for saying that?”
“I don’t care. I believe it,” he said.
He was adorable. I didn’t think I could like anyone as much as I liked Nicolas at that moment.
“I would even go as far as saying that artists heal Doctors. There is so much pressure among Doctors to be this stoic paragon of hope. We need hope ourselves too,” Nicolas said.
“So now artists are healers of the healers? My dear sir, that is quite enough. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving such high praise to those we often misunderstand. Tormented, deprived poets, artists, artisans. We don’t even know their life’s purpose on this Earth.”
Nicolas laughed. He was undeniably sexy. My heart was swooning, but surely it could for someone like him? For a handsome, thoughtful, compassionate, gold-hearted person?
“The problem with my position is the more I become a role model, the less permission I have to talk about my feelings,” Nicolas confided to me.
I understood that feeling.
I felt like I had known Nicolas forever. How long had it been? One week? Two weeks? Three weeks or four?
With Nicolas, it was hard to tell the time. Days blurred into seconds, and each second carried the memories of days.
My mind was splitting in two, and I didn’t know what to do. I knew that even though I found my heart here in Argentina, I should get ready for the next part of my journey. I had to complete what I set out to do.
I missed Cassie and my parents. I had the next phase of my life to consider, the whole reason I started my trip. My agent emailed me to say that while I was away, a producer asked about offering a role to me. She was waiting for me to return from my trip to discuss it. My agent said it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I was experiencing a lot of those kinds of moments lately.
I forgot about my other life here, but now it was calling me to return.
Nicolas was quiet. It seemed like something was weighing on his mind.
“Are you thinking about something, Nicolas? You are quiet today,” I asked.
“I guess it is noticeable,” Nicolas said with a smile.
“Is everything alright?”
He smiled again. “It is more than alright. It is bliss, and that is what I am worried about. Things often change when you don’t want them to.”
“What changed?”
“I got an offer. It is a position with Doctors without Borders. It was a moment I was waiting for all my life. I just wish it hadn’t come at another important moment in my life.”
“What moment might that be?” I asked. My heart was beating wildly.
“Eleanor James,” he said.
There was something about the way he said my full name that caused my heart to skip a beat.
“I am a moment?” I asked, trying not to falter in my words.
“You are that and much more, Eleanor.” He seemed sad, and that broke my heart. I would move entire worlds to make him happy again.
“It is a time for celebration, Nicolas. I am so proud of you. It sounds your dream came true, and one you had been working so hard for,” I said brightly, trying to cheer him up.
“Yes, I suppose so. I thought when the moment came, I would be more excited than this. It just gave me a lot to think about,” Nicolas said in good humor. Whatever he was thinking about before didn’t weigh as much on his mind anymore.
“I have some good news to share too. I have a serious offer for a role. One I had been waiting a long time for. But like yourself, I have been experiencing a moment named ‘Nicolas Xavier’ of my own.”
“Yikes! I hope that Nicolas Xavier fellow won’t stop you from going after your dreams. Dreams before dream boy, right?”
“First, there is quite a bit of assumption in your statement about being my dream boy. Second, you are right in thinking so.”
Nicolas smiled.
He was contemplative again. He paused before taking my hand and placed something in the palm of my hand.
“What is this?” I asked, looking at the beautiful dainty ring he had given me. It was rose-gold in color.
“It is a promise. A promise once I am done with my work and have become all that I can be, I will come meet you again, Eleanor. It will be soon, for wherever you are in the world that is where my heart will be.”
If anyone else had said it, I wouldn’t have believed him. But this was Nicolas.
I wanted someone who would express genuine feelings... Nicolas recited poetry for me.
I wanted someone who would give me some flowers... Nicolas took me to an entire field of them.
I wanted a promise... Nicolas gave me one with a ring.
The Universe had been listening to me; It just surprised me in the way it fulfilled my wish.
“I don’t know what to say, Nicolas.” My voice was choking as I tried not to cry.
“Just say you will remember me, Eleanor, and remember this kiss.”
He leaned forward, gently brushing a strand of hair away from my eyes, and kissed me softly. It was a tender kiss, as tender as the person giving it.
I closed my eyes and felt a sensation I never felt before. It was both of relief and of dread. Relief because I knew deep down Nicolas would be true to his words. The dread however was asking: Would I see him again? What if something happened to me before then?
I was not a person who had fatalistic thoughts, so this feeling of fear and dread was new to me.
My fear was paralyzing me, but then I saw Nicolas. I remembered how the sun haloed around his face the first time we met.
He was my sunlight. I put his ring on and felt more courage. The ring fit my finger snugly, like it always was a part of me.
“I will cherish this always, Nicolas,” I promised him.
—————-
Nicolas wanted to go with me to my next destination. Before we said our goodbyes.
“I will go with you to the end of the world,” He said with a hint of a smile.
“I have a feeling that you just made a joke,” I said.
Nicolas stayed quiet.
“You did, didn’t you?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said sheepishly.
“What was the joke?”
“It won’t be funny if I explained the joke,” he said.
“I wouldn’t understand it otherwise. You need to tell me.”
“Ushuaia is the city at the end of the world... Eleanor, are you smiling at my joke or laughing at me?” Nicolas asked.
“I am smiling at your joke,” I said.
“Honest?” he asked.
“Honest,” I replied.
“What are your plans after Ushuaia, Eleanor?” Nicolas asked.
“I will take the cruise to Antarctica from there.”
“Cruise? I would stay away from the buffet. It is a great place to get food poisoning. Don’t use the public washrooms either.”
“Wow. You are like a safety manual.”
“What? Safety is sexy... and healthy is hot!”
“And you are both.”
“As a doctor, I must be the emblem of health and safety.”
“Nicolas, I was talking about you being both sexy and hot.”
Nicolas blushed. He was cute in a way he didn’t realize, especially when he was caught off guard.
Ushuaia was a five hour long flight from Buenos Aires. The flight ended too soon when Nicolas was sitting next to me. I was hoping it would take longer as Ushuaia was at the southern end of Argentina. It was the world’s southernmost city.
Ushuaia was a popular resort town, with casinos and chic hotels. The city used to be an exile prison and an Argentinian naval base. The city centre still had a Maritime and Old Prison Museum.
There were many tourists here, as Ushuaia was a popular jumping-off point for trips. From here people went to Antarctica or around Cape Horn. Mountains, sea, glaciers, and woods surrounded the town. Tierra del Fuego National Park was a popular spot for its scenery and there was Fagnano Lake, which had plenty of scenic hiking trails. We could see snow-capped Martial Glacier from the city.
They nicknamed most of the places in the city as ‘End of the World’. There was San Juan de Salvamento Lighthouse, the End of the World Lighthouse. There was the End of the World Train. There was the End of the World Museum, which had exhibitions about the natural history, aboriginal life, and early penal colonies of Ushuaia.
It was hard for me to concentrate. I was counting down the minutes until I had to say goodbye. Nicolas had a flight to catch in less than an hour, and we were only delaying the inevitable.
“It really feels like the End of the World.” Nicolas said.
“Yes, it does,” I said, my words sounding as hollow as I felt.
“Are you ready for Antarctica?” he asked.
“Not quite, but I guess I have to be,” I said.
“Time is strange, isn’t it? Sometimes, I want it to move quicker. At others, I don’t want it to stop,” Nicolas said.
“But how can anyone do that?” I asked.
“I guess we can’t. We can only make the time we share memorable. Will you dance with me, Eleanor?” Nicolas asked.
I smiled. We spend our last moments together, dancing in the city at the end of the world. I wanted to memorize every inch of his face. The fleck of colors in his hazel eyes, seeing the universe reflecting in them.
“I can never forget you, Nicolas.” I said. My words were barely a whisper, “I hope you don’t forget me.”
“Eleanor, you are a gift send to me. How could any mortal forget an angel?” he said.
An angel? He saw me as an angel.
But he was the closest to being one. His kindness, his compassion, his profession, his words, his goodness were all proof of it.
“Nicolas, the thought of leaving you... I don’t want to leave.”
“You have big plans, big dreams to achieve?” Nicolas asked.
“Yes.”
“Then don’t consider it as leaving. Consider it as pausing this story to go on with your life goals and dream. Until we meet again, Eleanor, and we will meet again,” Nicolas promised.
He smiled his angelic smile. I felt my knees go weak again.
“Until we meet again, Nicolas,” I said.
I gathered my courage at the thought of our future reunion. We embraced one last time before we parted.
I was continuing with the last part of my journey. I was going to Antarctica.