One Last Adventure

Her tiny apartment smelled like the scent of old books and aromas of scented candles beside the lingering trace of burned-out incense.

Her laundry sprawled across the floor. Dirty dishes piled out of the kitchen sink, she had a vast assortment of dusty crystals and gemstones placed methodically on shelves throughout the entire dwelling, they had been left unused and uncared for and were in desperate need of cleansing, reminiscent of her sorrowful soul.

She could not bear to face another day.

It was the dead of night. Curled up in her messy bed, exhausted.

Her eyes red and puffy from crying, she sobbed herself back to sleep before falling into a deep slumber.

The morning dawned, escorted by the golden sun light kissing her pale face.

The window left slightly open; she felt a cold gentle breeze before hearing a whisper in the wind telling her “You need to get up today”.

Her eyelids heavy, rolling over to face the wall, she reached over to the bed side drawer for her phone, waking herself more by logging into Facebook and scrolling through her timeline. She had just spent the last week or so organising her father’s funeral and saying her final goodbyes, she couldn’t care to check her messages. She felt weak and sick with fear.

She was afraid of being alone.

Her father was a surfer at heart who basically lived in and around the ocean. He never wore a shirt and the best shoes you could find him wearing were his bare feet. He was a man of philosophy and together they shared a great number of adventures and spoke often of their future endeavours. Travelling in and around coastal towns all over the country was how he met his daughters’ beautiful mother.

Madly in love and at first sight, she was pregnant soon after.

Months had passed and on the day of her giving birth, she sadly passed away. Within an instant the girl’s father was alone, and a widow with a new born baby girl.

Suffering with grief, he was committed to raising his daughter. He found comfort in learning reiki, discovering it to be a sacred practice that required their greatest respect if they were to experience its most wonderful value.

He taught his daughter to be a free spirit, to be confident in making her own decisions and to live the life of her choosing. He would remind her constantly of the importance in travelling to lands she had not yet seen, such adventures contained gifts of growth and positive energy filled with enjoyment and pleasure. He believed he was in tune with the language of the universe and felt it was speaking to him through signs and omens, helping and guiding them to live a free, abundantly blessed life.

She gazed around the room at the collection of undusted crystals, a reminder of when her dad would recite “crystals were just like friends” her face breaking into a small smile. “Crystals are beautiful to look at, great to relax with and soothing & comforting, just like an old friend”. It wasn’t until now that she understood what he meant.

She threw the blanket in the air and jumped out of bed and in the company of blaring music, she began to spring clean. From top to bottom, every corner of each room, dusted and cleaned, adding the final touch by ritual, she sparked her lighter and lit a sage stick with hopes the built-up negativity from the last 2 weeks would be consumed and banished by fire and smoke.

The air around her hummed with an energy that was cleansed and pure, but she was dripping with sweat as if the dirt from her unkempt apartment had been ground into every nook, cranny and pore of her body, she made her way to the bathroom.

Amidst the pitter patter of tears, she sat naked on the shower floor with the hot water running free and easy over her body. She was desperate to feel something else other than sadness.

Chiming in on her daydream she heard her father’s voice utter, “get up and get ready”, she shook her head brushing it off and stood up to wash herself. “What was she going to do now” she pondered and why was she imagining her father telling her what to do? She whispered to herself “You are not going to lose your mind.” While stepping out of the shower. She analysed her sopping wet self in the mirror and dissected every one of her body’s flaws.

While drying herself, she resigned to slipping into the cutest black dress she owned. The only way she knew how to make herself feel good was to look good. She brushed her long black wavy hair and lightly covered her face with makeup, gliding on her favourite ruby red lipstick.

Later that evening, she sat alone and pretty at the local bar, sipping on cocktails she noticed business was quiet, the establishment was draped in fairy lights wafting of stale cigarettes and beer.

She felt a presence coming up from behind her, she could smell the persons expensive cologne before looking up at the stranger who had approached her. He hid behind a dark freshly groomed beard. He wore an oversize black collared shirt paired with black business pants and black lo-cut converse shoes. He smiled at her, his teeth were white, and for the first time in weeks she felt a sense of calm and comfort.

“Hello, my name is Kevin” he said as he held out his hand waiting for her to grab it. Hesitating, she was shy and out of her comfort zone but somehow felt completely safe to introduce herself. She shook his hand and welcomed him to sit with her. They drank and laughed together for hours, after having a heart-to-heart talk with him it was suddenly morning again and the bar was ready to close. They exchanged numbers and he walked her to her street. She thanked him for listening, and hoped she would get to see him again, as they parted ways he disappeared.

3 months had passed, and she was slowly accepting her grief. Her meeting with Kevin had sparked a 3-month friendship, she was enjoying getting to know him. He had her smiling and life was starting to feel somewhat normal again. She was convinced that her dad, an angel, had guided them both to meet each other.

While checking her emails she noticed one had arrived from her father’s lawyer. He was summoning her to an appointment as there were “important matters” that needed to be discussed. She was unsure of what to expect as she sat in the lawyer’s office anxiously awaiting.

Suddenly the door flew open and in rushed a short podgy man. He had short white hair that was combed over to one side, he wore a grey business suit, his shirt was creased and untucked while his necktie was tied loosely with a flimsy knot. Rushing in he carried a big pile of paperwork and a large brown envelope. Looking overwhelmed with his workload he sat and explained to the girl, the contents inside the envelope were in fact an inheritance from her father.

Surprised, she explains “I had no idea! and I didn’t expect to receive anything more”. She had already organised her father’s place and had put everything into storage.

The lawyer explained further that he had strict orders to ensure she receive these items and as she peeked inside the envelope, she discovered a bundle of cash equal to $20,000 and a little black book.

Upon opening the mystery black book, she noticed the first page was a letter from her father.

She began to read it with tears streaming down her face.

“To My Beautiful Daughter.

I hope this $20,000 finds you well because I want you to have one last adventure.

Thank you for being the best daughter a father could ask for; I have enjoyed every minute and feel extremely blessed to be your dad.

Your mother would be so proud just like I am. I will be with you every day in spirit, please do not be sad anymore. Remember everything I taught you. The world is your oyster.

I have written you many messages throughout this book and a list of places we were never able to visit. Please choose somewhere and GO.

I LOVE YOU FOREVER

Dad xo”

She wiped her tears and thanked the lawyer. “Where are you going to go first” he asked. She looked back down at the book she inherited and flicked through to the list of places her dad had suggested, and right at the top was her answer.

“The Gold Coast” she replied.