I'm coming back at you with another prompt for this week. Have fun with it and put those writing skills to the test!
New Prompt (for August 10, 2022):
"Everyone knows it's too dangerous to swim in the ocean. However, sitting at the end of the docks or peering over the edge of a boat, you've always felt the inexplicable urge to dive into the water. One day, despite the danger, you give into the urges and jump. There's an entire world beneath the surface, and it's not what you were expecting." {credit to @writing.prompt.s on Instagram}
Old Prompt (from July 27, 2022)
"You're vacationing in a city you've never been in before when you suddenly find yourself in a place you've seen hundreds of times in your dreams. The person you always see in those dreams is there, too, and they slowly turn and ask, 'Is it really you?' " {credit to @writing.prompt.s on Instagram}
My Story: Vacation Déjà Vu:
Finally, we arrived in Italy. My college best friends and I had been planning this trip for months. As soon as our junior year of college was over, we were going to spend all summer traveling around Italy before heading back for our senior year of college.
We planned on starting in Sicily before heading north to Naples, Rome, Florence, and Venice. We planned on spending three weeks in each separate part of Italy before flying back and getting ready to head back to school.
After our layover in Zurich, the flight ended up being around twelve and a half hours in total. Maya and Sara both slept in the Zurich airport as well as on the flight. I was too excited to sleep at all.
"Guys, look!" Maya pointed out the window as the plane descended.
There were stunning beaches surrounded by beautiful, clear blue water. Historic and fancy buildings surrounded the coastal city of Palermo. I couldn't believe this gorgeous country is where we would be spending all of our summer vacation.
" Bet there are cute Italian lifeguards at that beach," Sara grinned from ear to ear.
"Can you stop worrying about boys for one day?" Maya asked. "I guess they wouldn't be bad if they let me join a beach volleyball tournament."
I just grinned. The two of them couldn't be more different. Maya was an all-American volleyball player who only cared about her sport. She always carried a ponytail with her to tie her firey hair out of her face and jump into any pick-up game.
Sara was scared of her own shadow and fit the definition of "blonde" quite well. Despite her good grades, Sara tended to be an airhead when it mattered. However, she could flirt with the best of them.
"I'm just looking forward to not having to study all summer long." I sighed.
"Whatever, Vic." Sara rolled her eyes.
"You spend more time in that library than anyone else on campus." Maya nudged me with her elbow.
I shrugged. "And my grades show it."
"Whatever, pre-med." Sara giggled.
*****
After many days spent on the beach, wandering around various markets, and visiting multiple wineries, we boarded a much smaller plane than the one we came in on and started our one-hour journey to Naples.
The city itself was beautiful. On our first day there, we wanted to travel out to Castel dell'Ovo. We loaded into a taxi and headed southwest from the airport. I took in the beautiful architecture of the city.
Then, I saw something that made my heart skip a beat.
"Stop the car," I muttered. Then looked at the driver in the rearview mirror and shouted, "stop the car!"
The white car came to a screeching halt. Before Maya and Sara could ask me what was going on, I jumped out of the car and ran down the street. I found the corner that I'd seen hundreds of times before. I sprinted into the narrow cobbled streets, weaving between people carrying goods back to their houses.
I remembered the steps like I had walked them before because I had. In my dreams, it was always two rights, a left, then continue on to the corner of the road. As I neared the corner, I slowed. My heart hammered in my chest but not just because I had run a couple of blocks. With each step I took, my legs shook.
My breath caught in my throat. There he was replacing the tablecloths from the morning rush. The scent of freshly baked bread and coffee filled my nose as I watched him work. Feeling my eyes on him, the tall, dark-haired man I'd seen so many times turned my way. His warm brown eyes were as soft and kind as I remembered.
"Is it really you?" He asked through a rich Italian accent.
"I'm not sure." I took a couple of steps toward him. "This is going to sound crazy, but I've lived this before in my dreams. Each time I came to this café. And you were here."
"Beatrice?" The man came closer.
"How do you know that name?" I asked.
"You knew me. It feels like a lifetime ago now, but the memories are still there." He continued to move toward me.
I shook my head. "No, I've only seen you in my dreams."
The man grabbed onto my shoulders. I met his warm brown eyes. He muttered, "Remember."
As if that was the password to unlock a chest full of memories in my brain, images started flying past my eyes. Me and this man in one of the gondolas in Venice. Throwing coins into the Trevi Fountain. Catching a play in the Teatro di San Carlo. Kissing out on a sailboat as stars coated the night sky.
Then, the war. Him talking to me right here on the steps of my house.
"Wait for me, amore." He clutched my hand tightly. "When I come back, I will put a ring on that finger."
Images flashed quicker. My mother planned to relocate us to the United States as the war grew worse. He showed up the night before we were set to leave.
"Forget me. Forget everything. You don't remember me. Stay safe." He kissed me softly before leaving just as he had come.
I met his eyes again in the bustling streets of Santa Lucia, where I had spent all my childhood until I met him and he made me what I am. I reached up to touch his face. "Lo."
He chuckled as tears collected in his eyes. "I've waited for you, amore."
"Vic!" Sara called. "Victoria!"
I turned and met her eyes as she rushed toward me. "Sara, where is Maya?"
"We've been looking high and low for you. What happened?" Sara asked then eyed Lorenzo up and down. "Who is this?"
"My friends call me Enzo." He extended his hand to Sara. "Victoria and I go way back."
"There you two are." Maya walked toward the café. "You can't run off like that."
"I'm sorry. I forgot so much and just remembered it all at once." I pursed my lips. "This is Lorenzo Bertoli. We knew each other when we were children."
"Right, you grew up around here, right?" Sara asked.
"She lived right there." Lorenzo pointed to one of the doors on the other side of the street.
I slumped into one of the chairs around me. The emotions took longer to come back. I remembered how happy we were and how painful it was to see him go to war not knowing if he would ever come back. I sobbed all night the day my mom said we were moving to the United States. I thought I would never see him again.
"Vic, are you okay?" Maya asked.
"I just need some time. I forgot so much." Then I plastered a smile on my face. "You two go see the castle. I've seen it a thousand times, and I need to catch up with Lorenzo."
"Call us if anything goes wrong." Maya eyed Lorenzo with suspicion.
"I will. Go have fun." I shooed them away. They both hugged me before leaving.
Lorenzo pulled a chair up beside me. "Are you alright, mia vita?"
"Why did you make me forget?" I asked, heartbroken tears building in my eyes. "I would've come and found you after the war."
"As long as you promise to still be here when I get back." Lor pushed his chair back. against so many others." Lorenzo sighed and reached for my hand. "I'm sorry. I needed you to leave and stay gone. I couldn't risk your life, especially when I wasn't sure I'd even make it through."
"Why now? Why did you wait so long to bring me back? How did you bring me here?" I asked.
"Bea, it took me so long to find you. Your mother and father changed their names when they moved. You were lost." He gently rubbed his thumb over my knuckles. "I didn't know where to begin. By the time I found you, you had settled into a new life. Changed your name again and looked happy with your friends. I would visit you in your dreams. Remember how I showed you to do that? I planted the idea to come here again. I wanted you to come to me. I needed you to choose me."
I took a deep breath. "Will you get me a glass of water?"
Lor squeezed my shoulder before entering the café. The past ninety years of my life, I've been running. I can't stay twenty-one in one place forever. Sure, I can pass for seventeen or eighteen and live out my college years, but then I have to distance myself. No showing up to reunions. No real friendships. No true connections.
"Yes, I'll be here." I rubbed my forehead.
Lorenzo squeezed my shoulder before entering the café. For the past ninety years of my life, I've been running. I can't stay twenty-one in one place forever. Sure, I can pass for seventeen or eighteen and live out my college years, but then I have to distance myself. No showing up to reunions. No real friendships. No true connections.
Now, I have a chance. Lo and I could live on the run together like we did before the war. Two vampires roaming Italy together. Was it crazy? Not really since the garlic thing is a myth. It's just convincing Maya and Sara to move on without me.
"Sebastian just finished some sfogliatella. I remembered how much you liked them, so I brought you one." Lorenzo sat beside me again.
I furrowed my brow. "How have you survived, Lo?"
"As soon as the war was over, I followed your family to the United States. I saw your names at Ellis Island and found your parents. They said you had attended college and were traveling around with some friends." He chuckled. "I followed your postcards but never found you. I searched databases when they became a thing. Your beautiful face never showed up. So I consulted a witch."
"A witch?" I asked. "Lo, you told me they were dangerous."
"They are if you don't know how to get around their manipulations." Lorenzo smiled. "She found you first try. I was so happy as I drove up to the building where she said you were. When I saw you laughing with your friends, I knew I couldn't take you away."
"I want to stay," I whispered. Then I leaned in and grabbed his hand. "Lo, I want to live the rest of my life with you."
"What about your friends?" Lorenzo asked.
I swallowed hard. "They may be two of the closest friends I've had, but I don't want to lose you again. I can only squeeze in a few more years with them. I have eternity with you. I'll tell them that I have decided to stay here for the rest of the trip. Say I found some family that I need to reconnect with."
"Why don't you just wipe their memory?" Lorenzo asked.
"Too complicated. People back at school know me. It would be weird if Sara and Maya just forgot me." I took a bite of my sfogliatella and waited for it to melt on my tongue before speaking. "I'm so glad I found you again."
"Are you talking to me or the sfogliatella?" Lorenzo smirked.
I couldn't stop the smile from spreading across my face. "Both."
Happy writing,
Ally Mac
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