Hello!
Here's the first chapter of this story I've got in mind, let me know what you think :) hope you enjoy it!
*I own nothing about these two, obviously. I just love them to death, haha.
It was definite, there was no other option: he had lo leave. It had all slowly become so dull in the past two years – three, maybe four? - He had started feeling the inevitable heaviness of age creeping in and life leaving him behind with each passing day, and he was sure he shouldn't feel like that at his 30 years of age. He was supposed to feel young, to feel alive. That's why he needed to leave his office job, his rented flat, all those empty dates as soon as possible. He was sure the only person he'd miss would be his closest friend, January, but their friendship would last all their lives even if he went away for a thousand years, so he wasn't worrying about that.
Michael had saved a lot of money since, to be honest, he did have a good job, but was certainly unhappy with it since what he really wanted to do was photography, so he decided it was time to do something about it and use what he had saved to save himself and re-arrange his life; he felt a rush of panic whenever he thought about growing old with his actual job, not noticing the years passing by and seeing his dream as a far away fantasy that never came true, so he thought about a place. He usually thought and fantasized about places, but in his heart he had always loved the idea of India; he loved the bright colors, the relationship Indians kept with nature and their spiritual philosophies. He was also very physical and athletic, and had been interested in learning yoga for a few years too, but had never attended more than a couple classes in the gym, and he was sure they had nothing to do with the actual thing.
In the middle of a May night, he was unable to sleep as he thought what he needed in that moment, what he imagined would be a perfect life for him; he trembled lightly as the decisions were being made in his mind, and he smiled for himself in excitement, wanting it to be the morning already so he could go to the office and quit, then come back home and buy a flight to that magic, mystical place, and leave as soon as possible, not knowing when he'd come back. The sole idea of it made him feel like he was already better, it helped him breath deeper, his mind felt clearer.
Next morning finally came and it took longer that what he wished for him to quit and explain to his boss what was happening and arrange everything for his renounce. His boss had tried to convince him to stay in various ways but realized it was a lost battle since he had never seen Michael so sure of anything before, and all was left to do was to wish him luck. When he came back home, he made a big cup of coffee for himself and dove in the internet looking for a suitable place to stay in India, made his arrangements in just one day and in less than a week, he was in the airport saying goodbye to Jan. He caressed her blonde hair caringly as they hugged tightly, and listened to her as she told him in her older sister kind of way to take care, to not eat anything that looked too weird, to wear condoms and write to her a lot. He laughed and agreed with a couple of those things, and kissed her cheek with a smile; "I'll wear condoms and write, I promise", he said, and received a little playful punch from her, "take care, too", she said bossily and he nodded with a roll of his eyes. They hugged again and he left hurriedly as he heard a call for his flight.
He could almost physically feel how his soul was getting lighter as the airplane was getting higher and higher, and the clouds underneath them along with the first rays of that bright early sun they rarely saw down in London felt like a warm cleanse, like beautiful strings of hope. His eyes watered a little, he was proud of himself, he was finally starting to feel like a young thirty-year-old, with all his life in front of him, with all the possibilities in a tray for him to choose, and he could be happy. He took his camera out and took the first photo of his adventure, a picture of that beautiful sky.
Once he arrived after what felt like five minutes of sleeping, he could barely calm down his excitement and had to take a moment to breathe and wash his face, then asked for instructions and took his way to Goa, a coast state in the west of India. He had chosen that place mostly by faith, since everywhere in India seemed perfect on what he read, but he had let his inner self choose and had trusted his own choice. He took a bus, carrying only with his big backpack and his camera, smiling at everyone who crossed his vision. He arrived at night in Panaji, Goa's capital city, and looked for his hotel, a little place that seemed perfect for him to stay a few days before deciding on one of the two flats he had found online but wanted to see live first. The hotel looked like a big, old house and it was surrounded by so many trees and exotic plants that Michael felt like he was in the middle of the jungle as soon as he walked along the short path that lead to the entrance, everything lightened with beautiful ambience warm lights. He smiled excitedly and knocked at the door before opening it and was greeted by a young Indian woman who looked at him with big eyes and a blush as he confirmed his room reservation; he smiled softly as he remembered he was an exotic looking man in this country so he was going to have to get used to the stares, although he had read that Goa had a lot of European immigrants and families since it used to be a Portuguese province.
He thanked the blushing girl and left to his room, changing into a clean shirt since he had been sweating like crazy in this humid, warm climate, and went out to look for something to eat. He walked for about half an hour just looking at everything and wishing it was the next day already so he could see around in proper daylight, but was incredibly excited by the life of the city at night, the people and the delicious smell of every type of food that was sold in the street. He smiled as he remembered Jan telling him to not eat anything suspicious and how it was the first thing he did, asking for a plate of something that smelled and looked too good not to be eaten; he couldn't really catch its name because the woman who prepared and sold it didn't speak too much English and he definitely didn't speak any type of Indian language, but he surely wished to learn. He conformed on eating that night though, and thought he'd worry about languages and food names later.
That night he slept profoundly, because even as excited as he was, he felt like all the growing heaviness from the last months had been left behind already, far away, back in the gray city of London, and he felt calm for the first time in what felt like ages.
