¤ Piper's Boutique ¤ Dafont ¤ Kyuusho ¤ Aethereality ¤ Hanna Beth ¤
There was a list of places of which Sabrina wanted to visit, and Italy was near the top. The first was England, but that could wait until later; she wanted to go some place hot. She had never travelled except on holidays with her family, and even then they were not very far. The furthest she had travelled on Earth was to California, on a holiday with Will when they were both sixteen, to visit Stan in his new home. It had been an enjoyable trip, especially since Stan was more refined and mature than he had been as a child. Not to mention his new job as a DJ brought in quite a bit of cash, and so his house was very, very comfortable.
Whispering to the portal her destination, Sabs scrunched her eyes shut and prepared for the feeling of whirring. Her mouth was clenched shut, and this small motion fought back waves of sickening fright. As the journey came to an end, Sabs opened her eyes as her destination materialized before her in a whir of green and orange light. Rome stood before her like a towering giant, and a frown crossed her face. She was not in Rome, but on the outskirts. Traffic roared by below her, and she memorized where the portal was. Under a great oak tree, on a copse outside Rome, and the road number so she knew which way to go out.
Sabs was glad of her garments, for the hot weather. She'd really been into summer dresses lately, and the number for today was a pale-blue, airy cotton dress. White sandals to match, and white sunshades. A pale-blue beach bag hung on her shoulder, with her necessities; a bottle of P40 sunblock, a cell phone, money, a Collins book of Italian and a white sun hat. You could never take too many precautions when you were likely to burn in even the slightest of sunshine. She was ready, ready to wear her feet off and be glad to get back to Sequoia Village when her tour of Rome was done.
It took around twenty minutes to follow the road into Rome, and another ten to find herself at a local shopping strip. The street, Piazza De Spagna, was packed full of bustling shoppers and chattering Italians. Short, petite Sabrina found herself swept away by the crowds and had to turn into an information booth to escape them. Relief washed over her not only from the heat and the escape from the people, but maps were stacked on shelves, and underneath them, a label designating the language in which they were written in. She snatched one from the shelf with 'English' written on a label in bold print, and after finding the nearest park, walked out of the small booth with her map in front of her face.
Despite the Italians complaints around her, when she nearly walked into them, Sabrina did not lower the map, and instead continually uttered a 'sorry'. It was only after fifteen minutes of walking, taking five minutes to find a public restroom and top up her sun block, that Sabs found the park she was after. Her mother had taught all four of her children that being away from Nature for too long made them weak, because Nymphs were tied to Nature in every way possible. Sabs had never found herself away from Nature for too long, but now, she was feeling ansy and fatigued. That might've been from the heat, but there were no chances to take.
The streets were now less bustling and more relaxing as the day ate away into early afternoon. Shops were closed, as were restaurants, where Sabs could find something to eat. It was now a siesta time for the Italians, the part of the day where the sun is at its highest and Rome below is at its hottest. Faintly, she eventually found the park, Villa Borghese. The map claimed that it was named so because the park housed a villa, which was only just visible through the trees, and even more visible as Sabs entered the park. Sunlight reflected softly and brightly off the whitewashed walls, and latticed windows gave it an air of adequacy and elegance. The roof was made of slate, and flowerbeds surrounded the eastern and western walls.
Sabrina hurried into the shade of a tall oak tree, relief and cool hitting her gently. She sighed once and sat down on one of its roots, flipping black hair over her shoulder. Her mother's advice came back to her in one happy memory; to be near Nature when she felt weak. Her mother had always done the best for her children, and always offered them the best advice, if they were prepared to listen. As she leaned against the tree, Sabrina smiled to herself and placed a hand on its thick, old trunk. Life seemed to flow beneath her hand, like a gently flowing ravine. The flow was like low humming, the sound bees seem to make sometimes. Strength flooded back to her. She wasn't leaving anytime soon.