A Merman’s Place

Chapter 4

The flight took half a day, and during all that time I tried to find ways to distract myself from thinking that I’m thousands of feet in the air. It was tough to not think about it. I knew that I shouldn’t worry so much. As they say, you’ll more likely get into an accident in a car than a plane, or that the likelihood of being in a plane crash is one in a million.

I did for the most part distract myself by listening to my music and immersed myself in a book. I even chatted for a bit with the couple sitting with me. They were very kind people, telling me that they were going on vacation in Greece for their wedding anniversary. Every year they choose somewhere different to go.

We landed on the island of Zakynthos by nearly seven in the morning their time. I was glad to be back on the ground. We picked up our luggage and rented out a van for the duration of this trip. Frankie had already booked a place to stay, but it was an hour ride. Where we were going to spend the week was on the other side of the island. After the long flight, I was hoping the ride to our temporary place would be short.

When we did arrive, it was in front of a two story stone villa. From what we’ve been told, this is Villa Anastasia, one of the three villas under the Andreas Katsaros Villas. The villa, from what I can see, is a square shaped and completely covered in light stone. Even the floor and pillars of the outside area for lounging is stone. The only thing not made from stone is the roof and the doors of the windows. The design of the place has a vibe of a stone cottage in the woods.

We exited the van and collected our bags from the back. When we arrived at the door, there was an elderly man. He has white wisps of hair and lightly bald on top, white mustache with a stubble on his jaw; was boney and short.

“Hello and welcome,” said the elderly man. Frankie went to shake hand.

“Hi, you must be Arnold?” ask Frankie.

He nodded. “That’s right. And you’re Mr. Miller being accompanied by six others?”

“Yes, this is my team, Alice, Tia, Max, Oliver, Kenneth, and the newcomer Lucas.”

“A pleasure. Well, let’s head inside so I can give you the tour of the place.” The old man, Arnold, grabbed a key from his pocket and used it to open the door.

Once inside, I saw that the cottage in the woods vibes extended to the inside. All the furniture in the living room, the kitchen, windows and ceiling were made from an orangey color wood.  It even smelled like the woods in here. In the corner of the living room next to the door was an old looking stone fireplace. I could just imagine myself on a cold winter day sitting in front of it with a fire and drinking hot chocolate.

Arnold showed us everything on the first floor that included two bathrooms and two bedrooms. On the upstairs, it contained an additional four bedrooms. There was a balcony with a good view of the sea and a privet pool.

When the tour was over and Arnold left us, now came to decide on room assignments. It was first decided that Alice and Tia get the upstairs bedroom with the two single beds. Oliver and Kenneth volunteered to each take a room downstairs. So, that left Frankie, Max, and I to take the three leftover rooms upstairs all with a double bed. With that concluded we went to our rooms to unpack.

Opening the door to my room, I brought in my luggage and placed them beside the bed. The room was decorated with the same aesthetic as the rest of the place. Beige walls, with one wall made of stone, two windows with wooden frames, large wall mirror also with a wooden frame hanging over a wooden cabinet, wooden bedside table with a lamp, and a wooden framed double bed in a corner.

I sat down on the soft bed and tried to wrap my head around on how I got here. Just last week, Marvin and I lived and worked as normal as anyone could for many years and were happy with our life continuing that way. After all, I’m sure we deserved to live normally after what we went through. And now here I am on the other side of the world in Greece trying out this new job that was handed to me just like that. I was so far away from home and I felt weird being here. It was like I was in another planet.

I got up to start unpacking, but at that moment my phone was ringing. I pulled my phone out from my pocket and checked the caller ID.

Marvin.  

I pressed the answer button.

“Yo Luke!” answered Marvin enthusiastically.

“Hey Marv,” I replied.

“Tell me! How is it in Greece? You said you’d be at some island, right? Does it look like a tropical paradise?” He kept on with the questions until I cut in.

“Marv, I hardly spent that long here to tell you much, I only landed like two hours ago around seven in the morning.”

“Sorry, I’m just so stoked for you and wanted to know if you were enjoying your trip.”

I chuckled. “I know. To be honest, this still feels surreal to me, like I’m dreaming.”

“That’s understandable, man. Our lives are pretty basic, and this huge thing comes along so sudden that it gives you whiplash.”

“Yeah, just like that. My head is still spinning.”

“Anyway, I just wanted to see how you were doing before I hit the hay. I had to wait for the proper time to call,” he said frustratingly.  

“Right, isn’t it like after midnight already over there?” I asked. I would assume he had been waiting all day until my plane landed for him to call, but by the time it did, it was night time back home. Of course, he couldn’t wait to call the next day since he’s here now when he’s supposed to be in bed.

“Yes, and I know it’s late and have work in the morning, but I couldn’t wait until tomorrow.” I knew it.

“Well, you’ve called. Now you should head to bed.”

“Okay, okay, but promise that you’ll get back to me on your plans.”

“I will.”

“Alright. Goodnight then or I suppose morning to you.”

“Goodnight,” I said and ended the call.

I sat back down on the bed and laid on my back with my arms stretched out. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.