Lost in Paradise

Chapter 1

"Yes Rebecca, I'm driving"

Nadia shouted as her convertible car swiftly ran through the gale and she could hardly hear her friend Rebecca on the other line. Fortunately, she’s using a wireless headset.

"Are you really sure? Can you at least tell me where are you going?" Rebecca replied from the other line.

"Nowhere!"

"What? Nowhere? Where is nowhere?"

"I mean, wherever the fate brings me"

"You know what girl? Stop it! I have a new guy that I met on tinder, I think you'll like hi-"

Nadia dropped the call because she didn’t want to hear her friend's nonsense idea.

Bringing some of her essentials, Nadia left the house where she once lived with her boyfriend Joshua. The couple had been together for almost six years before they decided to get married. But for some reason Joshua didn't show up on their wedding day, the day that Nadia dreamed of Joshua went missing since then. Ignorant about the real reason for Joshua’s sudden disappearance, Nadia was left all alone with so much agony. She received all the insults and hates from the people around them.

For almost four months, Nadia did not stop crying. No appetite and only relied on sleeping pills just to go asleep. Depression started to conquer her. She even tried to kill herself once, fortunately, she survived it. She asked herself several times, she scoffed at every possible reason that pushed Joshua to leave her on the exact day that they both dreamed of. But no matter how smart Nadia is, she couldn't find a valid reason for Joshua to do so. She was being emotionally tortured with all the good memories she had with Joshua and with the thoughts of finding an answer to why he left her knowing that the love they shared was genuine. They have been together for almost six years and never had a serious argument. They would immediately talk to each other whenever they encounter a problem and would settle everything before the day ends. They had so much plan together and getting married is the start of everything but it turned out to be a disaster. Her dream wedding turned into her biggest nightmare.

Nadia is an assertive woman. She convinced herself to forget what had happened and move on. Within four months the girl had barely made it but she knew she’s not fully healed yet. She knew that as long she felt the presence of the memories she had with Joshua, the pain in her heart would keep on coming back. There were so many things that reminded her of Joshua in the world she’s at, that is why she decided to leave. And go to any place where the man's presence is far away. A place where she can start a new life.

The girl just kept driving. The road is wide, her car’s roof was down, and she was enjoying the fresh wind blowing her face as well as the beautiful view around the road. Nadia probably already reached a province, she knew because she could now smell the sea breeze and hear the forest toll, something that the city doesn’t have. There is no exact place where Nadia intends to go, she does not know how far she will travel. She decided to just go on a random road trip and stay wherever fate brings her.

The sun had set and the darkness started to cover the sky.

"It's dark already ..." Nadia whispered.

The path that Nadia is taking is progressively narrowing. Her car’s roof was now up, and her lights were on. In the distance, she saw an old signage standing on the side of the road.

"Welcome to Ivana" it reads.

The name of the place is unfamiliar to Nadia. The place is maybe not that popular to be featured on television or travel websites. Nadia knows a lot of places as she enjoys traveling but she never heard of Ivana before. Since it’s getting late, Nadia decided to go through the place to spend the night and get some rest.

Nadia's car gradually slowed down. She then suddenly noticed a column of smoke coming out of the front of the car until it completely stopped.

Nadia knew that the car's engine had been damaged, she had brought it once to the repair shop to be fixed. But she does not expect that it will be broken again, right at this moment. She then realizes the length of the road she traveled on and the winding road she took, the reason for her car to give up.

Nadia immediately took her cellphone and get out of the car. She looked around at the place but saw only trees and plants. She’s probably still far from the community of the area. It’s a bit dark in that place so she felt a little nervous.

"Gosh! No signal" she uttered after opening the cellphone.

She wanted to call a towing service to bring her car to a repair shop, but the phone has no signal and unable to make a call. She can’t even send a text to Rebecca. Nadia raised her hand holding the cellphone up hoping to get some signal. She’s focusing on the cellphone as she keeps on raising it when suddenly ….

"Ouch !!!!" She shouted when she was suddenly hit by a bicycle driven by a man who was also shocked by what had happened.

Luckily, the bike barely hit her so she was just slightly hurt. Though, the incident startled her so she lost a grip on her phone.

"Miss? ... Are you al—" the man said as he approached her.

She ignored the man and rapidly grabbed her phone. She tried to turn it on but didn’t work. Her blood started to boil, her last hope was now gone and it’s somehow because of that man. Her car stopped working, a bicycle hit her, and now her phone was broken. That thought made her lost her temper.