My toes disappear beneath the soft white sand as I wiggle my bare feet into the ground. Amy is sitting on the a stone step in front of me, her legs crossed, chattering away, her choppy British accent dancing over the sound of waves. Jamie chucks a stick into the ocean and Charlie bounds off after it, belly-flopping into the water happily. It's an unusually warm December day, my last in Sitges, and I'm neglecting a million little responsibilities - skype dates, post office runs, packing. I've been wearing the same clothes for 24 hours and my to-do list sits untouched in my purse. I'm being irresponsible and careless and it feels totally appropriate.
My life here came upon me suddenly. One minute, I was bored and couldn't wait to move on, the next, I'm welling up with tears as I walk to the train station, already missing the church lit up beneath the moon, the water foaming against rock piers, the boardwalk where I spent so many afternoons watching the girls stumble on their rollerblades, the park where we climbed trees and chased each other, the tapas restaurant where I met Amy. People make a place, and the people I've met here have been warm, funny and interesting. They snuck into my heart when I wasn't looking, steeped themselves quietly into my life with their laughter and encouragement and support when I was too self-involved to notice. Perhaps that's how relationships always happen, a bit subconsciously. There's something to be said for leaving while you're still in love with a place, too. I can honestly say almost all of my memories in Sitges are happy ones. I can't say that about many places. I'm sad to be leaving this brief but important and beautiful chapter of my life and I don't quite feel ready to be doing so.
But, alas, the world stops for no one. Something about leaving a place always feels right to me, even when it hurts, because if I'm leaving somewhere, I'm going somewhere. Morocco waits patiently on the other side of the Mediterranean, ready to be explored. It's a bittersweet transition and I wouldn't have it any other way.
