you had me at hello

On a whim, Sydney native Roshelle Fong filled her travel-worn backpack with a video camera, ukulele and packet of sunflower seeds and set out on a solo adventure through northern Italy. The aim was to discover the brilliance of blue skies and egg-rich pasta while making a mocumentary about a girl’s desire to be a sunflower (hence the seeds).

But after rocking up in Ferrara her plans were unexpectedly sidetracked – the UNESCO listed, Ferrari producing town was hosting a buskers festival and among the 800,000 musically-minded spectators was Simone, a 22-year-old Italian gentleman/student/journalist/farmer with a knack for talking to tourists in endearingly broken English.

“The festival was amazing,” laughs Roshelle while downing a coffee in Sydney’s Hyde Park, “but it took leaving the city for the magic to really happen.” And with that she launches into her tale.

“I was walking to the train station and it started raining so I ran under a shop front and pulled out my old ukulele to pass the time. This guy sat down and introduced himself as Simone. He was on his way home and I sang to him and we chatted about how we came to be under the shop front and got completely lost in translation. He was just so was lovely.”

Their conversation lasted less than two hours and didn’t solve the mysteries of the universe or result in a rom-com worthy marriage proposal. In fact, 13 months on Roshelle can barely remember what they discussed. But the encounter still meant something. “It wasn’t special because of anything he said in particular,” explains Roshelle. “It was just that he was smiling and he couldn’t stop smiling up to the point that he drove me to the train station. I just felt so carefree in his company.”

It was at the train station that Roshelle reached unthinkingly into her backpack and handed Simone a slightly squashed packet of sunflower seeds. And that was it. They parted ways, parted countries and ever so slowly drifted apart. Until late October, 2010 that is.

On this particular Tuesday morning Roshelle woke to discover she was tagged in a Facebook photo album featuring 25 arty sunflowers shots. The photos came with a note. ‘Hello Roshelle, These sunflowers grow in my garden, but they’re yours. I took care of them for you like you did with me that day with your smile.’

“It was one of the most beautiful moments I’ve experienced in my life,” gushes Roshelle. “I just sat there and cried. He had watered these flowers and taken care of them every day but the photos meant something beyond that. They reminded me of the freedom and endless possibility that comes with travel. I felt I could have been anyone or anything and I wasn’t afraid to put myself out there, to converse with strangers. The photos bought the traveller back.”

Despite acknowledging the potential thrill of an Italian wedding Roshelle admits meeting Simone wasn’t about romance. In the rain and even post-sunflower tagging, they cultivated a friendship, and that was enough.

After finishing her coffee and destroying my cynicism, Roshelle leaves with a spring in her step and ukulele in her hand. She is no doubt praying for rain.