Nicola travels the world

How did I end up here? Seriously, I have no idea how I get here. I’ve been in this town for almost a week and yet I still, somehow, managed to get lost! I mean, it really shouldn’t be that hard to travel the same path every day from my cousin’s house to my uncle’s house. I am on the top of a hill, after all. And yet, I managed to find myself in probably the only playground on the top of a hill set on the side of a cliff. I don’t even think that it’s really that safe, what if a small child were to fall off?

I have to admit, I’m freaking out slightly. I’m in a country where I barely know the language – I accidently ordered some bread with chocolate instead of a hot chocolate just the day before – and I’m lost in a playground on the top of a hill. I didn’t even know that they had a playground in this town, no one ever showed it to me, and I sort of just figured that a town this small with the population of less than nine hundred and hardly any children would actually have a playground. But I liked it.

Back home, I would make up any excuse to find myself in a playground, especially if it had swings, like this one did. But they were covered in snow and I didn’t particularly feel like ending up with an awkward wet patch for the rest of the day. Instead, I lean over the fence, looking out at the end of the world.

It’s a lot more peaceful than I would have imagined, looking down at dozens of houses and a hell of a lot of trees. There’s also the feeling that I’m literally at the end of the world, staring out into oblivion, one step away from the end. It’s really not the right place for a playground, no matter how high the fence is. Maybe that’s why there are so few children in this town.

Somewhere in the distance, the church bells ring. And, with a sigh, I push off the fence and head towards the beautiful sounds, almost like it’s summoning me to them. Part of me is grateful for them, not just because the church is old and delicate and hauntingly beautiful, but because I know exactly where to go from there. In a town like this, all roads lead to the church.