14 December 2015

We decided to go out the next day and spend some time in the fresh air of the region's countryside. One of the best, if you asked me. We jumped into the car the next morning, picked up a friend and his family and took off. The three of us, Ana, her mother and I, were sitting on the back seat, watching the landscape and chatting from time to time. Ana was eating some junk food, as one often does on a road trip. We all know how time passes a lot quicker when you have some chips or some chocolate with you. Although, in our case, the trip didn't last very long because this marvellous place I was telling you about was at almost two hours from our town. We got off the car, stretched a little and glanced at the sky. It was cloudy. I didn't care about the weather conditions, even if I wasn't wearing the right shoes. I hadn't been there for a long time, so I was feeling like a woman in a pastry shop after a very long diet (I should know)! I always enjoyed hiking, probably because I was not doing that very often. Anyway, they had some work to do and we stopped in front of this sexy rock on the left of the path. I don't exactly recall when the word "snake" popped up into the conversation, but I could hear it out loud in my ears for the entire time. Sometimes it is best not to be aware of these things.
"We stop here for a while. You can go for a walk to the old house, there down the hill. Or you could stay here in the hammock. These trees are perfect for it."
"Thanks. How long would the trip take?"
"Probably about an hour. It's not that far."
"I'll go for a walk. I can call you, although there may be no signal over there."
Ana said she would come with me too, so we started walking through that field, full of grass and blooming flowers, while the valley was opening in front of our eyes. I didn't know what 9-year old Ana was thinking at the time, but I was actually praying not to step on anything crawling our way. While trying to keep this fear under control, I took out my phone and thought of practising my skills as an amateur photographer. Between you and me, I haven't improved that much in this sector. But I was taking pictures of everything I could see on my way.
"I am going back to get my phone. I want to take photos of these flowers," Ana said.
"Sure. I'll wait here for you."
She came back with her phone, ready to take the best shots she could.
"Can you believe how many wonders you can see in one day?!" she exclaimed fascinated by everything. I couldn't agree more. Then she started telling me about her school, camps, climbing and riding, and her dream about flying.

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