Forget Me Not

Chapter 5: Budapest and beyond

Aishi did have a packed itinerary for Budapest. She planned to go to the art museums, walk on the streets while sipping warm wine, go to the thermal baths, and just have a good time by herself. So, as soon as she reached the hotel, she took a quick shower and put on a green jumpsuit. She liked this outfit a lot. She thought it was too fancy for work, she didn't party much, so this was the only opportunity to wear it. She packed her little backpack with water, sunscreen, snacks, and her wallet. She checked the weather app before going out and decided to put on a light jacket in case it gets chilly. She searched for good breakfast places and found a quaint little cafe facing the Danube river. She enjoyed her walk to the cafe and savored her coffee and pancakes. She spent the entire day doing typical touristy things. She visited the St. STephen's Basilisca, the Synagogue, the Buda Castle. She walked over the bridge, across the river, not forgetting to capture the view in Instagram stories. She spent the first three days visiting every tourist spot in Budapest.

One evening, she finally went to Szimple Kert, the ruin bar she always wanted to go to. Ruin bars are beautiful, she thought. The idea of converting bombed buildings into bustling social pubs was inspiring to her. She sat in one of the bar stools and listened to the live Hungarian singer, while sipping on her beer. She didn't understand the song, she didn't know anyone there, she was completely alone. She felt lonely. She treated her entire trip like a checklist, like she is in a race against time. She did enjoy it, sure. But, she thought she came here for a breather, not to treat this like another deadline to finish.

She looked up at her plan for the rest of the week. It's just a laundry list of places to visit. She looked up at the singer, strumming her guitar, singing an unfamiliar song, but the pain in her voice seemed very familiar, the feeling of emptiness, very profound. She took out her phone to check out transport to Frankfurt. She doesn't know if it's the alcohol, the loneliness, or the sheer will to be different that what she was in the past, she ended up booking her tickets and her hotel in Frankfurt.

She sprinted back to her hotel and rushed to find her souvenir bag. She took out the card to call Mr. Kim, but she thought she should wait until the next day morning. It was a 10 hour train ride to Frankfurt, and in fact she was in the train when she talked to Joshua. There was a deep pit in ehr stomach when the phone was ringing. She never considered the possibility of the numberbeing fake, him not being available anymore, or him forgetting about her. She didn't think of all these possibilities before booking ehr tickets. She eve rescheduled her plane tickets to take-off from Germany instead. She was extremely thankful that he actually remembered her and was looking forward to meet her.

When she reached the hotel in Frankfurt, surprised was a small word to say. Since it was a last minute booking, all she could find was a suite room in a big-name hotel. She obviously shelled a good amount of money for it, but she thought she couldn't compromise on her safety and hygiene by living in a hostel. She took a long bath, just thinking of ice breakers or topics of conversation. There is nothing that could relax her now. She definitely wanted to look pretty but she never planned to impress a boy during her vacation, so she couldn't find anything cute enough. She wore every dress, top, and blouse she brought along with her. She contemplated shopping but snapped at herself because she already overshot her budget by booking this fancy ass hotel and with all the new travel plans. She finally settled on a plain black tee and blue jeans, because nothing can go wrong with that outfit combination. She jazzed it up with her favourite sterling silver earrings, the long ones with little star charms. She tried to contour her face, but failed terribly at it, so she wiped it off and settled with some blush, eyeliner, and lipstick.

She was ready by the time it was 7 pm and they promised to meet at 9. She just sat in her room, fully dressed up and watching German news. She didn't understand German.

And flash forward to now, when she is walking side by side to Joshua, just smiling and nodding at some excited chatter he is going on about.