DELUSIONAL

Chapter 1

I like London. I like Budapest. Every place that I want to go to, I like it already. From Milan, to Oslo, to New York, to Sao Paulo, to Melbourne, Cape Town and all the way to Hong Kong, Singapore and Tbilisi, there is not one single place and culture that I wouldn't want to explore.

I am not an idle dreamer. I chase the moon on a spring day and the sun in the winter. Hi, my name is Neave.

I had summer jobs and part-time ones during my years in University, trying to save up as much as I could. I don't remember all days and sometimes it seems like they keep repeating. I once overheard a conversation downstairs between my mother and someone with what seemed a man's voice. They were talking about memory loss. Were they talking about me? It would make sense. Sometimes I do wonder if I am turning into a goldfish. I ran downstairs, but there was no one else other than my mother. She must have had her phone on speaker. I tried to ask about it, but no answer. All I heard was her crying. Sometimes I hear her come into my room while I am asleep. I suppose that is the only time she gains courage to answer my questions. She does that very often. I brushed it off.

After graduating, I started working full time as a barista. I don't earn much, but tips surely do help a lot. I have this rotating world globe I keep in the attic, hidden in my dusty old chest that my grandmother gifted me. Every year I opened it once or twice, to try and randomly pick a place I'd want to go to and explore, during holidays. It was all in hope that I'd find a favorite place of mine, a home, someday. I do not remember the reason I did not go anywhere last year, but for sure this year I was not going to miss this opportunity. I do not know what it was about this particular night, but I felt brave.

I came home from work in the evening to find an empty house. That's right, my mother travels often due to the nature of her work. I made myself some tea and quickly finished the leftover pasta that I was supposed to take as lunch, but I forgot. I threw my phone onto the bed and took a shower and changed into pajamas really slow as I started to get very sleepy.Do not fall asleep – I said to myself. I needed the flash on my phone as the attic was dark, so I reached for it from across the bed. I quickly checked my social media and before realizing, I fell into a deep sleep.

Dang it! I fell asleep again! – I shouted. I looked at the time and gladly, I had just enough time to get ready for work. It has to be tonight that I pick the place. I quickly grabbed a towel and headed to the bathroom. I was startled when passing the mirror. Fortunately, it was just me looking like a clown with all the makeup smudged on my face. I made sure to wash my face properly this time. Once I finished getting ready and left the apartment, I made sure to check if I locked the door at least 5 times. You can never be sure. The time seemed to pass really fast when the Café was filled with customers during off peak times, but then it went by really slow in the evenings, just before closing. Those last 10 minutes were crucial as there was always one customer that enjoyed walking in during that period of time. Surprisingly, it was a good day as it was empty by the time we had to close. I rushed home as I could not control my curiosity anymore. I walked in and went straight to the attic, after taking my shoes off. It was as if mother could hear the sound of my shoes from miles away if I didn't take them off. She simply knows. A cold shiver went down my back as I thought of that.

I turned my phone flash on and headed for the chest. I opened and took the globe out. I took a deep breath and started spinning the globe. I closed my eyes and I stopped it with my finger. I opened my eyes and there it was. A city that I've always had on my list. There was it under my eyes (and my finger) - my next adventure.