no text message
no phone calls
silent treatment
two days had passed since Jared left
I deleted his number from my contact list
gone
over
the end
I stopped looking at my phone
Sophia, Eleni, and I became inseparable
along with all the guys they hung with
Dimitri, Panayote, Kosta
and Thanos
who barely spoke to me
the only way to get over Jared
is to do have sex, Eleni joked
you look miserable
i can't be with anyone else right now
i get that, but don't think too much
Sophia added and then she winked
i can tell that Thanos has a thing for you
I almost choked on my coffee
yeah, right, he can't stand me
he barely says two words to me
never looks at me
yeah, yeah, that's how he is
tough guy
he hides his feelings well
yeah, remember Anastasia?
Yes! He was in love with my cousin for years
he never spoke to her
what happened?
eventually she fell for him
but they broke up
I am not interested in Thanos
alright, alright
well tonight we are all going for drinks together
what else is new? I laughed
Hey, Dalia, when are you leaving?
I have about two and a half weeks left, I don't want to leave!
Nice! I have to go back to Athens next week, Sophia said
I start summer classes
that's great and you, Eleni?
me too, I have to go back to work
the boutique never closes
I sat there under the hut
under the warm sun
reflecting into the ocean
these ideas
of how i would get by
when i got home
then i stopped myself
told myself to be in the moment
and I put my two feet in the burning sand
i'm going in the sea
and without asking anyone to come with me
i walked quickly
so my toes would not burn
and i wet my red hair
my face
my skin
i floated in the water
i thought of nothing
no time
no space
no place
no feelings
i thought of how the sun
in Greece had a heat
and a fire
that penetrated my very psyche
i thought of how the water on my skin
was the best feeling in the world
i thought of how the blue Mediterranean sky
made my heart open up
and feel alive
i thought of my ancestors i would never meet
i thought of my parents i would never see
and the sun absorbed my pain
as if the heat
made my conscious empty
as if my heart
had a reset button
and I could start over
healed
reborn in Greece
like some goddess coming out of the water
in a classic painting
then I get a vision
of when i say i love you
i can't wait to hear it back
but when it becomes an echo
my heart hurts again.