Goodbye
Yesterday was the end of my time with Katerina, which I was not looking forward to. Two months of thinking about her and anticipating my visit created an understandable let down at the thought of not having that to look forward to anymore. I wrote her a long letter on a page from my journal (the only one that I’ve removed from the book) before meeting her at my hostel around 12:45, which was earlier than expected (she had given me a cell phone so she could let me know when she would be there);.
I wanted to contribute something to the day since she had done all of our planning thusfar and I suggested we go on a picnic. She was up for it–she was in a much better mood after getting good sleep the night before–and we went to the supermarket. I couldn’t find my money, though, and she paid for the lunch, which was sweet of her. She wouldn’t let me pay her back.
She walked us to a small grassy area and we sat there for four hours in the cold, eating and talking. I felt close to her, the most I have felt since Spain. We had a deeply personal talk and she finally opened up a bit. She told me that there was likely going to be something between her and the guy she had been talking to, there was no such relationship yet and they had no physical relationship, either. When I asked her why she didn’t tell me that sooner, she told me that it was because she didn’t want me to continue being upset while I was with her (which didn’t make a whole lot of sense to me). The most profound thing she let slip on accident was a very simple observation, but one that let me know that our time in Spain did mean as much to her as it had to me, and that she had, at least then, felt the same way about me that I had about her.
Katerina left around 5pm and we said goodbye. She told me to find a girl that will make me talk to her (genuinely good advice), and that as long as I was nearby, I could call her or come back if I needed help and she would do her best for me. It may have just been her nature, or it may be because of feelings for me, but she has been looking out for me since the day we met and empathized with me just as frequently. Regardless of her motive, I appreciate it. I was sad, but I felt like we left each other on a very positive note, and I only have good feelings about my time with her.
Later, I made friends with Joel and Pete, two Australians at my hostel. We went out for dinner, chilled out, and eventually there was a group of us playing Uno for fun. Joel and I were sharing travel stories while he waited for Pete to arrive, and he got me seriously thinking about hitchhiking. It was a positive way to end the night.
