Kayla stretched her legs and moved around in her seat on the bus. No one was next to her and she appreciated the room after spending nine hours on a plane from Los Angeles to Reykjavík. The sun was barely rising over the city and Kayla was surprised to find that it didn’t look dramatically different than some of the suburbs around Southern California. A commercial building here, a small restaurant there, and a busy freeway right in the middle.
She looked down at her phone and re-read the last text she received before getting on the airplane. ‘Stuck on the Anderson case for at least three more days, going to have to skip Iceland. I’ll let you know when I get to Europe–love you.’
She looked away from the screen, determined not to think about it anymore. As Kayla tried to distract herself from her boyfriend’s message, she began to notice that they were entering a more densely populated part of the city. Almost immediately, the driver called out the name of her hotel.
“Hotel Huldufólk!”
Kayla raised her hand up. “Yes! Hotel Huldufólk, please!” she yelled over the loud noise of screeching breaks.
The bus came to an abrupt stop and the driver repeated the name before stepping outside to open the baggage gate. Kayla got off the bus and smiled at the driver.
“Which one?” he asked, pointing to the luggage stored within the compartment.
“The black one on the left, with the purple bow.”
The driver kindly retrieved her suitcase and graciously accepted her thanks before ascending back onto the vehicle.
She turned away as the engine started and in front of her only four shallow steps stood between her and the front doors of the hotel. Kayla was anxious to see her sister, especially now that she was arriving alone. As she gripped the handle of the heavy suitcase and lifted it over each step, she felt the soft purple ribbon which Natalie had tied to the handle. Before leaving on her own trip back in July, she had fastened the ribbon to each of their suitcases claiming it would make spotting ordinary black luggage less difficult. So far this had proved to be helpful advice from her older sister.
Kayla approached the front desk. “Can you please call Natalie Miller’s room and let her know that Kayla Miller has arrived?” she asked the receptionist.
The woman curiously scrolled through the hotel database, searching through again and again.
“Is there any other name the room could be under, miss?
“No, just Natalie Miller.” Kayla pulled out her phone to text her sister, but poor reception prevented the message from going through.
“Oh, I do see a room for a Miss Natalie Miller!” the receptionist exclaimed.
“You do? Perfect! What’s the room number?”
“I’m sorry. There has been a misunderstanding. I have a room for Natalie Miller, but check in isn’t until 2:00pm today. It’s only 5:30am now,” she said glancing up at the large clock on the wall.
“Oh, she isn’t even here yet?”
“I’m afraid not.”
“Well how much is it for me to get a room right now?”
“Let me find our cheapest rate,” she said, referring to her database once again. “Here we go, 120 euro but I can throw in a free breakfast since you won’t get full use out of the room.”
Kayla was disappointed that her travel allowance was already taking a hit, but she was too tired to complain. She handed the woman her money in exchange for a room key and went directly to bed.
She was awoken a few hours later by a call from the front desk.
“Kayla, it’s me! Come down to the lobby! They’re getting my room ready now,” Natalie spoke excitedly over the phone.
“I’ll be right there!”
Kayla grabbed her things and rushed down to meet her sister.
“There you are! What happened? I thought your plane was arriving at 4:45 pm!”
“It was always 4:45 am,” Kayla replied, with a slight curtness in her tone. Natalie was always a little irresponsible in that way, but not wanting to start their vacation off on a bad note she continued smoothing things over as she spoke, “Anyway, that’s all behind us, can I share your room?”
“You’re by yourself?”
“For now.”
“So where is he?”
“Mark is stuck at work for a few more days.”
“Sure he is.”
“It’s his first year at a law firm, Nat. He doesn’t have the pull to just drop a case and go on vacation.”
“My friend Jess saw him out at the bars in Santa Monica flirting with some girl like two days ago. Maybe if your boyfriend wasn’t going out drinking every night he’d be able to finish a case in time for the vacation you’ve been planning for months.”
“He’s allowed to decompress.”
“Have you even heard from him since you landed?”
“Well, no… but I let him know that I got to the hotel. I’m sure I’ll hear back soon.”
“I just hate how he puts everything else before you, that’s all. Anyway, I’m honestly glad he’s not here. Now it’s just you and me. This trip is going to be incredible Kayla, you’ll love it!”
“I’m sure I will!” she agreed, happy to change the subject.
Kayla took her sister’s arm like they did when they were in school, and the girls walked toward the elevator together.
“Where is your luggage?” Kayla asked, noticing that her sister didn’t have the matching suitcase she left home with four and a half weeks ago.
“This is it!” Natalie replied, patting her hand against the oversized purse hanging from her shoulder.
“You’ve been in Europe for over a month now and that’s all you have for a suitcase?”
“Yep, it’s easier to travel light! You’ll see, I give you two more cities before you’re ready to drop the blow dryer, and spare heels for some lighter luggage.”
“That seems unlikely,” Kayla replied, laughing as she thought of her sister throwing away shoes and appliances in each city.
They spent the next few days exploring Reykjavík and the surrounding area. They took the well known Golden Circle tour where they walked across the continental divide, stood in awe of the Gullfoss waterfalls, watched the world’s second largest geyser erupt, and bathed in Iceland’s natural hot springs. The country’s beauty was therapeutic, and for Kayla, it offered plenty of distractions from the stress and insecurity of her relationship status. She enjoyed eating out at the chic restaurants, learning about the city, and planning the next 11 days with her sister before Natalie had to go back to their home in Laguna Beach.
On their last day in Iceland, the girls went to the Blue Lagoon. While they soaked in the warm water and natural silica, they asked a nice couple to take their picture with Natalie's waterproof phone. The woman was very outgoing and immediately began striking up a conversation. They turned out to be very experienced, and only slightly pretentious, travelers who offered welcome insight to Kayla and Natalie’s plans.
“Between Rome and Florence which would you choose?” Natalie asked the couple.
“We’re trying to keep it to only three or four days so we can fit more destinations in together,” Kayla chimed in.
“Oh Florence, hands down!” the woman replied, happy to express her opinion. “Especially on a limited time frame. You can walk the entire city in one day, and easily see most places of interest in three.”
The husband interjected, “Have you seen the aurora borealis yet? You absolutely cannot leave Iceland until you’ve seen them.”
“We’ve tried every night but haven’t been able to yet,” Kayla replied shyly.
“Try again tonight. Go far away from the city so the lights don’t interfere. Trust me, you’ll regret it if you don’t see them.”
“Okay, we’ll try again,” the girls replied agreeably, before thanking them for the picture and parting ways.
When they left the relaxing lagoon and retrieved their belongings from the on-site lockers, Kayla immediately turned on her phone, hoping to find a text waiting.
“Still nothing?” Her sister asked.
“Nothing,” Kayla replied. Her disappointment was obvious.
Natalie refrained from her usual negative comments about Mark. This time, she just gave her sister a supportive hug and they walked out of the locker room together.
That night the girls took the emphatic advice of that man at the Blue Lagoon, and drove to a desolate spot recommended by the hotel concierge for seeing the northern lights. They took a canister filled with hot chocolate and plenty of snacks. Unsure of how long it would take, they were prepared to stay out all night.
Just after 11:30pm, Natalie had fallen asleep and Kayla was reading a book she borrowed from the hotel lobby titled, The Huldufólk of Iceland. With no distractions in sight, she got through the first 20 pages without realizing how much time had gone by. Suddenly, a gust of wind startled her, quickly catching her attention. She looked up into the sky and saw a long white trail against the deep blue canvas.
“Natalie, wake up!”
“What!? Is it happening?”
“Look up! Is that them?”
Both of the girls got out of the car and began walking further into the darkness.
“I don’t know, aren’t they supposed to be colorful?” Natalie replied, disappointed and slightly irritated at being woken up for something that could easily have come from an airplane. She started to walk back toward the car, but lost her footing due to the terrain. Natalie caught herself and then bent down to pick up the stone that caused the mishap.
“Look at this,” she said, showing the rock to Kayla. “It’s shaped exactly like a heart.”
“That’s cute,” Kayla replied.
Natalie rubbed her thumb over the surface of the rock and then quickly threw it into the emptiness in front of her.
“No!” Kayla exclaimed.
“What!?” Natalie jumped, startled by her sister’s reaction.
“The elves don’t like that! You could hit one of them!”
“Um, what exactly is in that hot chocolate?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. It’s the book I’m reading–the one from the hotel. It explains all about the elves and hidden people of Iceland. They really believe in them here.”
“Okay, but just because they’re a little wacky doesn’t mean you should be. Gosh Kayla, you must be taking this breakup harder than I thought if you’re suddenly believing in elves.”
“We aren’t broken up!”
“Oh, right. Well, you should be.”
“Stop it, Nat. I know he isn’t perfect. It’s just–I wouldn’t even know how to go about dating now. We’ve been together for three years. Plus, he really does treat me well when we’re together and you know mom and dad adore him. That’s got to be worth something.”
“Oh it is worth something, just not as much as making out with some bimbo in Santa Monica and ignoring you for days.”
“Don’t exaggerate! Flirting and making out are very different. Honestly, I know the way he’s acting is wrong, but I’m not sure I could find someone better than him–he was my first love. I can’t give that up without knowing for sure that someone better for me is out there. If only there was some sort of sign that could assure me that breaking up with him was the right move.”
“The sign is me, telling you to your face that he’s wrong for you.”
Kayla rolled her eyes and decided to drop the subject.
Just then, another gust of wind rushed through the air, this time sweeping up the white streak and swirling it into the middle of the sky.
“Oh my gosh, this is it!” Kayla exclaimed.
As the wind swirled, the white color was transformed into multiple green and purple streaks. These dashes of color lit up like a neon sign and danced across the sky in a chaotic harmony with one another. Both the girls were silent now, entranced by the miracle happening before their eyes. Two more gusts of wind pushed the vibrant lines around in an interwoven dance and then, just as suddenly as it came, the aurora borealis was gone.
“I can’t believe we just saw that. It was beautiful!”
“It was better than I could have ever imagined!” Kayla agreed.
“Cheers to not missing out on that once in a lifetime experience,” Natalie said holding up her hot chocolate mug.
“Cheers to never missing out on one again,” Kayla replied, inspired and intoxicated by the breathtaking experience that could only come from and adventure like this.
The girls reluctantly walked back to the car, still looking up to the sky and hoping for one more glimmer of the northern nights to appear. With nothing but stars left in the sky, Natalie got into the driver’s seat and then unlocked Kayla’s door. Kayla sat down but immediately bolted back up.
“What’s wrong?” Natalie asked.
“I sat on something hard!” She fumbled for her phone in the dark and turned the flashlight on.
As the light reached the car’s leather interior, both of the girls gasped in unison. Right in the middle of Kayla’s seat rested a perfect, heart-shaped stone.
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