London Calling

The lights of the city beckoned me from my perch up high. I'm back to where it all began. The city that gave me wings. London calling me home.

The second time is always more familiar, but still surprising. Walking through the streets was like sinking into a pile of pillows. The curves and lines of the city's structures were just as beautiful as I remembered. I could still feel the history, the grandeur, the majestic spirit that can only be London. The men walking down the sidewalk looked more like GQ models strutting down a runway. The proper English accents floating in the air made me want to catch one and claim it as my own. The focused taxi drivers made me realize that a chicken would never have the courage to cross these roads. All the parts of this great city make me feel alive and well. Words could never truly express the feelings I have.

Ashley, my fearless traveling companion, found us an old, but clean, hostel a few blocks away from the British Museum. We were hoping to have the room to ourselves, but what a pleasant surprise when we came in late one night to discover an additional traveler. Evelyn, this fabulous Parisian woman, was propped up on pillows, eyeglasses steady at the tip of her nose, reading a novel with 'American' in the title. (I still can't recall what the full title was.) When she learned we were American, she perked up and a smile spread across her graceful face as she ran her fingers through short auburn hair. She looked to be in her late 50s, but I know to never ask a woman her age, especially a Parisian. She was traveling alone, and because I have an over-active imagination, I immediately set to work at dreaming up her story.

Door number one says she's a French spy, using hostels and age to hide her ability to snap a man in half. Door number two says she's a woman still very much in love, returning to the place where she was first swept off her feet. She was dispatched to London during the second world war, where she nursed Edward, a British soldier with a clever laugh and strong will, back to health. She did her job so well that Edward's physical strength returned, but his love for her grew stronger than 1,000 men. (Seeing as how she'd have to be considerably older than she is for door number two to be believable (and real life isn't a chick flick), let's knock on door number 3.)

She's an adventure seeker, a brilliant woman with an organic courage to explore the unknown. She relies on her heart to guide her steps, which never fails to take her to the most beautiful places. I surely hope this story is truth. If so, we are kindred spirits, Evelyn and I.