So there she sat, on an airplane heading to see her long time friend. She sat beside an older man who was reading, The Alchemist, one of her favorite books. He must’ve been in his mid fifties with a head of grey hair and wrinkles that carved his strong look. She turned to him and remarked, “An amazing book, isn’t it?”

He stayed silent for a few seconds then turned to her with his deep brown eyes engaged onto hers and replied,

“I have trouble with the lack of responsibility this young man has. Life is not only about surrendering oneself to fate…although it is a big part of it.”

Scarlet listened intently, surprised by this man’s honesty. She assumed he would’ve just given her a nod and continued reading. She should’ve known better.

“You see, one's personal journey endures many challenges but the journey does not exist unless one creates it. What this young man doesn’t acknowledge is his right to create his meaning, and not just search for it.” He looked at her deeply then continued reading.

For the next five hours, Scarlet would sit back and reflect upon what this man exactly meant. 

Finally, her plane landed where she followed the signs to the baggage claim. She waited patiently with a pencil in her mouth and her mole skin journal in hand when she felt someone's cold hands cover her eyes. "Surprise!" a man’s voice cried out.  She quickly turned around; it was Buddy.         

They embraced each other intently. Her warmth invaded him and they looked at one another with genuine smiles. Their connection was strong and still very much alive.When they obtained her luggage and proceeded to leave the airport, Scarlet turned around where she saw the man she had sat next to. Their eyes met and he looked at her with half a smile and nodded graciously. Scarlet smiled back and left the airport.  

“Who was that?” Buddy said

“A man of few words.” She replied.          

During the first few hours together and to Scarlet’s surprise, Buddy could barely hold a conversation anymore. It was as if he was holding something back and his eyes were no longer familiar to her.  Their lives have parted in such different ways that they no longer had anything in common. Astonishingly, there was quite a bit of awkward tension that when he finally dropped her off at her hotel all he said was, 

"Good-bye. I’ll pick you up at 3pm tomorrow. Glad you made it safe.”

She looked at him strangely and replied back,“Ok, I’ll see you tomorrow.”             

Scarlet settled in her hotel and quickly fell into a deep sleep. The next morning she got ready, looking as beautiful as ever and strolled around New York. She always loved the city in the Spring. She found herself walking through Central Park remembering the time in college when her and Buddy made dinner for the first time in his new apartment. He was so excited to live outside the dorms and she was thrilled to actually have a place to go besides her dorm room. They blasted music all night as she playfully put sauce on his cheek and he threw a little bit of cilantro at her. Together, they tried desperately to open a cheap glass of wine without the wine bottle opener, which took at least twenty minutes. Finally, they poured themselves a glass, as remnants of the cork bobbled in the wine. It was the hardest they had ever laughed before.             

After several hours of aimless walking and thinking, she noticed that the trees were thriving with blossoming flowers and the songs of the birds were distant and faint. The sun was out and the air was crisp. The city was happy today.  She thought how perfect life was and how beautiful New York seemed. She sat there on a bench and wrote in her journal filling up page upon page with her deepest thoughts until she was distracted by a figure walking towards her.            

The stagger of his walk and the carelessness of his stride looked familiar. Of course, it could only be Buddy. She closed up her journal and waited for him to come closer. He finally came to her and said hello. She just looked up at him as she sat with her legs crossed and hands around her journal. Her brown hair flowed freely.  "Hello" she replied back. Inviting him to sit down, she wondered how he found her. He sat next to her. 

"This is the first place I came to when I first arrived." he said.

" It's beautiful." She said. Silence overcame them. Finally, Buddy spoke.

“Well, the reason why I brought you out here was because I wanted to tell you that I got a job offer in London… and I'm going to move there, indefinitely.”

“Wow, that is great Buddy. I’m really happy for you!” She said, not so sure if she was being honest.

"Thanks, I’m happy about it too, he said. But, that’s not all…” she waited for the remains.

He looked at her with his big blue eyes and looked down to the floor. “I’m getting married Scarlet.”

Scarlet immediately remembered the time when they were wandering Golden Gate Park at 3 o’clock in the morning drunk off cheap vodka doing cartwheels and yoga poses in the field pretending to be buddah reaching enlightenment. They sat there with their legs crossed and he opened his eyes and put his hands on her knees. "Scarlet, I just had a realization! If we are 30 and not married, you promise to marry me?”

“The wedding is in Santa Domingo…” Buddy continued.  

Scarlet came back to the present.

“That’s where she is from, he said. And I need you to be there Scarlet. Your ticket is already covered. We leave tomorrow.”           

As soon as she heard those words, she felt light headed and as if someone knocked the wind out of her. It was final, he had moved far away from her life and he would stay there… indefinitely.            

Scarlet had no choice; they got on the plane the next morning to the Dominican Republic. The moment they got off the plane there was something about being in the oldest city in the new world that captivated her. This was where the first hospital was ever built, where the settlement of all the Americas had begun. It was a beautiful place, full of history, passion and love.            

Immediately, they were greeted by his fiancés family. Scarlet didn’t even know her name. They embraced Scarlet as if she was apart of the family, praising them for their arrival as if they just had landed on the moon. Then, like a shinning new penny, Veronica ran into Buddy’s arms. There were cheers and applauds in every direction. Scarlet was in a dream as tears starting to develop in her eyes. She played them off like tears of joy.            

As they proceeded to leave the airport to their hotels, Buddy whispered into Scarlet’s ear,

“We need to talk.”           

***           

Scarlet got into her hotel and immediately rushed into the shower. She stood there, under the warmth of the water trying desperately to make sense of all that had happened in the past few days. Questions swarmed her head as she asked herself “Why not me?” It was then where she lost control of herself and let her emotions take over. This was a rarity in her life. She was realizing that ever since Buddy’s sister’s wedding she kept the hope that one day, her best friend would be the one that she would spend the rest of her life with. For years she kept a secret, hidden deep within her heart, but was too scared and stubborn to let it out. She was in love with Buddy.