nevertheless || yuzuru hanyu

two - somewhere in a headspace

:: Gabriella

Traveling is quite a beautiful thing. Whether you'd be going someplace else for a job or enjoyment, a very refreshing and humbling feeling comes to you in the touch of different wind.

As I was in the middle of boarding my plane, that gush of nostalgia hit me. Though the feeling was not too long ago, it just felt so distant. There was a drive of constant good memories, all the people I met when I was in Brazil, the athletes whom I shared a room with, and the activities I did while I was there.

But then that nightmare comes running back, and suddenly the good memories become secluded by a dark cloud that creates fear within it.

As my thoughts were running wild, I sighed as I departed from the feeling of nostalgia. I looked for my seat on the plane and was lucky enough to be assisted towards where it was.

The whole flight took about twelve hours and I had a lot of time to think, but I didn't like thinking so I just slept.

My sleeping was quite smooth until the plane was traveling about eight hours in and I had to go to the bathroom, but then I returned immediately and proceeded back to sleep.

The next time I woke up, I was already in Canada. It was not my first time there, but I have definitely forgotten how cold it was. From the moment the plane doors opened, I felt the cold breeze brushing past my skin. It was enough to send several shivers everywhere in my body, but past that I felt excited to finally get off the plane and meet people.

As I've arrived in the waiting area, there was a woman who looked like she was in her early twenties, waving a sign that had my name on it. As soon I saw it, a smile crawled on my face and I approached the woman with excitement.

I waved in front of her until she noticed me, and she returned my smile with a warm one.

"Hi, I'm Gabriella Kim. Nice to meet you!" I said as I approached her and extended my hand to shake hers.

Her eyes widened with a smile as she shook my hand. She looked rather surprised and I wanted to know why.

"Is there something wrong?" I asked with the presence of a chuckle.

She shook her head, still maintaining that smile on her face. She looked like she was in disbelief.

"You're English sounds really great." She said, still in a tone of disbelief.

I was definitely not expecting that to be the reason why she was surprised, honestly, that caught me off-guard and dumbfounded so I just laughed it off and made a joke.

"Aww," I said in a disappointed tone. "I thought you were gonna say you fell in love with me at first sight." I continued as I twirled my hair pretentiously.  Sometimes when words come out of our mouth, we end up regretting them when they already leave out very lips, and that is exactly what I'm feeling right now.

However, I watched as she smiled widely, her eyes looking like they were closed, she then covered her face with the sign, flustered by what came out of my out.

I laughed, and she laughed too.

"I'm sorry about that. The joke is too sudden, huh?" I asked, still laughing about her reaction.

She nodded her head, while still covering her face with the sign.

Then the laughter died down, and she lowered the sign to talk, "I'm Joanna Browne. I'm Coach Browne's niece and I'm the one who handles his center here in Canada when he's away." She explained.

"Oh, you're 'the' Joanna. I've heard of you a lot." I replied.

She shyly smiled, "Hopefully, only good things."

I laughed and nodded, "Yes, only good things." I said to her. It made her sigh in relief as if she was expecting coach to share embarrassing things about her.

"Now that I know my uncle hasn't been telling you too many things, I should take you to your where you'll be staying. You look exhausted." She uttered, thoroughly observing my tired eyes.

I smiled, then responding with an, "Mhmm" in agreement with her.

"Alright. Follow me." She said as she continued walking away from the crowd of people in the waiting area.

As a thought, I'm glad she laughed at my joke because that could have ended so badly and awkwardly. As a first impression, she seems to have a really good personality, I guess it runs in their family.

=

I followed Joanna to a red car that was in the front bay of the airport's parking area, and from there she drove me to her place where I was told to stay. I was only going to be there for a few months anyway.

For the whole duration of the car ride, she played all types of music. Once in a while it would be classical, then it would jump to western music, then it would even go to Korean pop. It was quite a broad music selection, but she had amazing tastes.

In a few minutes, we arrived at her place and she brought me to the room where I would be residing in for a while.

The room was quite the beautiful place. It was simply decorated, but it felt comfortable to be in.

"It's feels very cozy here." I said as I was looking around the room.

"Good, I picked out everything. I'm glad you like it." Joanna proudly replied.

"Anyway, you should rest now. You probably feel tired." She continued. She then gave me a smile as she walked out of the room and closed the door.

She was not mistaken when she said that I was tired. All I want is to sleep a little bit more. That being said, I took a shower then I decided to let my eyes rest.