Worlds Collide

Chapter 3

Avery's POV

As soon as the plane landed I waited patiently for the passengers to leave their seats and get off the aeroplane. I saw a glimpse of the brunette stranger and I could have sworn she looked my way and shot me a subtle smile before looking away and disappearing for good. Or so I thought. 

My experience with customs was surprisingly smooth. Most likely because the people in their little booths were overtired and overheated at this time of day.

I thanked the lady in the booth in Hungarian but she looked unimpressed as she pushed the button for the door in front of me to open and motioned for me to get in while mumbling something in her native tongue.

I shrugged and made my way outside as I only had my huge backpack on me. I figured I could simply buy a new outfit from every country and wash them all at different hotels I stayed at. 

After wandering around and trusting my map app I finally found my hotel. It should have taken me about fifteen minutes to get here but since I got lost multiple times it took me about forty. I felt too socially anxious to ask any locals for help as I tend to find a solution for any problem myself. At least I was raised to be independent no matter what comes my way.

After dumping everything next to my bed I changed into something more comfortable and less touristy before making my way out. I made sure to memorise the map and the street names in the area so I could find my way back with less effort this time. I also made sure to take a few pictures of statues and street art work on my way towards the city so I could remember my way back even better.

After a short ten minute walk I was in front of Hungarian Parliament building. It was ten times bigger than I had ever imagined and if I said I didn't take dozens of pictures of such Gothic masterpiece I would be lying. After I was content with the pictures I'd taken I moved on to my next location.

Me deciding to be basic I head over to the National Museum of Hungary to learn more about their culture and art. The museum is surprisingly chilly considering it's boiling hot outside to a point that I felt like I was going to melt any second.

It took me about an hour if not more to walk around the beautiful building and enjoy all the amazing sights I would remember for life. I headed outside into the heat again and stopped at an ice cream shop so I could continue my journey while enjoying my rose shaped ice cream. 

I finally reached The Invisible Exhibition. It was something I had been looking forward to since I found it on the list of 'Most interesting things to do in Budapest' and luckily for me I was capable to pick out a few places I wanted to visit as well as short cuts from one to another. I was staying in Budapest only for a day and a half before moving straight to Germany. I had the whole journey mapped out in my head as well as all the plane tickets. The initial plan is to go from London straight to Budapest, then to Berlin while in Germany, then to Warsaw for a couple of days in Poland, Vilnius and possibly that little town where the Hill of Crosses is situated in Lithuania as I'll have three days to spend there for my next train, Riga for the day while in Latvia, Tallinn for a quick break in Estonia which means that if everything goes smoothly I'll have a few hours to kill before my evening flight, jump over for a day in Finland, two days in Sweden, another two days in Norway, a day in Denmark, three days in Netherlands and then back to London.

Hopefully no one will mess with my perfect and flawless travel plan for the upcoming 20 days of my holiday. Whatever holiday I'll have left after that I'll be planning my second trip around Europe to finis off my tour to places I didn't have time to visit this time around. Or perhaps I'll just get in my car and tour the UK with the time I've got left before coming back to the real world.

At the end of the Exhibition I'm lead to a dining table and get comfortable in my chair with a small smile of excitement. So far this had been amazing experience. The guide seem to have known her surroundings very well and of course I couldn't help but to enjoy her soothing calm voice, almost emotionless as if she was focusing too hard on not blurting something out. Her perfume seemed to be still invading my senses even after I took my seat and heard her walk away. It smelled like the fresh crisp air of all the pines in the forest with a hint of some floral undertones as if there was a flower field nearby.

Soon the smell was long gone after one of the waiters had set down some wine and pasta right in front of me. I leaned closer to the plate after I found the cutlery and dug in.

After the amazing diner and two glasses of the most divine wine I had in m life I exited the exhibition bracing myself for blinding lights of the outside but to my surprise I was met by a full moon staring back at me up in the sky.

I looked down at my phone to check the time and whistled quietly to myself realising I've been out longer than expected. I started making my way down the familiar street but stopped in my tracks to look back at whoever was running my way. I furrowed my brows as I saw young woman running for her life and a few men and women dressed in security uniforms running after her though she could not be caught by the looks of it. Some of them gave up while the woman seem to have been determined to catch the runner. 

I couldn't make out any of the girls features as she weirdly enough had a motorcycle helmet on but right after she ran past I swear I could just about make out her eyes staring right back at me with a playful twinkle in them. What made me go absolutely pale was the realisation hit me as to why she was running. Her white dress shirt was ripped and stained with something red. I could also smell the pines in the forest and a hint of a flower field nearby.

She gave me the tour. How could she know her way around? Was she hurt or did she hurt someone else? Was I supposed to be her victim? Why did she let me go then?

I decided to get back to my hotel as quick as humanly possible and I could not have been more happier to be indoors. Or to get my flight to Germany first thing in the morning.