Italy, May 2020
"Giusti Garden is one of the most famous gardens in the Verona area because of its uniqueness and beauty. Its design can make you feel as though you've stepped into the Roman era. You can see all the Roman statues surrounding the garden. Besides that ..."
The tour guide's explanation was cut short when someone suddenly raised her hand, looking like she wanted to ask a question.
"Yes, ma'am?" asked Diandra, the young tour guide who still wore a friendly smile.
"I need to use the restroom," Cleo replied in a voice as soft as a squeaking mouse.
Diandra looked at the long-haired girl, who clearly seemed to be holding something in.
"Let me finish explaining this part first, ma'am. After that, I'll take you there," Diandra said.
"Oh, no, ma'am. It's okay. I can go by myself. Just tell me where it is," Cleo gently refused.
Of course, she didn't want to disrupt their tour. When she'd raised her hand just now, many of the other tourists in her group had looked at her with displeasure.
Besides, she wasn't a little kid who needed someone to accompany her to the restroom. She was sure she wouldn't get lost.
It wasn't that big of a place, anyway. Finding her tour group later wouldn't be difficult.
"Are you sure, ma'am?" Diandra asked, looking doubtful.
"I'm sure, ma'am. Don't worry. I'll come straight back here as quickly as I can," Cleo explained, trying to reassure the tour guide.
Diandra still had some doubts, but when she realized that dozens of other tour participants were waiting for her, she had no choice but to nod and explain where the restroom Cleo was looking for could be found.
"Thank you," Cleo said gratefully.
Before Cleo left, Diandra added, "Don't take too long, okay? Fifteen minutes should be enough, right?"
Cleo nodded and hurried off to answer nature's call. She made her way through the truly beautiful garden and was almost tempted to take a few pictures for her collection.
But then she reminded herself that she needed to get to the restroom and rejoin the other tour participants as soon as possible.
"Ah, finally!" Cleo exclaimed, overjoyed, as if she'd just discovered a treasure that had been hidden for hundreds of years.
Crash!
Cleo collided with someone and instinctively said, "Mi dispiace."
It was a short Italian phrase meaning "I'm sorry."
The person gave her a faint smile and continued walking, leaving Cleo to let out a relieved sigh.
Cleo felt pretty lucky that there wasn't a long line at the restroom. She only needed a few minutes inside the restroom stall before coming back out.
She returned to her tour group earlier than expected and saw Diandra smiling at her in relief.
"Ma'am, how long are we staying here?" Cleo asked.
Diandra glanced at her watch and quickly answered, "Until three o'clock, ma'am. We still have about forty-five minutes here."
Cleo nodded. "In that case, can I walk around for a bit, ma'am?"
Diandra nodded but warned her again, "Just make sure you come back here on time, okay?"
"Okay, ma'am."
With a light heart, Cleo began strolling around the beautiful garden.
More than once, she took pictures with the digital camera she'd bought just a few days before leaving for Italy.
A smile formed on the young woman's sweet lips as she admired the beauty of the flower-filled garden. But then, a memory suddenly surfaced in her mind.
She instinctively ran a hand through her hair, then quickly shook her head. "No, Cleo. That bastard of a man and your backstabbing best friend aren't worth thinking about anymore."
Even so, her heart still ached, and she had to fight desperately to keep her tears from falling. She certainly didn't want the people there looking at her strangely. So Cleo quickly walked off in no particular direction, trying to calm her already-turbulent emotions.
She kept walking without stopping until she suddenly realized that she was outside the garden. She sighed.
"It's okay, Cleo. You're here on vacation, not to think about that sad story of yours."
Cleo let out a long breath. Suddenly, her stomach began to growl. "Oh my gosh, how can I be hungry after remembering that miserable mess?"
"Cleo Fredella, you're weird," she muttered, visibly mocking herself.
When she spotted several food vendors by the roadside, Cleo immediately approached them and looked around, trying to figure out which food would suit her taste.
Cleo swallowed hard when she found something that was, of course, familiar to her.
"Pizza."
Cleo ordered a pizza using the little Italian she knew. Fortunately, the vendor understood what she was saying.
Cleo waited patiently. Every now and then, she took pictures to keep herself from getting bored.
"Ten euros," the vendor said to Cleo.
Cleo immediately reached for the wallet containing the euros she'd put in her small bag. But she panicked when she couldn't find it.
"Oh no. How is that possible?" she cried.
"Please, wait a minute!" Cleo said again, unconsciously using English instead of Italian.
The vendor continued waiting patiently and didn't look angry in the slightest, as if he realized the young woman was confused.
Cleo rummaged through her small crossbody bag and the backpack she was carrying, but she couldn't find her wallet.
Then she suddenly remembered colliding with someone at the restroom earlier. She slapped her forehead when she realized she must have just been pickpocketed.
What terrible luck!
How could she be unlucky even while abroad?
She'd already suffered plenty of bad luck in her homeland.
Her boyfriend, whom she thought was perfect, had betrayed her with her own best friend—the same friend who had been by her side since high school.
On top of that, she'd been fired from the company where she'd worked for four years.
Wasn't all of that enough?
Now, when she wanted to have fun in a foreign country and forget all the misfortunes that had befallen her, she still had to suffer another stroke of bad luck?
What a miserable life Cleo Fredella had!
Cleo was just about to open her mouth and apologize when someone suddenly said something in Italian that she couldn't understand and handed a banknote to the vendor.
Afterward, the vendor handed the pizza to Cleo. He gestured to her, and Cleo finally understood that the man had just paid for her pizza.
Cleo immediately chased after him, carrying the pizza in one hand. "Wait for me, please!"
The man, whom Cleo guessed was also a tourist, turned to look at her. "Yeah, Miss?"