An Ikarian Lifestyle

Tessa Plakidas

Mr. David Newman

ENG2D (10B)

September 17, 2011

An Ikarian Lifestyle

I wake up and I have a tingling, wet sensation on my left hand. I open my eyes and I look towards my hand, wondering what could be causing this feeling. As I look over Liza (my dog), is staring into my eyes smiling at me like she always has. I pet her small white head and get out of bed. As I am making my way to the shower I can hear Liza's footsteps behind me. I take a quick, hot, relaxing shower and then dry myself. I put on a pair of dark jeans and a grey shirt with a pair of sneakers. I do my makeup casually, same as always, I put on black eyeliner and mascara. I make my way downstairs, and as I enter the kitchen I see Liza by the door reminding me to feed her. I open the kitchen door. Liza runs outside and chases the cats away so that the whole garden is hers. I walk outside with the dog food and feed her. I walk back inside and boil some water for my mint tea. I go back upstairs to grab my jacket and my bag. I pour my hot tea into a mug, call Liza inside and leave the house.

 As I am walking to work I can only see familiar faces. Not many people were able to leave the island, and I finally start to understand how privileged I was to leave and have the option to come back instead of being stuck here. I reach the bakery and get a cheese pie. It tastes just like back in elementary school and I can feel all the childhood memories coming back with every bite.

I finally make it to the office. I open my purse, pull out the keys, and unlock the door. As I walk inside I turn on the lights, and I can hear the door close behind me. I open the windows to admire the beautiful view. I can see the port, the square, the beautiful blue sea and the big green mountains. No one is here yet so I decide to call up my best friends, Marina and Iliana. These are the ones that overcame the distance and were always there for me even if I was thousand of miles away. They answer and I remind them about our Friday tradition: gathering all the good old friends and eating lunch together, and inform them that we will be meeting at the square at three pm and request that they call the others. The first patient arrives. We talk about their family and how she remembers me from when I was young. I start the examination but due to doctor confidentiality I can't reveal any further information. The rest of the day goes by smoothly. I see another twelve patients and then finally it's three pm and it's time to leave. I quickly grab my purse and my macbook, lock the door behind me and walk to the square. 

As I am walking down to the square the road brings back all these memories. I have lived a special moment in every corner of this street and walking down it is like watching my life in replay. As I approach the square I can see everyone standing around waiting for me. As usual, I am the one that is always late. Slowly everyone turns around and looks at me with relief. No one knows where we would be eating today other than me. I could tell them apart from miles away. I could see Marina and Iliana my best  friends, Panagiotis and Nikolas they're cousins and good friends of mine, Nikita my cousin and very close friend, Apostolis who I didn't see much after I moved to Canada but we remained good friends, Antonis also a good friend that was always there for me. Even if we were in huge fights he always came through and helped me. Those are the ones that always stood up for me, and I have to admit I am still surprised that we are friends after all these years, but I always knew that they were friends for life. Even if I wanted to get rid of them I wouldn't be able to because we have been through too much together. Even if most of them were never able to leave the island they seem happy. But they seem even happier now that they can finally eat. Once I reach them I scream at the top of my lungs "let's go eat" and everyone follows me.

We are eating at Fanouris, the restaurant I worked at when I was fourteen. I have to say I miss those days when my boss would call me to remind me that I'm working that evening, or when I would walk into the restaurant and he would always check what I'm wearing and if I am okay. As I walk into the restaurant the smell of souvlaki brings back all the memories. I say hi just the way I would when I signed in for work every day. The only difference this time is that my ex boss comes and hugs me with a big smile on his face. I grab a note pad and a pen and go back outside to our table. As I reach the table everyone is sitting down and the table is set. When everyone sees me with a pen and the note pad in my hand a wave of laughter hits me. I ask them what they found so amusing and they reply they never thought I would be taking their order again. Not to make this too tiring for the readers they order after giving me a really hard time, which I think they did on purpose. After a long debate we decide what we are going to eat and I take our order inside. I put our drinks, glasses, plates and forks on a tray and take it outside. I leave the rest to my ex boss so I can spend some time with my friends. We talk about our week and our plans. It's almost summer so we discuss our vacation destinations. Pretty much everyone wants to go to Athens for a week or two and spend the rest of the summer here. I just want to stay here and maybe go to an island nearby for a few days. My boss appears with a tray full of food and everyone cheers as he approaches. I help him place the food on the table and everyone starts eating. There is no talking for a while. We are too busy eating the food that we ordered. After a while Antonis finally speaks and asks me why I don't want to go back to Canada this summer. I tell him it's because there is no point in me going there since all my friends are coming here for two weeks. We slowly finish all the food and the time to pay the bill comes. Every Friday we would take turns, and this Friday it was my turn to pay, so I walk inside and tell my boss to do the bill, but he refuses. Of course I insist on paying, but as always he wins, but I only leave after I make him promise that next time he will late me pay. I walk outside and see all my friends walking towards me. I know something is up from the look on their faces. When they approach me they announced their plans for the rest of the evening. The party is continuing at my place and of course, I love the idea! I always get so excited when my friends come over.

We all start walking towards my house and after a five-minute walk we reach my house. We can all hear Liza going crazy, barking and crying. I unlock the door and everyone makes themselves comfortable, like they were at their own house. In a way it is, such a big part of their childhood was spent in this house, this garden. Liza is very excited she likes it even more than me when I have people over. Everyone grew up with Liza and knew her since she was an adorable little puppy. I grab eight glasses and a bottle of wine and we sit in the garden. I love my garden. It's right above the sea and you can see the whole village, overall a beautiful view. We sit outside drinking wine, chatting and laughing until the sun goes down. Once it is dark we go back inside and slowly everyone leaves, one by one. By the time the sky is full of stars I am left alone with Liza, finishing up some files. As I go through the files I can't help but think about my past. How I got here. How my life would have been different. All these unanswered questions. I guess I can only be thankful that everything worked out and not wonder why it did.

            It's already 10:35 pm and I finally decide to go to bed after a long day. I go upstairs with Liza following me as usual, brush my teeth and change into a comfy pair of shorts and a big shirt. I walk towards my room, wait for Liza to jump on my bed and close the door. As I approach my bed Liza is wagging her tail and smiling at me which I find very unusual. But then I remember something. Many believe that dogs have a sixth sense and maybe Liza has a good feeling about something. So I lie down under my light blue sheets facing Liza and fall asleep, knowing that everything is going to be okay.