Chapter 39
Noa
F our days later, Noa and Alex stood on the kerb-side outside their hostel as they prepared to leave El Nido.
The minibus that was collecting them for the airport spat and spluttered beside them as plumes of black smoke rose from the exhaust. After months of adjusting to Southeast Asian public transport, Noa ignored the small unease that the dilapidated motor created.
But Alex’s stiff posture and assessing glare in the driver’s direction as he loaded their bags, told her that he still hadn’t quite accepted the differences here.
Noa hugged goodbye to Lola and Thea. She couldn’t believe how lucky she was to have met so many amazing people on this trip.
Some, like Hattie, Marcus, Carly, and Bridget, had come and gone along the way.
But these two were different. To have met them both on day one, to have connected as they did and have been able to spend her entire trip together, felt like they shared something so special.
Something that not many people would understand.
That linked them, and Noa knew they’d be friends even after they returned home.
Noa couldn’t help the few stray tears that tumbled down her cheeks as she prepared to get on the minibus. Lola gripped her tightly, then pulled away to look deep into her eyes.
With a very serious look on her face, she said, ‘You know, you’re crying now, but you can’t get rid of me that easily.
I’m going to be in Freymoor all the damn time and, soon enough, you’re going to be crying because you’re so sick of me.
Plus, you’ve got to keep me up-to-date on the whole Ryan showdown. ’
They both laughed. This girl really was so much like Tes.
She had a warmth about her, a lightness that seemed to make any heaviness slip away when they were around.
She could use more of that in her life, and she was so grateful that they had met.
She couldn’t wait to welcome her to her hometown and introduce her to her best friend.
She had a feeling that they would either get on like a house on fire, or be so similar that their fiery personalities would clash.
Either way, knowing that they were both part of her life now made going home seem less of a struggle.
As well as the friendships she had made, Noa knew she would take so much away from this trip.
Thanks to Alex, she was well on her way to ticking off her ‘30 before 30’ list. But not only that. Along the way, the list had become less important to her. She realised it was all the little moments throughout their journey that she would likely remember forever.
Before leaving Freymoor, she had felt a sense of failure, a sense of feeling behind in life based on some kind of schedule she had set for herself.
At the time, she didn’t know if those expectations had been based on her own dreams, or based on what everyone was doing around her.
Now, she was sure. She had let the people around her dictate how worthy she felt for far too long.
Anyone from strangers on the internet to her ex-boyfriend had helped her create this unrealistic standard and timeline for herself.
But who said life ends at thirty, or where she should be by then? Who really cared, as long as she was living her life and happy, how she was living it? She’d let the ticking of time scare her for too long, and it was an anxiety she had shifted whilst being away.
She realised as she’d watched her new friends that everyone was on a different path, and there was beauty in that. Beauty in the messy and unpredictable parts of life.
She would never forget the lessons they had all taught her.
She was going to take risks, and reach for her own goals, moving forward—something she had stopped doing somewhere along the line as she prioritised other people and their expectations.
And, whether she achieved them or got knocked down and had to fight to get back up, this trip had taught her that she always would.
But there were also people she wanted to have around to help her.
Being strong and independent did not mean being alone, but knowing when to ask for help and learning to lean on the people who care.
The man beside her felt like one of those people.
So, as she and Alex jumped in their cab and drove away, waving out of the back window, she let out a content sigh, ready for whatever adventure life had in store for her next.
Because you couldn’t predict it or control it anyway, so she could only look forward to the ride.
As if sensing her deep in thought and not wanting to disturb, Alex placed a firm hand on her thigh, squeezing gently.
In that moment, it really did feel like he was along for it, too.
She couldn’t help that spark of hope that flared inside of her, that maybe, like the lessons she had learnt along the way, he would also be a permanent memento she would take home.
But was hope a fickle thing?
Refusing to let that thought take flight, or give her mind permission to overthink, Noa watched the moving picture that passed by her window, knowing that only time would tell.