Surprise Destination

Odett Tajti


The ship just arrived at the port of New York. Anna got off board and then had to walk to the parking area where her uncle was waiting for her. She felt so tired because she had never traveled by cruise ship before and the journey had lasted for two days and she couldn’t sleep well.

As she got closer to the parked cars she saw a middle-aged man waving at her. It was her uncle. He was standing next to his old-fashioned blue vehicle, and he had a big lovely smile on his face. After packing the suitcase in the back, they hit the road.

On the way to the home of her uncle, Anna shared her experiences of the cruise. She told everything. How she travelled by train to France with her mother and how she met those interesting strangers on the ship. The people who were full of stories and energy. The French model, the Russian engineer, and the good-mannered British singer. The meeting seemed unbelievable for her, because in her country she had never met so many different people her age.

After three hours of driving they finally got to the house. They spent the rest of the day talking. Anna was promised that tomorrow they would go back to New York.

When the girl got to bed she was exhausted, but she couldn’t fall asleep. She was thinking about the next day and hoping that she would meet somebody from the ship someday.

In the morning around ten o’clock she was looking out of the window of the blue car, which was heading towards the big city on a highway. Her aunt was talking to her about what Anna should definitely visit and see. Luckily Sára, Anna’s oldest cousin, came with them to accompany Anna in the city.

New York was the soul of the American Dream in the eye of every foreigner. The city had an extremly gripping athmosphere and energy, which charmed everyone who visited the megapolis. In the streets the people felt like they were part of something, something big and special.

Anna felt the same. She was amazed by the  noisy streets, the crowded roads, and the high, bright and  strange buildings, of which she had never even dreamed. The girls started their sightseeing on Times Square. Anna couldn’t even close her eyes because she wanted to see everything, every single detail. The big screens, the flashing signs on the buildings, and the people around her.

They spent some hours in the shops and department stores and then decided to see Central Park. The girls took a bus and went there.

The park was the complete opposite of the beating city. It meant calmness, safety, and silence for the people living in the center of New York. Anna saw playgrounds, where children were playing, big old trees, which gave a home to sweet squirrels and various kind of birds, and grassy fields covered with picnicking people.

The girls were standing on the walking path when Anna saw a familiar figure among the strangers. She couldn’t  believe her eyes, because the young man, who was sitting in front of them on a bench, seemed to be the English boy from the ship. Anna told her cousin to go up to him.

– Hi – said Anna nervously and waited until the man looked up at her.

At that moment she saw the familiar green eyes and the square face shape with the strong cheekbones.

He also recognised the girl and hugged her.

– Hi, I’m Matthew. Nice to meet you! – he introduced himself to Sára and shook her hand kindly.

The three started talking, and then Matthew said that he had to go, because he was going to perform with his band in a club nearby and they had to practice before. He invited the girls to the concert, and they accepted it.

Hours passed and it was time for the party at a jazz club, thirty minutes far from the Park. Anna and Sára waited excitedly in the back of the bar.

The club had a gracious interior, the walls were decorated with photos and posters, and place was lit with different coloured lamps, which gave it a futuristic but familiar vibe.

The concert started.

The musicians came up to the  stage. The drummer, the guitarist and Matthew , who was carrying a bass guitar with him. As they reached their places they immediately started playing. The audience got energized, they started jumping on the beat and screaming the songs at the top of their lungs.

The band played skillfully, all of them were talented and had great musical sense. The guitarist played quikckly and he made incredible jazzy (and rocky) inprovisations, which at some times sounded harsh and at other times soft. The drummer used varied beats and gave so much power to the band and his presence made the show and the music uncommon. And then there was the singer, Matthew. He didn’t have a flawless voice, but it was raspy and filled with power, sometines  even clean and soft, he kept it in balance.

While the band was playing, the people in front of the stage went through all kinds of emotions. The whole show felt like a dream, after which you only remember small things and the feeling that filled you up.