Learning to Fly

C

chloe_arya

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If someone had told Carissa Wilson just 12 months ago that she would find herself struggling in today's world, she more than likely would have laughed in their face. For as long as Cari could remember, she was the one in her family that had the greatest chance of being the most successful. Honors awards, letters of recommendation, grade point averages--they were part of her and her alone. Those little "achievements" knew no place in her twin brother, Mayy's life. He was the party-lover, she was the level-headed sister. But now, the tables had been turned. For once in her 22-years of life on earth, it was now Matt who eclipsed her. Yes, Matt had landed a position at a local engineering firm. Matt was now paying for the apartment that the twins shared. Matt was the one who was now carrying his sister, while Carissa sat on the sidelines, still waiting to hear back from the dozens of businesses where she had marketed her skills as an event planner.

For Carissa, it hurt. Needless to say, her current "failure" left her feeling like half the woman she was meant to be. Feeling the need to recollect her thoughts, Carissa headed over to the beach. The warm aquamarine water of the Pacific seemed to have a calming effect on her. She lay on her blanket, stretched out on the sand in a bikini. The sun's rays bathed her body, wrapping her in a warm hug.​
 

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Taryn Elisabete Anunciação had relied on her parents help and encouragement for most of her life, as she was an only child growing up in a affluent part of Brasil. Her parents had taught her to grow up early and appreciate everything she had ever gotten. Being raised by parents who weren't home as often as she would have liked caused her to become more mature and independent than her peers which helped her to excel in things that her classmates couldn't.

Although her parents remained in Brasil, Taryn decided to venture off to the United States to see what could await her there. She had always been a bit of a loner and wasn't the least bit afraid...at first. When arriving in the United States she realized just how much English she didn't know and it was an embarrassing and difficult time for her. She often considered telling her parents that she was coming home, but she didn't want them to think she couldn't handle it.

That was a year ago. Taryn, now 21, was enjoying her daily sunbathing by the beach by herself. She always came out there to clear her mind, as it reminded her of home. She noticed a girl spread out a blanket near her and lay down. She hadn't seen her there before and considered walking over to her as she looked about her age. Taryn really had been feeling that she wouldn't mind someone to talk to.
 
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David had always been a free soul. At eighteen, when all of his friends had gone to college, he had decided to move half way across the country and start over. After growing up with 3 sisters and 2 cousins in the house, he was grateful for the solitude. Since then he had managed to find a job in construction, doing hard physical labor. The work was hard and left him body nicely sculpted, but the pay was good and that was enough for David. At some point he imagined going back to school, but it was rare he stayed in one place for long.

Since landing the job, David had bought a house right on the edge of the beach. Though he enjoyed it most at night when the water was calm and the beach was free of other people, he still enjoyed going for a morning job. Today the sun was bright overhead and as the afternoon hit, a few people were beginning to lay out their towels and sunbathe.

David had been so engrossed by the scenery around him that he seemed to have missed one of the sunbathers on the beach. She had been stretched out, long limbs soaking in the sunlight. David didn't realize he was there until he was tripping over his torso. The next thing he knew sand was in his mouth and he sat up slowly, spitting it out.
 
Taryn almost jumped up when she saw a man trip over the girl she had just been thinking about approaching. She almost yelled out, but gasped as the man fell to the ground. She decided that it probably wasn't the best time to approach her. She kept her glasses on and pretended that she hadn't seen anything while still watching them unbeknownst to others around her.
 
Completely soothed and placated by the rays of the sun, Carissa was just about to doze off when she felt something (or someone) graze her. Sitting up, her hazel eyes look around. Did someone try to rob her? Did some kid step on her blanket yet again? She finally saw the source of the drama near her. Pulling her sunglasses down, she casts a concerned glance at the figure now on the sand. "Hey, you okay?" she asks.

Turning her head, she catches sight of Taryn. "Did you see what happened?" she asks the other woman, completely confused as to what had transpired.
 
Taryn laughed and said in a thick accent, "that man wasn't watching where he was going and tripped over you." She shook her head, "I don't really understand how you don't notice people on a beach." She shrugged, "you okay?"
 
David stood up and took a long swing of the water bottle that he had been carrying. He could feel the sand in his teeth as he looked at the two blond, bikini-clad ladies. They were cute - too bad he had meet them in this way.

"Sorry," he smiled softly at the two of them. When he looked down, he recieved that he had nearly covered the girl's blanket with sand and also managed to douse her can of pop in the process. Slowly, he picked it up and gestured in her direction, "yeah, clearly I wasn't looking where I was going. Let me go grab you another one of these. I'll be right back."
 
Taryn smiled at the man. She sort of felt bad for him, as he looked frazzled. She wasn't sure where he was going and especially why he wasn't paying attention to where he was walking, but she assumed he was thinking about something else.

Taryn listened as he spoke to the other blonde girl. She noted, as he ran off to get another soda for the girl, that he was well toned. She shook her head as if to make the image go away. She turned towards the other girl and smiled then. "He's a looker. You should get a date out of this. If your single of course."
 
Before Carissa could even respond to David's apology, she found herself alone with Taryn. Shrugging, she turned her head to the other woman. "Well, that was interesting. I guess that's one way of meeting people." With a grin, Cari begins dusting the powdery sand off of her blanked. "And I do say, he's pretty cute. You think maybe he has a brother?" She begins reapplying her sun tan lotion. "Oh, I'm sorry. My names Cari, by the way."
 
Taryn looked over at the woman and laughed, "maybe he does." She watched as the woman began to reapply her sun tan lotion before looking back at the water. She heard her speak again, "nice to meet you Cari, I'm Taryn," she said smiling brightly.
 
Cari offers Taryn a friendly smile before securing the lid back onto her bottle of suntan lotion. She was beginning to feel a bit more relaxed, and on top of that, it was a beautiful day out there--might as well make the most of it. "I haven't seen you around here before," Cari added as a sidenote to the fact that she noticed Taryn's accent. "That's a pretty cool accent you have there. May I ask where you're from?"
 
Taryn smiled at the girl once again, "I come here quite often actually, but not at this time. Maybe that's why we have never met? I usually like to come a little later when it's much warmer, but I got so anxious that I had to come." Taryn rolled over on her blanket and took off her sunglasses so she could be face to face with the girl. Her green eyes lit up as the girl spoke, "Ah. I'm brasileira. I've been working on getting rid of my accent for a year...but it's not working so well as you can tell," she said laughing.
 
David finally returned with the bottle of soda - this time he decided that something with a lid was a better idea, especially with kids and daydreaming runners on the beach. As he walked back to the girls, he smiled when he noticed that both of them were still standing in the same spot. Considering he had been without company for the last little awhile, he definitely wouldn't mind talking to two pretty girls for a little way.

He smiled as he approached them, and gave the young woman the bottle. "Again, sorry about that. Sometimes I wonder where my head is when I'm running."
 
Carissa's eyes widen at Taryn's revelation. "Oh really? That's pretty cool. You know, I've met lots of people from other countries while I was studying at the university, but I don't think that any of them came from Brazil." She shifts a bit on her blanket to check the time on her cell phone. "What brought you here? Did you come here for school?" she asks curiously.

While waiting for Taryn's response, Carissa notices a shadow heading back in her general direction. She offers David a warm smile and accepts the bottled drink from him. "Oh hey, don't worry about it. It's not like a drink costs a hundred bucks. If you wish, I can give you some change for it."
 
Taryn was about to answer when she saw the man stroll back over and hand Cari a soda. She waited while they talked before answering Cari, "I don't know really. I've always been independent and I just wanted to try something different. I was pretty good at English so I decided to come here. My parents were encouraging but a bit apprehensive, as they aren't in the states with me. I guess I came here for school sort of, but mostly for something new." She sighed, "funny thing is, I realized how little English I knew once I got here and it was a bit of a culture shock as no one seemed to know what I was saying. I guess people assumed I was speaking Spanish. I guess they are sort of similar," she laughed.
 
Carissa laughs along with Taryn about her statement about confusion between two languages. "Well, they definitely are similar--that's for sure. Portuguese and Spanish both have their roots in the same general vicinity." Before she could add more to that, Cari catches herself and quickly changes the subject. She honestly didn't want to bore her new friends with academic talk.

"That takes a lot of guts to move alone to another country, Taryn. For me, it was a culture shock to move out of my parents' home to go to college." She turns to David, not wanting for him to feel left out. "What about you? You from around here?"
 
Taryn nodded, not the least bit bored with the girls statements, although she already knew why people had confused the two languages. "Indeed, also because it's a romance language. They all are sort of similar. I also have a hard time with people who think they can speak Português and say things to me. In reality they may be saying things correctly for someone from Portugal, but there are quite a few differences between Portugal and Brasil, language wise." She felt that she may be telling the girl something she already knew so she smiled at the man that was standing by them. She patted the sand next to them to signal that he should sit down as Cari started talking to him.
 
Carissa shifts over slightly to make a bit more space for David. She hoped deep down inside that he would join them. Her day had been going wonderfully so far, and she figured that it would be best if she were able to share it with others. After all, she was alone this afternoon. Her brother was away at his office and wasn't expected to come back until about dinner time.

The cool ocean air blew Cari's golden hair astray, so she secured it back with an elastic. Turning her head to face Taryn, she conversed further with her, as her curiosity became further piqued. "Have you been to any other countries, Taryn? It seems to me that foreigners do a whole lot more traveling that those of us in the states do. I don't know why that's so," she added with a shrug of her shoulders.
 
Taryn gave Cari a wink and a slight nod as she moved over and made room for David. "Ay, indeed. I've been to Portugal e Inglaterra, but only for a month or so. I have family in Portugal. Mas, os Estados Unidos is my home now." She smiled, "have you been out of os Estados?" Taryn noted the air was getting a bit cooler as it was nearing late afternoon. She had always been sensitive to the colder climate of the United States, even though most would argue that it was quite warm. Regardless, she didn't want to leave where she was, as she was enjoying herself.
 
As the balmy beach air began to gradually cool, Carissa felt a shiver begin to radiate down her back. Reaching over into her backpack and fishing around for a bit, she grasps onto and pulls out her favorite green hoodie. She slips her slender arms into the sleeves, thoroughly enjoying the feel of the soft cotton on her skin. "Actually, I haven't done much travel out of the States," she begins, clasping the sliver metal zipper between her fingers. Zipping her hoodie up halfway, she stretches her legs out in front of her. "The farthest outside our borders that I've ever been was Mexico. She grins sheepishly, "Then again, most college students who live in this area make that yearly trip over the border for Spring Break."
 
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