In Poreč, Mea fancied coffee beside the sea. It was a simple idea: a little table, a view and some time. She looked over the terraces without immediately accepting the first empty chair. Today she wanted to choose a place where she would feel properly comfortable.
Illustrated fiction inspired by original Travel2City photographs. The places come from separate journeys, not a one-day itinerary. Characters, dialogue, props and some composition and lighting are artistic interpretations.
She walked slowly along the waterfront. One table sat too close to the pavement; another faced sunshine straight into her eyes. Mea continued without feeling fussy. She was simply choosing where to spend her own break. At the next terrace, she liked both the shade and the view of the water. She adjusted her scarf and slowed down. This decision needed no meeting, map or agreement between three travellers.
The table had two chairs. Mea took one and placed her bag on the other. Looking up at the server, she ordered coffee in an ordinary, contented voice. Her notebook remained closed for now. She did not need it to explain why she was sitting alone. She wanted to be here. Her bag acquired a seat of its own, and Mea a comfortable place to watch the small happenings around her.
A small pastry arrived with her coffee. Mea considered it for a moment and thought of Colombine, who would certainly propose a tasting exchange. Lu Cia would say she wanted none, then take a little piece after all. The thought made her smile. Today the whole pastry was hers. She divided it into unhurried bites, looking between them towards Poreč’s houses across the water.
When the plate was empty, Mea opened her notebook. She wrote the town’s name and a short note about the pleasant table. Then she held the pencil above the page as though waiting for a grand thought. None arrived. A red beacon stood beyond the water, and she felt good. So she wrote exactly that. It was a perfectly adequate report on her break, requiring no further decoration.
“I felt good here. That counts too.”
From notebook to book
The Map with No Last Page
Travel2City journeys continue between the covers of a book. Discover our illustrated travel world.
When she finally got up, she slipped her bag over her shoulder and looked at the sea once more. Another time, she might bring her friends. Today she had already got to know the place perfectly well herself.
