“Thérèse, why do you have to be so stubborn? If you would just turn your bicycles motor on you can easily make it up the hill, I promise.” Aika said for what felt like the billionth time since they had begun their journey along the country roads of Tuscany only two days ago.
“Aika, I’ve told you how I feel about turning the motor on, it cheapens the experience.”
“Yes, but why can’t you see that you are the only one here not enjoying the whole experience. Look. Look how happy the rest of the group is.” Aika pleades with her friend.
Thérèse looked up at the rest of the group who have almost crested the hill and even from a distance could see their smiles and hear their laughter.
“You are right, Aika. I will turn the motor on.” Thérèse said as she reaches down and against her best judgment succumbs to using the motor by flicking the red toggle switch to the on position.
Aika patiently waits for Thérèse. Although she is a little ways up the hill, Aika can still hear the humming of the motor on Thérèse’s bicycle come nearer to her.
“Finally! She should have done that three days ago,” Aika thought to herself as Thérèse began to make her way towards her Aika. Suddenly Aika notices that Thérèse’s bicycle is quickly gaining speed and becomes worried that her friend may get hurt. The closer Thérèse gets to Aika, the clearer she can see her face and hear her cheers.
“Wooo Hooo! You were right Aika, this IS fun!” Thérèse exuberantly yelled as she zipped up the hill, leaving Aika pleasantly dazed in her wake.
Aika smiled as Thérèse passed the rest of the group one by one, laughing as she made her way to the top of the hill. Even though she was proud of Thérèse, she envied the girls ability to finally let go of her fear and enthusiastically adapt to it.
“Aika, what are you doing way down here by yourself?” Emilio asked as he made his way alongside of Aika.
Emilio appeared to be around the same ages as her father, who was turning 51 this year. She had come to grow sweet on the old man and depend on his curious sense of humor to cheer her and the group up when they were all but exhausted after a long day on the road. Aika slowed her motor down to slow, allowing Emilio a chance to catch his breath. Although he owned and ran DuVine Bicycle Adventures who were famous for their motorized bicycles, Emilio chose to keep the same bicycle he had rode for more then 30 years— an adult tricycle he called Daisy. Although Aika was curious about the name, she didn’t dare ask; besides, Daisy carried the groups much needed supplies for the day. Even though she carried a cooler on her backside which contained water and light snacks for the group she was best known for her collection of Italian wines. The group as a whole looked forward to the vintage wine from the local Tuscan vineyards.
“Aika, may I be as bold as to ask you what brought you to my home, to Tuscany?” Emilio hesitantly and delicately asked Aika.
If she had been asked such a personal question a week ago, Aika would have been guarded with her answer. In the little time she had spent in the land from her dreams, she had begun to open up.
“That is a tricky question to answer as it has many layers.” Aika began to explain.
Emilio quickly interrupted Aika as he stumbled out his words, “I must apologize for the coarseness of my question; it is not my place to ask you to share such personal information.”
“No need Emilio, I don’t mind telling you. I am honored that you care enough to ask.” Aika said honestly, hoping to relieve the man’s ill placed guilt.
“Since I was a small child I often dreamed of visiting Italy. Some mornings it was difficult to wake from my dreams because I felt so connected to the land I had never even set foot in. So when I was given this trip to Tuscany as a gift from my Auntie Ren, I was more then surprised as no one but my mother had known of my dreams. You see, this trip was also a gift from my mother who died from cancer shortly after my twin brother, Aiko, and I turned 12.”
“Aika, I am so very sorry for your loss. It must have been hard growing up without your mother.”
“Thank you. Yes, at first it was hard because I hadn’t known she was ill. I mean I understood she hadn’t been feeling well but I didn’t know she was fighting for her life. It was difficult not knowing why. Once I found out how long she had really been sick, I began to appreciate the time I had with my mother as a blessing and I vowed that I would always make her proud of me. That is why I always made sure I took care of my father and brother as she did. I cooked their meals from her recipes, hemmed my father’s trousers with her needle, and cleaned the floor with her broom,” Aika explained as they made their way up the steep hill.
She glanced at Emilio and appreciated the softness in his eyes as he waited for her to continue with her story.
“It wasn’t until I decided to leave to study to be a teacher of Italian language at University when I felt my first twinge of guilt. I felt as though I was disappointing my mother by not staying with Aiko and father. But I felt a strong urge pushing me to go beyond my comfort zone and enrolled fulltime in the university.”
“Cheers for you Aika! You should be very proud of yourself.”
“Thank you Emilio, but until last week I wasn’t proud of my any of my accomplishments, neither finishing four years at the university or graduating near the top of my class. I still felt as though my mother would have liked for me to take care of my family or maybe she’d like it if I was married with children by now. If it wasn’t for my Auntie Ren I would still feel as though I had let mother done. Auntie Ren gave me more than this trip to Tuscany, she bestowed to me the greatest gift I could have received—my mother’s acceptance.”
Aika could feel the tears once again; they made their way down the familiar path of her face.
“Aika I am sorry I have upset you by my question, it was neither my intention nor my place to inquire about your personal life.” Emilio said as he fought back the ball which was making its way up his throat.
With her tears still streaming, Aika stopped her bike and walked it near the side of the road.
“You must not feel bad Emilio. This story has a happy ending. You see, my Auntie Ren was my mother’s only sister and they spent much time together, especially when the end was near. During this time my mother shared much with her younger sister. My mother shared her secret dreams which were left unfulfilled, the story of young love which bonded her and my father together, and the hopes and dreams she had for Aiko and me. Even though my mother loved being a wife and flourished at being a mother to Aiko and me, she had dreams. She dreamt of foreign lands and a chance to be free.”
“Here,” Emilio said as he reached inside the pocket of his plaid brown twill coat and handed her a soft red handkerchief.
Aika immediately used the cloth to wipe off the tears which had collected near the point of her chin. She paused a moment, recognizing something familiar about the red cloth.
Odd, she thought as she continued telling her story. “You must understand, Emilio, my mother had made my Auntie Ren promise to always nurture my independence, encourage me to dream, promote the importance of being myself, and to promote the idea that true love does exist.”
“Both your Auntie Ren and your mother sound like wonderful souls, Aika.”
“They truly are. You see Emilio my mother knew me well enough to understand that it would take a dream to wake me up to reality and allow my dream to become reality. Even though my Auntie was told to present me with trip to Italy, my mother never explained why and my Auntie never asked—she just promised she would. My mother granted my Auntie Ren the freedom to create the trip any way she chose and to decide the right time present it to me,” Aika paused a moment and smiled.
“Emilio, riding this bicycle alongside this Tuscan country road with you as Thérèse crazily waves down to us from top of this hill. This is my mother’s summit, and this is her dream. This trip is both her wish for me and her gift to me.” Aika concluded.
Although she had stopped crying, Aika brought the soft cloth Emilio had given her towards her face. She held the open cloth in her hands and brought closer. As she held it, she pressed it against her skin and breathed in its scent, a familiar scent. She kept the cloth there for a moment as she tried to pinpoint the scent. Suddenly her grandmother’s smile and her mother’s laughter came forth into her mind. Ahhh, the scent of roses was a powerful memory conductor. As Aika brought her hands away from her face, she noticed Emilio. He was crying.
Aika made her way to him, “Silly old man, don’t cry for me. I have been given the greatest gift, a loving mother who even in death is always with me. I am blessed.” And with that she hugged him and kissed him on his cheek.
“Thank you for sharing your story with me Aika, you have no idea how much it means to me,” Emilio said as they both reached for their bicycles.
They rode to the top of the hill in silence.
“What took you both so long? Did you see me Aika? I was going so fast up the hill that I nearly flew off the top.” Thérèse said.
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