Benjamin smiled and returned her kiss, and hug. "I dont want to make you feel rushed... if you would like, we could stay for a bit longer, so you can properly say your goodbyes, and leave everything peacefully..." Ben said softly with a smile, moving his hand to place softly on her cheek. It meant the world to him that she was ready to travel together, but he didn't want to start too much drama for this small town.

Aria shook her head then rested her forehead against Ben's chest, the top of her head fitting under his chin,
"I know you haven't been here long, but I can't stand to wait too long. I know people will talk about me, but that is something I have dealt with all my life." She grinned up at Ben,
"Obviously I don't look Italian. My blonde hair has been a talking point for a long time." Sighing, Aria bit her lip,
"Let's leave tomorrow. Mama will not be happy, but Papa will understand. I don't have many friends and they're all involved with other things."

Benjamin nodded and smiled, holding her close, and kissing her forehead softly. "Okay, Miss Aria... Tomorrow it is. Paolo can probably give us a ride back to the main land, and once there, we will choose where our next destination is." Ben said, his eyes shinning with excitement, lifting her up and twirling her around, laughing. He could't help himself. Where were they to go? Ben always looked at the airport or bus schedule and chose the one that sounded the most interesting. There was Hungary, Germany, Greece, Russia, the possibilities were endless!

Aria hugged Benjamin tightly and laughed as he twirled her around. She was so happy right now. They could go anywhere, do whatever they wanted.

They stayed there for a while longer before the marine air began to cool down and the other couples began to go back. Aria didn't want the night to end but the festival was coming to a close and Aria still had to prepare a bag for the morning as well as tell her parents that she would be leaving.

Ben knew it would soon be time to leave, seeing the villagers walking towards back to their homes. Ban grabbed his guitar, put an arm around Aria, and offered to walk her home. "So tomorrow we'll have to make sure we have everything we need, and nothing that we don't. We'll also need to stop and give you some warmer clothes, i mean, i don't know what the climate is like later in the year, so if you have some it would be great to have... I'm sorry i'm rambling, i'm just really excited, and glad you're coming with me, and just want to make sure that you're going to enjoy our adventure..." he said with a weak smile, running a hand through his hair.

He stopped at the front of her house, her obviously leading the way. Ben gave Aria a kiss and hug goodnight. "I'll see you tomorrow. I'll ask Paolo for a ride back to the main land, and we'll start from there." He gave her another kiss, and made his way through the town in the moonlight. The town was peaceful, and breeze came through, giving Ben a slight chill. He still wore the ribbon Aria had given him. He didn't think he would ever take it off again. He quietly made his way towards his room once inside, closing the door, taking off his shirt, and laying down on the bed. He listened to the sound of the ocean, the words of Aria in his mind, and the feeling of the warm pillow as he fell in to a deep, happy sleep.

Aria was nervous as Ben left, but she knew she had to tell her parents their plans. It was hard, and there was a bit of yelling between Aria and her mother. There were tears and Caterina stormed off to her room, leaving Aria with her father who looked sad. It broke Aria's heart,
"Please Papa, this is what I want. I am suffocating here and it won't be forever." The young woman tried to explain how she was feeling, the needs that weren't being met but she didn't need to. Aria was silenced when her usually stoic father enfolded her in his arms,
"My dear, do what you need to do. Be sure to send us letters and pictures. We will always love you." Tears filled Aria's eyes again as she felt like a child again being held by her father.

The next morning with the pearly light of dawn, Aria was waiting at the dock. She'd packed a backpack with some jeans, shorts, shirts, and a jacket she'd managed to find and was wearing her favorite denim shorts and a flowy crop top with her hair braided over her shoulder. Shoes had been the biggest problem for Aria as she owned mainly sandals and one pair of rainboots. Even now as she stood on the dock she was barefoot. She waited anxiously, hoping Ben would show up.

Ben woke up to the sound of seagulls and the waves of the ocean. Ben got up, stretching and running a hand through his messy hair. He dressed in his hiking boots, faded jeans, a hoodie, and over that, a light rain jacket. He brushed his teeth, and soon enough climbed out of the hotel room. He said his goodbyes to Rosa. "You take care of that girl. You protect her, and make sure she is okay." She said as a demand, tears slowly falling as she realized that Aria was truly leaving. "I promise... We will be back. You can't stay away from home for long." He said with a gentle smile. She gave a sad smile. "And when was the last time you've been home, Mister Chase?" Ben hesitated, then handed Rosa some money for rent. "Thank you very much for your Hospitality, Miss Rosa... Goodbye."

The morning air was fresh, and cool. The villagers were just starting to wake, some making breakfast, others just taking a walk. Benjamin had his backpack on his back, and his guitar case in a hand. He saw Aria standing on the docks. Every part of her was beautiful. Even her bare toes. "Goodmorning." He said with a smile, putting his things down and giving her a hug. "You look stunning." He couldn't help but say that, giving a small smile. "Paolo should be around here soon. He'll be more than happy to give us a ride."

"Thank you, you look nice," Aria said and smiled as she hugged Ben, feeling giddy and nervous. This was a who new adventure for her and it was making her soul soar with happiness. She could hardly wait for Paolo to get to the dock,
"Where are we going to go?" Aria asked finally, letting her eyes travel over to the ocean. She knew the main coast of Italy was just beyond the horizon, and yet she had been there only once when she was a child.
"What will be the first place?"

Ben smiled at her excitement, and when asked where they were to go first, Ben shrugged, still having a smile. "We can go East towards Asia, or Greece! We can go back west and visit France or Switzerland! The choices are limitless!" Ben said with energy, looking out in the distance to see the small fishing boat to come back. It couldn't get here sooner!

Aria leaned against Ben as the boat pulled up to the dock, Paolo at the helm. The workers had to unload the morning haul from the mainland but once the men were clear of the boat the two young travelers were allowed to board. Almost bouncing with excitement, Aria boarded the boat at set her bag down near the cabin.
"I can't believe I'm actually doing this!" She giggled, covering her mouth and doing a little happy dance,
"We're leaving! We are just going wherever! It's amazing!"

Ben laughed as she danced around, she was incredibly cute. He followed after her, smiling wide as he saw Paolo walking towards them. "Ah, my friend! Welcome!" The man said, giving Ben a hug. "And hello to you, Miss Giovanni." He said, taking her hand and kissing it politely. "First time in open waters, eh? its quite an amazing feeling." he said, smiling at her. Ben nodded. "Paolo, if you were to travel anywhere in the whole world, where would you like to go? Aria and I cannot decide." Ben said with a grin.

"Ah... This old fisherman would travel to the Himalayas... I have seen ancient cities, and the ocean too many times... a rough terrain and seeing the sunrise above everything would be a good feeling." he said with a soft smile.

"Then let's go there! I have never seen mountains like those, only the small one here,"
Aria said, putting her arm around Ben's waist. She beamed up at him, but felt a pang of homesickness already. She thought of the waterfalls, the cliffs, her secret beach... She knew she would miss it.
"We can go through India! It would be so beautiful!"

((Btw, I looked at the map to see what route this would actually be... Holy cow it's a long way! Maybe they could walk to Greece, fly to Ethiopia, then fly to India?))

((haha yeah, that would be better! I knew it would be a long trip, but not that long! hahaha))

"Then it's settled! to the Himalayas, but not without traveling through some other countries first, including India." He looked down at her, putting an arm around her and kissing the top of her head. Paolo smiled and nodded. "Alright, well before you start your journey you will have to sit in this boat for about half an hour as I take you to the mainlands." He said with yet another smile, then giving orders to his small fisherman crew.

Ben hugged Aria close, and put his mouth to her ear. "How are you feeling?" he asked her. He knew this had to be hard on her, and praying he won't do anything to make her regret this either.

"Nervous," Aria admitted, snuggling close to Ben as the boat set off from the dock. Aria looked over her shoulder back towards her home and gasped when she saw a familiar figure on the beach. Her long brown hair lifting and falling in the wind, Catarina Giovanni stood motionless as she watched the boat holding her only child float away from her. Aria quickly stood up and ran to the stern of the boat, trying to keep her mother in view for as long as possible. The young woman lifted her hand and blew a kiss to her mother who only stood, not reacting at all. Feeling her heart break, Aria kept her position at the back of the boat until long after the shore disappeared from view.

Ben laughed at her reply, pulling her close for a hug and kissing the top of her head, then she let go of him, and Ben followed suit. He watched her walk to the back of the boat, staring at the shore. Ben slowly made his way next to her, gently taking her hand, staring at the small figure standing there. He knew it was her mother, and she wasn't too happy with her leaving the island she called home... But this was her chance to change it all... And Ben will make sure she returns safely. "It will be alright, Aria... You will see her again..." He said assuringly. It made him think of how it had been years since he had returned home... Years since he's seen his family... Maybe it was fear and anger from losing his father... At the moment he had no intention of going back there.

"I don't know," Aria said, turning into Ben's chest as they floated across the straight and to the mainland. The journey took a couple hours in all and not soon enough the buildings of coastal city of Terracina, an hour south from Rome, rose out of the ocean on the hills. The white and red buildings practically shining in the morning sun.
"It's beautiful," Aria breathed, leaning on the railing at the bow of the boat now as Paolo steered the boat into the marina and docked. Aria hugged her long time friend and grabbed hr bag, eager to get off the boat. As soon as her bare feet touched the wooden dock, the young woman began shaking, a huge smile and tears filling her eyes.
"I can't believe I'm free..." She whispered.

Ben gave a hug (as accustomed to friends in Italy) to Paolo. "Thank you for the ride... Now get back to fishing." Ben said with a smile, Paolo laughed. "I am sure the fish can wait... its not every day I escort a young woman to her dream... Now its your turn. Good luck, my friend. I will see you soon." Ben stepped off the boat, looking at Aria's face. He smiled. "Its a wonder how a few miles makes everything look different.... Come on, Let's find a place to go." He held out his hand for her to take. Once she did, they traveled to the nearest train station. "We should go East." Ben stated with a nod, looking at Aria's still smiling face. "And from there we can keep going East until we travel the whole world."

"As long as I'm with you," Aria said, hugging Ben's arm to her as they walked,
"I will go anywhere." The city wasn't crowded, it wasn't tourist season, but Aria marveled at the buildings and huge stone ruin sitting atop the largest of the cliffs. She could imagine this place being filled with people during the tourist seasons, it was a beautiful place that was close enough to Rome if visitors wanted to see it they could, or if they wanted to stay away from the hustle and bustle this city was perfect. As they made their way to the train station, Aria couldn't help but wonder as she looked at a train schedule, one route taking them to the south-eastern most part of Italy. She pointed to it,
"Will we be traveling on a sleeper car? That train would take us to Leuca, from there we could take a ferry to Greece."