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.