One summer’s day
It took quite a while for
Adrian to end up where he was at this present moment. A beautiful view of the
sunset horizon, a pretty German girl, and an ice cream stain on his shirt.
Perfect. It wasn’t meant to be like this either but Adrian had learned long ago
– Life turns in the strangest ways to get to the greatest place. This whole
account of Adrian’s outing would make a lot more sense if it started from the
beginning so it would be appropriate to bring it right back to the start of it
all: a small estate in Canning Town.
It was a hot summer’s day.
A very hot summer’s day. Adrian was sure that despite his brown complexion he
had begun to tan. Adrian furrowed his brow in annoyance as he leaned against
the rusted, rental car for the Seafront trip. He was spending a week out in
Canning Town with his aunt and uncle in their small council flat. His mind was
with his closest friends, who at this moment in time were competing in the
European Championships for breaking in Holland. That would have been perfect
for Adrian. Nothing better than somersaulting in the air, adrenaline pumping
through your system and people roaring in amazement as you represented your
country at the most elite level. Then again, things could be worse than
spending a week with some relatives. Aunt Mumbai appeared, her eyes glittering
with excitement. She was wearing a bright orange sundress and flip flops.
“Don’t you feel jubilant? A beautiful day to the beach! Bright-on!” she
exclaimed as she danced around a depressed Adrian and hurled her bags in the boot
of the rental.
“Nice wordplay” Adrian
said dryly as he pulled out his phone. If he couldn’t escape physically perhaps
he could escape virtually.
“Now, now, you won’t be
needing that” sang Uncle Tom as he swiped Adrian’s phone from his hand, leaving
him to clutch the warm, summer air.
“What the hell?” Adrian
whined, rising to his feet.
“The youth of today are so
caught up in their gadgets, they can’t appreciate true beauty when they have
it” Uncle Tom teased as he slipped the phone away. Uncle Tom always spoke with
a poetic essence. Adrian thought it was kind of cool but it wasn’t necessarily
a likeable asset at a time like this. Adrian looked Uncle Tom up and down. He
wore flowery shorts and flip flops however from the top; Uncle Tom sported a
large, black bomber jacket and a scarf.
“What is up with that?”
Adrian asked, raising his hand to cover the smirk that was arising.
“That is truly...crazy,
dear” Aunt Mumbai laughed unapologetically. “What? You never know when the hay
fever might catch you” Uncle Tom explained casually. With the pre-journey
banter finished, Aunt Mumbai, Uncle Tom and Adrian hopped into the rental and
began the drive to Brighton Seafront.
Despite Adrian’s
reluctance towards the trip even he had to admit that the Seafront was a good
place to be on a Saturday. The sky was a light blue with the occasional puffy
cloud and the sun kissed everyone below with pleasant warmth. The smells from
various food stalls drifted in the air; the aromas telling which culture they
came from. Vibrant music was playing in the distance calling Adrian to join the
party. “So... what are we going to do?” Adrian pondered as his Aunt and Uncle
took in their surroundings.
“The question, my brother’s
only son, is what are you going to do? Me and your aunt fancy eating at some restaurants.
We don’t want to be with you any more than you want to be with us” Uncle Tom
replied in mock irritancy. Aunt Mumbai stifled a laugh as they strolled away
arm in arm.
“Fair enough” Adrian
mumbled as he walked towards the pier and hopefully some adventure.
Walking along the pier,
Adrian caught a glimpse of the towering Ferris wheel. He would have loved to go
on it but that would make him look too much like a loser. It was bad enough
feeling like one. He didn’t mind too much though. The weather was nice and
everyone was feeling the positive energy summer brought every year. The fresh
breeze and sight of the sea was calming in contrast to the bustling streets of
Canning Town. Rhythmic clapping caught the ears of Adrian and as he peered up
ahead he spotted a large crowd surrounding a group of dancers dressed in
bright, colourful clothing. The crowd cheered as the dances spun on their heads
and moved with the same pace as the up-beat music. As Adrian drew nearer he saw
one of the performers get three people to kneel on the wooden surface of the
pier. The crowd parted to make some sort of runaway. “Okay ladies and gentlemen.
My colleague here is about to do what is called a webster!” shouted a dancer in
a green vest. One of the dancers, wearing a red cap, walked backwards. The
crowd watched eagerly as he ran forward and leaped into the air somersaulting
once then landing on his feet. The crowd clapped enthusiastically for him. “If
anyone feels they can do better, feel free to try!” the dancer in the green
vest challenged as he clapped his fellow performers on their backs. Adrian
couldn’t help but crack a flippant smile. He and his friends did things like
this at their local gym regularly!
“I think everyone should
see my Jesus flip!” Adrian exclaimed. Some of the crowd looked at him with no interest
while others sniggered. Even the dancers gave him a sceptical look.
“Okay then, go ahead” the
green vest dancer laughed. Adrian took his turn to walk backwards a distance
and prepare for what had been the only little bit of excitement all day. Adrian
caught a glimpse of a pretty girl that was standing on the side in a blue
hoodie but he didn’t take notice for long. He had a bar to set. Adrian ran
forward. The crowd caught their breath in anticipation as he ran forward then executed
a powerful cartwheel that bounced him into the air. He distinctly held the
shape of a crucifix then closed in, doing a backward somersault and landing
perfectly on his feet. The crowd cheered in utter amazement as Adrian flashed a
grin at the dancers whose mouths were gaping in awe.
“Easy” Adrian thought to
himself as he casually walked down the pier, looking out the horizon.
“Hey, um, I was really
impressed with that thing” squeaked a tiny voice with a peculiar accent. Adrian
whirled around and almost stumbled over himself. Before him was the pretty girl
he saw earlier but he had never paid attention. Her mane of tawny hair fell
carelessly past her shoulders and her hazel eyes were mesmerizing.
“Um, y-yo...” Adrian
stammered.
“Yo?” the girl replied in
confusion, her accent coming out more strongly.
“I mean thanks” Adrian
spluttered.
“Oh, okay” the girl
laughed, shying away from him. “My name is Lea”.
“And I am Adrian”. Adrian
offered his hand and Lea reached for it. Her hands were soft and delicate to
touch. “So...Lea, where you from?”
“Germany” she smiled, “And
you?”
“Here you know...” Adrian
answered awkwardly. There was a moments silence between the two but then Adrian
decided to break it. “Why don’t we do something?”
“Yes, that would be nice”
Lea replied, her eyes brightening. “It would be nice to explore the pier with
somebody”.
Adrian spent the majority
of the day with Lea. Letting the truth be told it was one of the best days out
Adrian had in a long time. They went to a Caribbean food stall. Adrian had an
ice cream and was already accustomed to the tastes of the Caribbean and felt to
introduce Lea to it. “Hmmm, this is good!” Lea exclaimed as she continued
stuffing the spicy meat into her mouth “What is it, lamb?”
“Frog legs!” Adrian
laughed as Lea spat it out her mouth in disgust. Adrian was sobbing from
laughter at Lea’s expense.
“Funny to you?” Lea asked,
as she grabbed Adrian’s ice cream and planted it on his face before sprinting
away
“Okay, I see how it is!”
Adrian teased as he took off in hot pursuit.
The rest of the day was
fairly smooth. They teased each other as they rode on the Ferris wheel, laughed
together as they posed behind cut-outs of mermaids, and splashed water on each
other while exchanging amusing stories. They finally rested on the beach and
began to wind down, looking to the fiery orange horizon. The waves lapped
soothingly and stars pin-pointed the violet sky.
“So you’re uncle really is
a consecutive at Lamborghini?” Adrian asked for the fifth time.
“Yes, it is not ‘all that’,
as you people would say” Lea sighed, giving him a playful punch on the
shoulder.
“Better than rental crap,
I had to take here” Adrian countered. “Your Dad really has a share in a
multi-million whatever company?”
“Yeah. It is not all good
though. I rarely get to see him now and I’m always travelling to different
countries, never settling” Lea replied.
“I guess... but I’d love
to travel and see different places”.
“It is tiring. Who knows
when next I’ll see you? You find something good about a place and you get torn
from it”
“If only you understood
where I’m coming from. In Canning Town people would kill for that. If some of
my boys had the opportunities you had, they’d be in a better place” Adrian
argued.
“Different not better.
People spend all their lives working, pleasing others getting money and for
what? Don’t you think you want to look back and say you left something for
people to be proud of?” Lea replied.
“I hear what you’re
saying. Money doesn’t last. Got do something worth being remembered for” Adrian
answered.
“See you do understand
Adrian” Lea said softly, stroking his cheek. Adrian rested his head in her lap
and closed his eyes, taking it all in, bathing in the moment. It was one of
those days that Adrian didn’t want to end. “I still can’t believe you made me
eat frog legs”.
“Den mund halten. You put
ice cream on my shirt” Adrian chuckled.
“No, you shut up” Lea
insisted playfully “Nice view, is it not?”
“Yeah” Adrian agreed. “A
very nice view”.
Ayo
