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“It’s not great for people like us,” Gabi said.
Aisha sighed. Closer to the sea, a man and woman lay side-by-side on their fronts, a parasol shading their heads, their bodies basted and shiny. A woman in a wide-brimmed hat sat reading a book in the shadow of the rocks higher up the beach.
They set out their mats and offloaded the rucksack on a small patch of sand behind another rocky outcrop for privacy.
“How did you know about this place?” Aisha asked.
“Nana. Tourists don’t come here because it’s small, the route in is narrow and bumpy, and there aren’t any facilities.”
“I want to touch the sea,” Aisha said and ran. She stood where the waves gave way to a ripple of foam that disappeared down into the sand. The tug as the sea drew back threw her off balance. Gabi stood at her side and held her hand. Her heart raced.
“We’re invisible here,” Gabi said.
“I like invisible,” Aisha said. She inhaled deeply, and the warmth and vibration stirred inside her, and pleasure pulsed through her veins. They stepped into the water, and the sand became solid. At ankle depth, Aisha stopped and gazed around. “It’s heavenly,” she said. “It’s so warm. It smells like the fish market, only less fishy.”
Gabi laughed.
It was a wonderful sound, light, and just lovely, and it melted her heart. She squeezed Gabi’s hand, and they stared out to sea together. A tear slipped onto her cheek. The tiny hairs on her arms prickled, and she could find no words to express how she felt. Gabi put her arm around her and held her close, and any debate about the rightness or wrongness of what they were doing had been taken away by the sea to somewhere deep down or beyond the horizon.
“I love the sea,” Gabi said. “The coastline near where we live is very pretty. You’d like it, but the water is always cold, and the beaches are mostly pebbles.”
“Have you missed it while you’ve been here?”
“No.” She smiled. “I didn’t realise exactly how important Nana was to me until we made this trip. She’s always been there for me, after my mum died and with my dad working away from home, but I didn’t see her as I do now. Wherever she is, I don’t want to be too far away.”
Aisha stared at Gabi. “She’s lucky to have you.”
She didn’t dare ask about them and what their future might hold. She didn’t know the answer herself. She was hardly able to ask anything of Gabi, though she was sure she wanted to be with her. But to be together, they would have to leave Granada. Aisha wouldn’t be able to face her family after the disgrace. Living with another woman in the city wasn’t an option, and she couldn’t take the risk that someone wouldn’t hurt Gabi as a result. She didn’t fear the Guardia as Gabi’s nana had, but she feared her own people. Would Gabi leave her nana? Thinking about it was spoiling the view, and the day would be short enough.
“And now, there are two people in my life who are important,” Gabi said. She tapped Aisha lightly on the nose, lifted her chin, and kissed her tenderly.
A flash of anxiety distracted Aisha from the kiss, and she looked around.
“No one is going to pay attention to us, Aisha.” Gabi held her hand.
Aisha took a deep breath, leaned against her, and stared out to sea. “Would you travel the world with me?”
“Despite my dislike of public transport, yes, I would.”
Aisha turned to Gabi, her imagination running wild. “We could go to America.”
Gabi stroked the hair from her face and stared at her. “You could dance in Mexico.”
Aisha laughed. “And Australia.”
“I’ve never thought about Australia. I’d like to go to India. I met a man at the market here, and he told me about his family in Kashmir. We could go anywhere.”
“We have roots in India. Many generations back.”
“You have to visit England. You’d love Nana’s farm.”
They walked along the shoreline, and Aisha took their dreams and locked them in her heart and felt richer for them. They would do all these things together and much more. Gabi had said so. She would make money dancing and teaching, and Gabi would sell her jewellery, and they would be happy together. She picked up a tiny shell that the sea had cast aside and wondered what journey it had taken to get here. She looked towards the horizon and pondered what it would feel like to be on a boat, sailing away from here, from her family and the life she’d known. She looked at Gabi and the tug to be with her was stronger, though her heart ached for all that she would leave behind.
“Shall we swim?” Gabi asked.
“I don’t know how.”
“Would you like me to teach you?”
