Unique moments - Creative Nonfiction in The Ink Well: Prompt #6.

My grandmother has always been an adventurous woman who loved to travel. She was hardly ever at home as she was always visiting other places. When I reached a certain age she would take me with her on every trip she took. Vacation time would come and she would automatically pick me up at my house and the two of us would go from city to city.

On one of these many trips, we stopped at the place where she had her home; Margarita Island in Venezuela.

I had visited his home on previous occasions, but this time, traveling to Margarita, I felt it was going to be different.

The first few weeks of the trip were incredible, we visited all the malls, went to the movies, ate at different restaurants, took me to many swimming pools and also to the amusement park.

But nothing compares to what I experienced during the rest of the trip.

After exploring many places on the island, my grandmother decided she wanted to visit her late husband's family. They had a beach house in a place called Zaragoza.

When we arrived at the spectacular beach house, we greeted the whole family, who were surprised to see us because it had been a long time since we had been to visit them. Everything was so much love and affection after our arrival.

Weeks went by and everything about this visit was amazing. We really enjoyed the beach, the food; the time we spent as a family talking or just watching the sunset is indescribable.

Until everything changed at some point during our visit; for the better.

One afternoon, I was taking a nap when I feel my grandmother call out to me:

"My baby girl wake up! You need to come see this."

I wake up, and when I go outside the first thing I see is that my family had lit a bonfire in the middle of the beach, everyone was gathered around it, talking and laughing.

That afternoon I discovered that my aunt and uncle had a tradition of, at the end of the summer, throwing flying lanterns of wishes into the sky as a sign of gratitude for everything they had experienced up to that point.

I quickly sat down with them on the sand and they gave me a flashlight to write on it, before throwing it, how grateful I was for what I had already experienced so far and for everything that was to come.

And so we all sat down to write our thanks. Everyone who finished, turned on their flashlight. It wasn't long before the beach was beautifully illuminated.

While we have all the lights on, I hear one of my uncles yell:

"On the count of three we let the lights fly! 1...2.... 3!"

And so it was... soon the sky was brightly illuminated by our lights and the whole family sat appreciating it while hugging each other, it was absolutely extraordinary.

Every day I thank God and my grandmother for allowing me to live such an experience, it was one of the best things I could have lived. The family atmosphere, the peace and tranquility of the beach, the view of our lights in the sky. Simply unforgettable.

https://pixabay.com/es/photos/chino-asi%c3%a1tico-vela-celebracion-17422/

Unfortunately that was the only opportunity I had to experience that, I was not able to visit Margarita again because my grandmother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's and after much discussion, they decided to sell her house.

But I definitely wouldn't change that moment for anything, I just have to wait and have faith that at some point it will happen again.

I know it will.

---

The image I used is from Pixabay.
I hope you like my story.