They walked along the edge of the forest and held hands.
"I always admire the silence here," said Mia.
"I would love to stay here. Maybe in the old fisherman's hut that Travis talked about. Nobody will find us there." said Alvaro.
"But Travis and Ruby" grinned Mia. "But you're right. Run away like we did at school at the beginning. Just us"
"A nice dream," said Alvaro. "I would fish and chop wood. Then we would make the food together and have a good life without someone disturbing."
Mia hugged him. "That sounds nice. Just the two of us in a hut, preferably without cell phone reception."
Alvaro laughed. "But no contact with our friends?"
"I would be able to stand it for a few days if I had you with me," Mia said.
"I wish this weekend wouldn't end. I don't want to go back and face this whole stress."
"I know", said Mia. "But we can't avoid it. But we will face the things that come our way together. And Mercedes is alone with their opinion. Nobody wants you to move away and with Javier you could even stay. He has enough space. "
Alvaro nodded. "When in doubt it will come down to that," he said "but somehow I still hope that mom can change her mind. I mean, she doesn't see Florencia that often anymore"
"Let's enjoy the stars and the surroundings. We'll see how everything develops. We can ask Ruby's neighbors if they'll hand over the hut." She said grinning
For a while they walked side by side in silence.
"The others are definitely waiting," said Alvaro after a while. Mia nodded.
They went back to the terrace with the others. Travis had already withdrawn. It was getting late and they made their way to their bungalows.
They sat down a little longer with Roberto and Clara and told them what Mercedes had said.
"I never thought your mother would be so difficult," said Clara. "She was always really nice to me."
"There was a bit of tactics involved ... She was hoping to separate Mia and Alvaro." Said Zoe.
Clara nodded. "I know and I'm sorry that I took part indirectly." Clara said a little sadly.
"Well, but it made me more aware of you," said Roberto and smiled.
"So the bottom line is that something bad is followed by something good. Then we can look forward to it" said Zoe. "Come on, guys, we won't let Alvaro leave and if I have to, I'll fight for Lupe too. You didn't let me go when my parents wanted to move. And now we're going to hold together so that no one will dare to separate us."
Roberto nodded "you all stood by me when Paolo came"
"I can't count how many times you've stood by me, so I just say: always!" Said Juanma. "The team for one, one for the team."
He put his hand on the table and Mia put hers on it. Zoe did it too and little by little, everyone put his hand on the other. "Thanks guys," said Alvaro and put his arm around MIa. "I appreciate that and I am infinitely grateful to all of you. And now let's enjoy tomorrow here and see the rest when we are home."
Roberto said "I think we should go to bed, it's getting late and we don't want to sleep through the day tomorrow". The others nodded.
Clara and Roberto went to their bungalow and the others got ready for bed one after the other. They were all tired. As Mia snuggled up against Alvaro, she recalled the herd of wild horses. They were so peaceful, they had radiated calm as they stood in the meadow. Above them the blue sky, below them the lush green meadow. She concentrated on Alvaro's even breathing. All the exertion didn't help, she couldn't fall asleep.
After a while she got up. She took a jacket, quietly left the bungalow and sat on the terrace. Again only the crickets could be heard.
Juanma had heard that Mia had got up. He hadn't been able to fall asleep either. He listened for a moment in the darkness to see whether Alvaro was moving or getting up.
When he had the impression that he wasn't awake, he also left the bungalow. He stood behind Mia and carefully put his hands on her shoulder. Mia took his hand. Juanma walked around and crouched down in front of her. He looked at her and she returned his gaze. "Are you ok" he asked.
Mia shrugged. "Mia, I know the feeling. It was the same for me when Zoe was supposed to move. I didn't know how to cope with the thought or what to do. From: I'll go with her until I kidnap her and,we go away, everything was there. But I'm sure Mercedes won't go through with it. She may be what she wants, but I can't imagine that she really wants to turn Alvaro and Lupe against her. I can't promise you anything, but I don't think with the best will, that she does. " By now he had taken MIa in his arms. Mia held on to him.
"I hope you are right," she said. "I don't want to lose him."
"You will definitely not lose him. He loves you and he will love you everywhere. And he will do everything so that you see each other as often as possible and that too if Mercedes would move to China with him."
Mia gave a short laugh. Then she looked at him. "You always manage to cheer me up," she said. "No, I couldn't do that now. But there was definitely a short smile"
Mia nodded. "You did." She said and took him back in her arms. "Sometimes I don't know what I would do without you. Like a good spirit, like my guardian angel, you are always there and I thank you for it."
"That do you say? You are always there for me, no matter if I'm sick or just sad." He hugged her. "And that between us won't change either." he added.
