Chapter 0003

D woke from her slumber to the sound of the neighbor's small dog yapping outside her window.

Still groggy, she reached for the alarm clock on her bedside table. It was already ten o'clock? She rarely slept past nine on weekends, but last night she had stayed up watching TV until well past midnight, which was unusual for her.

She got out of bed, stretched, and drew back the curtains. The brilliant August sunlight made her squint. It promised another splendid day.

Over in the neighbor's yard, she spotted Tiffany, the pampered Yorkshire terrier, frolicking around Mrs. Wilder, barking with excitement.

Stepping back from the window, D took a quick glance in the mirror, pondering whether to start her day with a shower or breakfast. With no pressing commitments, she only needed to leave around 3:30 to drive to Salzburg for her mom's birthday celebration.

Contemplating the delicious food her brother Robert would be cooking for the party, her stomach rumbled – a clear indicator that breakfast should come before her shower.

She changed into her sweatpants and cast a disapproving look at the pile of clothes on the chair by the window. The ironing pile... She really should tackle that task at some point.

The ironing pile, along with three other piles of fabric in the room - one on the bed and two on the carpet nearby - remained from her extensive cleaning of closets and drawers. Items either needed to be ironed or taken to the clothing containers near her office. The piles of items to get rid of included things like mustard-colored towels that had belonged to her grandmother, a revealing cocktail dress Pete had bought her, and a flowery tablecloth with eight matching napkins that Aunt Sauvie had given her for her twentieth birthday, which she had never used. Hopefully, someone else would find them more valuable.

D walked from the bedroom through the sunlit living room and entered the kitchen, separated from the living room by two waist-high cabinets and a bar counter. She then started the coffee machine.

Ten minutes later, D found herself seated on the spacious living room sofa. Before her was a plate holding toast, scrambled eggs, and a few slices of cheese. A steaming coffee mug rested on the coffee table in front of her. She deftly pressed some buttons on the remote control, resuming the show she had started watching the previous night. It was a sixty-episode romantic comedy that had premiered a dozen years ago. During her teenage years, she had been utterly captivated by it, just like many of her peers, but the passage of time had caused her to forget about it. Recently, Robert had gifted her the complete DVD set for her birthday, reigniting her interest, and now she found herself watching an episode or two, occasionally even bingeing four, as she did last night, whenever she had some spare time. As she watched, she couldn't help but reflect on how her perspective on relationships had evolved. In her youth, the breakup of the story's central characters had left her devastated, and she, like her friends, had ardently hoped for their reunion. However, now, in the present, she could wholeheartedly comprehend the female lead's decision to not give the male character another chance. He came across as a jerk, fully deserving to be ousted from her life.

Amidst her amusement at the show, D's phone beeped from the coffee table.

Lifting her plate, she leaned forward, already anticipating a text message from Pete. However, the message that appeared was from Sarah:

"Hey D,

Are you awake yet? Please remember to check if you have any great photos for next weekend. I could swing by to pick them up early this afternoon. I'll catch up with Jack tomorrow.

Sarah"

With a sigh, D had truly hoped to escape this responsibility by simply avoiding it for as long as possible. This task had been hanging over her for over two months, and she'd been dreading it ever since Rick and Jack had brainstormed the idea of putting together a collection of photos and films for the upcoming get-together. Each person was expected to contribute their best or most humorous visual content.

With a sigh of resignation, D replied to Sarah:

"Alright. D"

She then refocused on the TV, but her enjoyment was short-lived. In just two minutes, her phone beeped with a message from her brother, Robert:

"Danielle, can you bring some birthday candles for the cake? Thanks, Rob."

Quickly, she typed a response:

"Sure, I'll bring some. D"

She returned her attention to the TV, her breakfast plate now cleared. Before long, her phone sprang to life once more. This time, it was ringing, and the caller displayed a picture of Pete.

She gazed sorrowfully at the image for a moment, contemplating the need to remove that picture due to the unpleasant emotions it stirred. Annoyed, she shook her head slightly, powered off the TV, and rose from the couch. Her phone continued to ring briefly before falling silent.

In the kitchen, D loaded the dishes into the dishwasher and hunted for the birthday candles Robert had requested. It took a bit of rummaging through drawers, but she eventually located them tucked behind aluminum foil and plastic bags. She found seven, which she figured would suffice since her mother didn't require a full set of candles on the cake.

To avoid forgetting the candles later, she placed them in her purse. Glancing at her watch, she debated whether to take a shower now or tackle the picture issue first. She resolved to confront the picture task, just to get it over with.

She entered the spare room and took the aging laptop from the shelf beside the stack of moving boxes, some of which still held items from her dorm room and her parents' place in Salzburg. In the far corner of the room, she found her camping equipment, unused for over three years. Camping had not been on the agenda with Pete, as his vacations demanded a minimum of four-star hotels.

Returning to the kitchen, D placed the vintage laptop on the dining table beneath the window and powered it up. This computer contained the photos her friends were eager to see.

She took a deep breath and patiently awaited the computer to power up, a process that seemed to take forever. During the wait, she adjusted the placemat in front of her and reached for the blue binder adorned with a swan logo and images of London. This binder had been given to her a few days ago by her boss, Harry Swan, and it held all the essential information about the upcoming conference and seminar in London, along with job descriptions for three new positions being created by Swan's London subsidiary. Both Harry and June, her closest colleague, had been encouraging her to consider transferring to London, and June had already submitted her application.

At last, the computer was ready, and D navigated her way to the My pictures folder. Her anxiety heightened as she observed a total of twenty-three folders on the screen, spanning from her laptop's initial setup to the most recent, dating back approximately two and a half years. The folders were labeled with the corresponding year and season, offering only a vague hint of their contents.

Sure, here's a rewritten version of the text:

"Alright," D sighed with tension. She wished she could have avoided revisiting the past, but there was no turning back now.

She clicked on the folder that had been created nearly seven years ago when she first arrived in Innsbruck to study at the university. As the computer slowly opened the folder, her mobile phone on the nearby sofa began to ring once more.

With a momentary pause and a clenched grip on her mouse, she was almost certain it was Pete calling again.

On the screen, a small grid of images appeared, and D tapped the first one. It displayed her parents' car in the bustling dorm parking lot, the trunk crammed with belongings. The subsequent photos revealed Robert and Dad lugging her shelf from the car to the dorm, Mom in the lobby, beaming with a smile, dorm room 415 in its stark, initial state, her parents in a café in Innsbruck, and Robert perched on her dorm room desk amidst a sea of boxes, bags, and assorted items.

The subsequent image, presumably taken a few days later, showcased her dorm room transformed into a cozier space, adorned with her rug, curtains, and a framed print of a mountain enveloped in thunderstorm clouds. Today, that very picture graced her entryway wall beside the front door.

As she fixed her gaze on the screen, memories flooded back, reminding D of those early days in Innsbruck, a whirlwind of emotions ranging from excitement and anxiety to happiness and loneliness, mingled with moments of frustration and exhilaration.

Before transitioning to the dorm, she had always resided at home. In Innsbruck, she lacked any friends, and initially, navigating the complex university system and adapting to dorm life proved a tad overwhelming. However, she quickly acclimated. The kitchen on her dorm floor soon became her go-to spot for companionship.

Tapping the mouse, she briskly clicked through the remaining pictures. While they were somewhat intriguing, they had been captured prior to her getting to know Sarah.

Opening a fresh folder, the initial photo displayed Sarah rolling her eyes at Jack.

A few weeks after relocating to Innsbruck, she crossed paths with Sarah during an intermediate-level Italian language course, part of their extracurricular activities. During one of the class assignments, the Italian professor instructed each student to collaborate with the person beside them to create a short dialogue in Italian, simulating a doctor-patient interaction. To her delight, her partner for this task turned out to be Sarah. Together, they had an absolute blast crafting and performing their dialogue. Sarah brilliantly portrayed a charming elderly male doctor, while she took on the role of a rather whiny, hypochondriac female patient.

Surprisingly, despite Sarah being a year and a half older, they instantly formed a strong friendship. They discovered a multitude of shared interests, including a similar sense of humor, matching musical and cinematic tastes, and common views on significant global issues.

Sarah, a native of Innsbruck, resided with her parents in a cozy home and had a close-knit group of friends, many of whom she had known since their kindergarten days. Additionally, her younger brother was pursuing studies in Vienna.

D continued to browse through her photos and soon stumbled upon some snapshots from a party hosted at Jack's place. Sarah had introduced her to "the gang" during that event. Among the images, there was a delightful shot of Carey and Rick, Jack engulfed in a colossal bowl of chips, Tony, Anja, and Sun lounging on the living room carpet at Jack's parents' house, and, lastly, Sarah and Carey engrossed in conversation in the hallway.

With a smile, D decided to create a new folder and aptly named it 'For Sarah,' then proceeded to transfer the finest photos from this collection.

After attending Jack's party, it hadn't taken long for her to integrate into Sarah's circle of friends. There was always something happening or being planned - be it hiking, cycling, parties, movie nights, or road trips by train or car. It had been an incredibly enjoyable time.

  

With a swift mouse gesture and a click into the next folder, a fresh collection of miniature pictures unveiled itself. Among them, D selected the initial image, revealing Sarah leaning against a stack of wood, clutching a water bottle, with her backpack resting on the ground. It was undoubtedly from one of their shared hikes. Subsequent snapshots featured serene landscapes with trees, a flowing stream, and snow-draped mountain peaks. Then there was Jack, humorously brandishing a large stick while pretending to herd sheep, followed by the smiling duo of Rick and Carey, surrounded by the woolly creatures. Carey appeared a bit self-conscious, arms crossed, yet still charming.

D cherry-picked the most pleasing shots and added them to a compilation for Sarah. She then proceeded to explore another folder, starting with images from a different group hike, likely in late October. Among them were Jack and Rick, trudging along a muddy path with slightly unhappy expressions. An intriguing close-up of two frogs in a curious pose caught her eye. An unfocused shot of Rick and Sun, arms linked with typical photo-smiles, was also part of the collection. The series culminated with Carey, contentedly sitting on a bench, savoring a sandwich.

D handpicked a selection of these photos and transferred them to her compilation.