Happy Sunday, everybody; how are you doing? I hope you and yours are well and, if not, that you get all the support you need. All is well here. We are just waiting for the house sale to go through, and then we can start to make our new home a home. I have used the last week to create a couple of draft posts both for the “I stand with” entries and “Mallory Travels The World”. It is still so many countries to visit. It’s exciting to learn more about places I have never heard of and see where Mallory and Bianca’s story will go. Are you ready for a new instalment?

Disclaimer:

I want to mention one thing: The story does live in an alternate universe where we do not have to bother with COVID. Political and environmental issues are similar to our reality, but all is made up. Please forgive me 

Please check out here if you missed the previous Stream of Consciousness virtual travel & music adventure instalments.

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Bianca sat on the wooden stairs of their Camp Leopard Clamping lodge. “It’s more a tent with a wooden frame than a lodge!” she thought while she was looking over her phone towards the woods. So far, they had not seen a leopard, but they are notoriously secretive. “Might be better anyway!”. Mallory moved inside the tent but did not appear. Bianca sighed but looked back to her phone and the history video she was watching. “Sri Lanka has such a versatile history!”

Mallory appeared just when the video finished. “Do you think it was a good idea to come here rather than Myanmar?” she yawned. “I would still like to go to Myanmar”, Bianca answered, “but Sri Lanka is certainly something. Do you feel like going on Safari today?” Mallory sighed. “I don’t know… maybe breakfast first?” “Well, breakfast finished an hour ago. We could get some lunch.” “That’ll do!”

When they returned, they sat on the chairs in front of their lodge. No one else was there, as the other guests had already made their way to the cars to discover the Yala National Park, leopards, and other wildlife. It was warm, and they could hear different birds call to and fro in the woods. “What?!” Mallory asked when Bianca looked over at her. “Nothing!”. “Well, there must be something. You have that look on your face!” Bianca turned her head back and sighed again. “You are just not yourself since we left Bangladesh!. Sleep till lunchtime, watch no videos, and you sulk!” “I do not!” Mallory answered but hugged herself. She shivered despite the warmth. “It’s just…” She got up and paced in front of Bianca. “I see Vivienne everywhere! I know she is not there. At second glance, I see it’s someone else, but that fear that she turns up suddenly out of nowhere is driving me nuts!”

“And your pacing is driving me nuts!” Bianca thought but said: “That’s understandable. Do you think it might be time to get some help?” “NO!” “Why not? Because you took her money? You can give it back!” “NO!” Mallory plopped back in her chair. “I do not cry all day long that must account for something. Give me a break with this sh.. !” “Well, us travelling together was supposed to be fun, but there is no fun in anything at the moment. We just stay here and do nothing. Might as well go back to the UK!” “NO!” Bianca rolled her eyes. “Well,…”. It was Mallory who sighed now. “She would not follow us here, I think. But I am not that keen on a car full of people in the wilderness. Or at least not forest wilderness. What about going to Delft Island?” “Delft Island. Is that Sheneller who vlogged about it?” “Yes, amongst others!” Mallory took her phone out of her pocket and started the YouTube app. When she found Sheneller’s video, she gave her phone to Bianca.

“How is a bus full of people better than a car full of people?” Bianca asked. “It isn’t, but it seems rather lovely up there. And we wanted to see more of the country. We could hire a car and make our way up there.” “We could, but we chose to come here first!” Bianca muttered. “I really wanted to see the leopards!” “Then give up your worry about me and do that darn safari! I will have a nap while you are out there galivanting with other people!”. Bianca raised an eyebrow. “When did Mallory get jealous of her and other people?” she wondered. “Sorry,” Mallory said. “I am just so stressed!” “Don’t leave it out on me. I did not choose to be with Vivienne. Did my fair share of bad relationships I do not need yours!”

“I am sorry, Bianca, I know! Just give me some space, and I can manage that fear. I promise!” “I like the girl.” Bianca thought, “But this is getting seriously difficult. Maybe she is right, and she just needs some space.” “Well, what if you go to Delft Island and I stay here. We can meet up after a couple of weeks and see where we go next?” “Uhm… I didn’t…” Mallory looked at Bianca pleadingly. “You wanted space, dear, and maybe it is time for you to do something yourself!” Mallory leaned back in her chair and looked over the trees towards the sky. A soft breeze rustled the leaves, and the birds chirped happily. “Why not?” she thought but said: “I have been organising a lot of our travel!” Bianca smiled. “You have, and I am grateful for it, but we have been travelling together for nearly a year now and hardly spent time for ourselves. Maybe that is what we need for a couple of weeks.” “You sound like we are in a relationship!” Mallory answered. Bianca gave her a strange look. “You need to figure out how to deal with that Vivienne problem. You saw her in Bangladesh, a place where you two wanted to go. Would she simply go back or try to figure out where you would go next? Does she have that many resources? And what about your moods? You need to find answers to that, and I can’t help you with that.” Mallory winced a little. She sighed. Then she said: “I know, and I feel bad that I put so much on you. That is one reason why it’s so difficult for me to get up at the moment. I just feel I am a burden to everyone!”

In the distance, someone put Mariazelle Goonetilleke’s Kandy Lamissi on:

“This happy music would normally cheer us up!” Bianca thought and then said: “You are not a burden. You know that. But you cannot let Vivienne rule the rest of your life. Surely that is why you left her?” Mallory stood up and knelt in front of Bianca. She took Bianca’s hand and said: “I know. I am working on it! But it needs time.” She still shivered and leaned her head on Bianca’s hands. “Oh, girl!” the older woman said. “I am so sorry you have to go through all this!” Mallory looked up and smiled: “No need to be sorry! You are giving me the best time of my life. You have been at my side through all my depression and everything. I owe you. I owe you big time. And maybe getting some time for myself will give me that.” Bianca stroked Mallory’s cheek and smiled. “Yes, maybe!” she said, but she could not help wondering if Mallory had other, more desperate plans.

To be continued…

Please stay safe, stay kind and remember: you rock!