And the World Spins Madly On

My aunt’s second story porch faces east, providing the perfect opportunity to watch the sunrise. On Saturday evening, we decided we would wake up early to witness the start of a new day. I checked Google, and the sun would rise at 6:05 am on Sunday. My aunt woke us up at 5:20 am. Even though the sun wasn’t rising for another 45 minutes, a dark orange color was already creeping into the skyline, replacing the dark of the night. I sat on the porch watching the sky, picturing the Earth spinning me towards the sun. At 6:03, a pink ball of fire appeared on the skyline. I watched it inch upwards until the full sphere was in the sky by precisely 6:05 am. It’s amazing to me that the Earth is spinning quickly enough for me to visibly see the sun move, but not quickly enough that we actually feel like we are moving. I took several photographs of the event, wondering why my camera was not accurately capturing the colors and the beauty I was seeing with my eyes. I thought about how odd it is that such a spectacular event is so common, and happens each day without fail and, many times, without us even really noticing. 

We went back to sleep for a couple of hours after the sunrise. We packed up our belongings and took some final photographs of my aunt, Eric and I in her backyard.

We decided to head to the beach to snorkel before going to the airport. On the way, we stopped at a small, grotto-like church to light candles for Natalie.

For Natalie

The beach was beautiful, just like the ones in Cyprus. The clear blue colors of the seas here will never become ordinary to me. I swam for thirty minutes, observing the fish and plant life. 

Before heading to the airport, we looked at some Venetian structures in Heraklion. It is easy to discern Venetian architecture and structures, as they are massive, brown and stone. Walking to the Venetian fortress, I passed two separate drawings of hot air balloons. I stopped to speak (in broken Greek) to a woman selling art near the wall and purchased a painting of Heraklion for myself.

We boarded the airplane without any issues. I settled into my seat and continued reading I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou, which was given to me by a sweet, special friend before my trip. As I started reading, I noticed the woman in front of me reading a Greek newspaper that had a small picture of what looked like a hot air balloon.

I was back in my apartment in Cyprus before 8:00 pm. As I watched the sun set on the drive to Nicosia, I was reminded that I am still spinning, spinning spinning. Moving forward with the weight of the world.