The long day of getting to know her roommates better had left Erin exhausted but she wasn't ready to fall asleep quite yet. She'd unpacked her clothes in the afternoon but had left arranging the rest of her personal items for when she had more quiet. It was a process she savored, putting the final touches on her own place when she was settling in somewhere new. There was something special about arranging her most important belongings in a new bedroom.
She set her carry-on bag at the foot of the bed and pulled out her journal first of all. It was just a regular spiral notebook but because she wrote in it religiously, it was one of her most beloved possessions. She had given up on fancy, expensive journals after filling up the pages of so many, and had decided it didn't much matter what it looked like, as long as she was able to write in it. She set the journal on the little nightstand, next to the small lamp and alarm clock that had come with her room. She laid her favorite pen next to it and continued emptying her bag until the room had touches of home all around; a photo of her parents, her rosary, her stuffed Panda (Roy), her favorite perfume (Very Valentino) and her noise machine. Thankfully, she'd had the noise of the outdoors with her last night, she never slept well without the little gadget set to rainfall and creek sounds.
She looked at the photo of her parents, and thought of the image tucked behind it-- the photo of her birth parents. It was the only photo she had of them but she cherished it. She kept it secreted behind the other photo because she didn't want to hurt her mom and dad; it also made her feel deeply sad to see the smiling young faces of the couple taken away much too young by tragedy. Erin sighed at the thought of the young pair and wondered about what Danu had said about them. What was their connection to Ireland, and what were they supposed to have told her about this so-called destiny. She thought on it a bit longer and couldn't understand how she could be of such importance that strange beings virtually kidnapped her and Olivier, and knocked him out. What if she'd never been able to study abroad?
Growing up she had noticed that she always had a profound interest in Ireland but she'd never thought it odd. Other children would say they wanted horses when they grew up, some kids wanted to visit Disney World. Erin wanted to go to Ireland; she'd read anything she could put her hands on about it. Photo books about Ireland were her absolute favorite as a child--she was constantly checking them out from the adult non-fiction section of the library. Her parents had always encouraged her interest and so it had flourished.
Had this destiny been that overwhelming that she had been transfixed on the Emerald Isle? She couldn't really say for sure, but she knew there was always some kind of yearning within her that drove her to constantly learn more about it. Finally, her bag was empty but for her three travel guidebooks-- one on Europe in general with listings of hostels and tourist attractions and information galore. The other two were, of course, about Ireland. Her favorite was the DK guide because it was filled to the brim with photos, historical information and everything she needed to explore every inch of this curious place. Simply thinking of the books' glossy pages made her anxious to look it over for about the 1,000th time.
Just down the hallway, she heard Olivier finish in the bathroom and stole her chance to brush her teeth, take a quick shower and wash her face. Once that was done, she rewarded herself with her favorite pastime--reading and scouring the pages of her DK Ireland book and daydreamed about her next adventure until her daydreams slowly became actual dreams.