"So what I was thinking was we could also visit the beach?" Destiny asked with a broad smile.
"We are just reaching The sanctuary, and you are already talking about the beach" Bianca chuckled," if the others wish to visit the beach you can accompany them"
"Oh, I would love that!" the old man, Andrew piped up," Can we all go!"
"At your age?" Destiny muttered," what if you got hurt?"
"Young lady I will let you know that I lost this leg in war I won't lose another in a beach" he brimmed with righteous indignation.
She chuckled and shrugged," yes, let's go to the beach!"
"Everyone, calm down...we are reaching the sanctuary of Santa Rosalia" Bianca stood up as the bus came to the halt," please remember the rules, be silent and respectful"
"Yes ma'am" Destiny smiled and stood up, pulling her scarf closer to her body, earning scalding glares from the retired women.
Kore smirked and walked faster to reach the girl," you look pretty today" she smiled.
"Thank you" Destiny grinned, looking ahead as Bianca got ready to speak. She found the place striking as the Jagged rock gave way to religious decorations.
Bianca began to talk," Santa Rosalia was a 12th-century noblewoman who eschewed the luxuries of privileged life in order to become a hermit. After finding a suitable cave-dwelling, she lived alone dedicated to worshiping the glory of God, and died unknown. Her name wouldn't become legend until 1624, 450 years after her death when the plague threatened to wipe out Palermo. She appeared in spirit form to a few villagers, revealed the location of her bones, and suggested that these be paraded about town. Orders were followed, Sta. Rosalia was venerated, and Palermo was spared. She's been worshiped devoutly ever since."
Destiny looked around, specifically at a wall where silver plates hung, shaped like different body parts.
"That is for asking help with body issues" Kore chimed in.
"I don't understand" Destiny narrowed her eyes.
"Like...you have the issue of the leg...you pray, yes?" she asked.
"Oh, so different ailments" Destiny nodded.
Bianca finished talking about the sanctuary and then let them look around, clearing up doubts every now and then.
Destiny tried enjoying the beauty of the place but found herself creeped out by Kore's proximity.
"You know... You look pretty but maybe not...to others" Kore remarked.
"I don't understand... Is what I'm wearing too revealing?" she asked, covering herself up more with her large scarf and Jacket.
"No no... Beautiful but... to them" she pointed to Edith and Mary.
"What? They don't like how I dress?" she asked, immediately feeling bad about it.
"Yes, they said it is uh... not nice for a sacred place?" she asked.
"Oh, well, Bianca never said anything... so I assumed it was fine, I — I would have changed it" she was almost pouting. Kore found it amusing.
"You feel bad?" she asked.
"Yeah, obviously" The girl tucked her hair back and re-wrapped her scarf," I'll remember to wear something else next time"
Kore watched her walk away. The girl was soft, very soft. Her brows furrowed, this was pathetic of her. Had she known that Destiny was such a weak person, she wouldn't have tried to get on her good side.
It was soon enough time to explore the rest of the mountain. They climbed up a path called the Sentiero al Semaforo, which was just to the left of the Sanctuary but strangely difficult to find.
The climb itself wasn't difficult, but the older people were slow, and it took longer. They emerged on Pellegrino's summit and were greeted by the marvelous view of the city which was tranquil and radiated peace.
Destiny stood in the corner with her arms folded across her chest. Bianca noticed the girl and soon enough walked over to her.
"Is everything okay?" she asked.
"Yeah uh, why didn't you tell me that I was dressed inappropriately?" she asked with wide eyes and an almost quivery lip.
"Because you are not. You are dressed fine" she said with a shrug,"who told you it was inappropriate"
"Kore said that Edith and Mary think I'm dressed inappropriately" she crossed her arms again and looked ahead.
"Uh... you're fine... Are... are you crying?" she asked extending a hand to touch the girl's shoulder.
Destiny simply turned away and refused to talk more. Realizing that they would have to leave soon. Bianca decided to talk about it later and instead directed everyone down the mountain through a quiet forest area. They arrived at a car park where people were eating lunch and admiring the sea.
They traveled up to the Statue and marveled at the view before coming back down. Destiny stayed silent for the rest of the way, simply enjoying the view and the windy day.
Bianca tried distracting the girl and succeeded but only by a little. Everyone excluding Bianca had decided to Visit the Beach and asked Bianca to help them with the transport. She agreed, albeit reluctantly, and did it for a fee.
The bus took a while to reach back to the city and everyone got off.
Andrew whistled as he walked along with Edith and Mary.
"Can you stop that infernal whistling?" Mary rolled her eyes," can we just order room service instead of whiling our time away at some stuffy restaurant?" she asked.
"No! This is the beautiful Italy!" Andrew exclaimed," We have to enjoy it! You oldies go to the hotel. I will enjoy the night while the night is still young"
They waved him off and walked over to their room thankful not to have that incessant whistling.
The topic went back to Destiny whom they berated for leaving her hair open in such a holy place. The hotel wasn't far, and they walked up to their room.
The darkroom, flooded with light as they swung the door open.
Walking in and shutting the door, Edith turned to find Mary glaring at the person on the bed.
"Why hello Ladies!" Kore grinned.
"What... What is this? Why are you here?"