A short red ribbon lay in the drawer, left over from a parcel opened long ago. Mea almost put it back. Instead, she used it to gather part of her hair and looked in the mirror. She did not need a new hairstyle for her outing. Yet the little idea improved her mood before she even left home.
Illustrated fiction inspired by original Travel2City photographs. The places come from separate journeys, not a one-day itinerary. Characters, dialogue, props and some composition and lighting are artistic interpretations.
In a Bratislava lane, Mea turned at the sound of footsteps and felt the ribbon brush her neck. She smiled. For a moment she had forgotten it was in her hair. Pale facades, paving and ordinary shop windows were just as familiar as ever, yet she moved a little more cheerfully among them. Nobody needed to compliment the small red bow. She had liked it from that first turn of her head.
Beside a yellow building in Trnava, a darker window caught her reflection. She saw part of her scarf, the outline of her hair and a red dot. She did not stop to correct anything. She simply noticed how well they belonged together. Then she continued, one hand resting lightly near her scarf. She liked these brief encounters with herself: no assessment, no preparation and no need to take a photograph.
“Today I will look at myself simply for the pleasure of it.”
In Banská Štiavnica, the breeze stirred the ends of the ribbon. Mea held her notebook at her waist and looked towards the pale church among the roofs. The knot held more firmly than her morning decision not to write anything today. A sentence had already formed in her mind. For now, she left it there. Not every lovely detail needed rescuing on paper immediately. This one could remain in her hair a little longer.
At Devín, she finally sat with a view of the river. She untied the ribbon, letting her hair fall across her shoulders. In the open notebook she found room for a short note, then laid the red strip across the page. The sentence and the day could wait here together. Green countryside stretched beyond the river, and Mea felt no urge to hurry her last look. This time, the ribbon kept the right page open.
“I will keep this place, without taking anything away from it.”
From notebook to book
The Map with No Last Page
Travel2City journeys continue between the covers of a book. Discover our illustrated travel world.
The ribbon no longer held her hair. It kept a place for a memory.
Next time she opens the notebook, a red end will be peeping out beneath the cover. Perhaps she will tie the ribbon again. Perhaps she will simply turn the page.
