The Princess Who Could

Once upon a time, the Princess of Perugia flew all the way to Argentina to be with her love, the handsome Prince of Buenos Aires. They had been apart for a couple of months because they each had their respective kingdoms to tend to. The Princess had convinced her friends to take care of Perugia for her while she went away. It was difficult for her to leave all that she loved behind, but she knew it was for a good cause and she knew it wasn’t forever. She would always be a part of her kingdom, no matter where in the world she was.

In Buenos Aires they were very happy to see each other, and the Prince took her to see various parts of his kingdom. There were royal balls every night, only here they were called milongas. The Princess was fascinated by her experience in South America and they were glad to be together again.

The only thing was, the Princess felt a little strange having to depend on someone to take her everywhere. She was a Princess of independence, accustomed to doing things alone. While she was happy to be with him again, she felt that there was something missing. She found herself sitting around a few times, bored, wanting to do something, waiting for him, though he had matters to tend to in his kingdom.  This caused some stress.

The Princess reached out to her royal friends for any advice or encouragement, and they were happy to help her. She was showered with love and inspiration, and encouraged to get a map and enjoy Buenos Aires for herself. Well, alright. One day, the Prince was particularly distracted because he had to finalize some travel arrangements and such, and the Princess was feeling particularly restless because it was a sunny day and also she needed to buy a textbook (so she could speak the language of his kingdom), so she said, “My dear sweet prince, if you need to focus on this, I really don’t mind going by myself to buy the text book. It’s a nice day and I could use a walk.”

He looked at her, thought for a minute, and said, “Are you sure you’d be okay alone out there?” “Yes of course, mi amor. If you can show me where the libreria (bookstore) is on a map and lend me a cell phone, I think I’ll be fine.” He took out a map and outlined the route she would need to take. He lent her his parents’ cell phone, walked her to the door, and gave her a big hug. “You’ll be okay?” he asked again. “Yes. This is fun!”

The Princess went on her merry little way down the street and enjoyed the sunshine on her shoulders. She felt fresh, and was glad to have an hour or so to herself. Men would pass by in cars and honk at her, just like in Italy. She took in the sights and sounds and smells around her. Spanish words floated past her ears; a woman with wavy, long hair stopped at the corner next to her where they waited for the light to turn green; motorcycles revved up their engines loudly before taking off.

Finally, she found the bookstore, purchased her book, Voces del Sur (intermediate level), and made her way back towards the Prince’s castle. She passed by a Heladeria (Spanish for Gelateria), and looked inside at all the different beautiful flavors.

She contemplated waiting until she got home so she could invite her Prince for gelato, but then changed her mind; “I think I want to do something for myself today. Just for myself,” she thought. She went inside, ordered a nice big cone with lemon and raspberry sorbet, and ate the whole thing up - with a smile - while she walked the rest of the way home. The male inhabitants of Buenos Aires were rather pleasantly surprised to see a tall Princess, dressed in red, with wavy honey-blonde hair walking down the street devouring such a giant gelato. This made the Princess laugh.

When she got home, the Prince came to the door to let her in. Upon seeing the joy and satisfaction on her face, his eyes lit up with love. They walked inside together, hand in hand, and proceeded to make plans for a fun afternoon.

The Beginning.