Free Wishful Thinking (a journey that will change lives forever) by Melissa Hill

want to experience it all, different cultures, different ways of life.  Up until a few months ago, I thought you felt the same.”
    “But that was before I …” Dara managed.  That was before I fell in love with the fairytale, she finished silently.  Before I began to envy Clodagh and Simon and their plans of a life together forever.  Somehow, silly things like travel and adventure seemed immature and frivolous – like something a pair of students would do – not two adults who had decent jobs, and should really be saving their hard-earned money for a deposit on a house. 
    Her head was dizzy, her mind still in shock at his words. ‘Take a break?’ How could it have gone from planning weddings to taking a break so quickly?  What had happened? 
    But no, no, no, he was just overreacting – so he wasn’t quite ready for marriage – then that was fine, she’d just have to wait until he was.  Get the travelling out of his system, and then when he’d seen ‘the world’ he’d be more than happy to settle down for good.  All of a sudden, Dara realised the error of her ways.
    “Look, I think a break might do us good,” Noah was saying.  “You know I’m not happy in that stupid job, and I was thinking of taking off somewhere for a while – to Asia or Australia – I’ve always wanted to see that side of the world.”
    “I’ll go with you!” Dara cried eagerly.  It would be perfect.  They could go away together, and while they were away she’d convince him that she’d just been going through a phase. She’d lay off on the wedding talk for a while – until their relationship was back on an even keel. Then he might a bit more receptive. She bit her lip. “Now I don’t know if work will give me the time off.  I haven’t been in the job all that long.  And then there’s my exams.” Dara had recently secured a junior solicitor’s position at a legal practice in the city centre.  “How long do you think we’ll need? Two, three weeks at the most I suppose and –”
    “I didn’t mean a holiday, Dara.” By now, Noah was looking at her strangely. “I meant I wanted to go away – really travel.  And,” he added, pointedly, “I was planning on going on my own.”
    ”On your own?” Dara was horrified. “Why would you want to do that? Won’t it be very boring? Not to mention dangerous.  I mean, there are always stories in the newspapers about backpackers being stabbed, and murdered and – ”
    “I didn’t mean that.  I meant without you,” he clarified. “Charlie’s coming with me.”
    “What?” Dara’s blood went cold. “You mean you’ve already planned this?”
    He nodded shamefacedly. “Look, over the last few weeks, I’ve tried so many times to talk to you about this.  But you were too busy dropping hints and poring over wedding magazines that you barely noticed I was here, let alone what I was saying.”
    “Well, for some strange reason, I thought all these years together meant something!” Dara shot back, hating the way he made it all sound so pathetic, made her sound so pathetic. “I thought telling someone you loved them, and always wanted to be with them meant something!”
    “It did,” Noah said, before adding gently, “at the time.”
    She looked at him, stunned.
    “But people change.  People start to want different things and move in different directions.  Over the last few months, I’ve come to realise that you and I want totally different things, Dara.  You seem to have your heart set on settling down, whereas I’m the complete opposite.  I can’t see myself doing that for a very long time.”
    “Then what the hell were you doing with me all this time?” Dara said hoarsely.  “Why did you tell me I was the one for you? Why did you keep going on about how lucky we were to find one another, how well suited we were, how you couldn’t see yourself with anyone else?”
    “I meant every word of that, Dara,” he said.  “We were well suited, we