Kitabı oxu: «THE CONTRACT WIFE. From Winter to Summer 90 Days Without Baggage»

THE CONTRACT WIFE

90 Days Without Baggage. From Winter to Summer

A Ticket With No Return

Blurb

Mira burned out. Work-home-work. Winter outside for five months. On social media, a feed of friends who "found themselves wintering abroad." She laughs at it and tells everyone: "I'm going with no expectations. I just need the ocean and silence." A last-minute deal. A suitcase packed in 20 minutes.

She flew with no expectations. From -15 to +30 in a few hours, from winter to summer, to a country with no name, where it doesn't smell of pine, but of mango and salt. Where at 7 a.m. it's +29, though 4 hours ago you were scraping snow off your boots. Where men don't rush, and time flows differently. Where there is different music, different markets, a different gaze at a woman.

A day before flying home, when her hotel review was already written, they called her and said: there is a man waiting for you. Extraordinary, interesting, not the kind who looks for a one-night adventure.

Then - a night to the sound of music from hotels, a big moon, a walk like teenagers, an alley where they got lost on purpose, a kiss on the crown of her head, fresh juice and the feeling that you knew each other in a past life. And then - goodbye, a phone number at the reception, 5 days of talking for hours and a decision: passport, ticket, plane - a second time for just 7 days, with hand luggage only. And a taxi to the airport that she canceled this time.

This is a book about 90 days without baggage from the past, about mini-adventures like from childhood movies, about monologues in front of the bathroom mirror where she is honest, and about the desire to stop time.

1. A Suitcase in 20 Minutes. I'm Going With No Expectations

Mira burned out. Honestly, without pretty words. Work-home-work, winter outside for the fifth month, the light turns on at 7 a.m. and it's already dark at 4. On social media, a feed: friends wintering abroad, someone found themselves, someone found love. She scrolled and smirked.

"Where it doesn't smell of pine, but of mango and salt. Where at 7 a.m. it's +29, though 4 hours ago you were scraping snow off your boots. Where men don't rush, and time flows differently. Where there is different music, different markets, a different gaze at a woman" - that's what she would later write in her diary. And then she just told a friend: "I'm going with no expectations. I just need the ocean and silence."

A last-minute burning ticket. A suitcase in 20 minutes. Hand luggage and sunscreen. On the plane she looked out the window and repeated: no expectations. No theories from social media. No "I will definitely not fall in love." Just the sea.

The plane landed and summer hit her. Humid, hot, sweet air. Everything was different here. Different nature, different climate, different culture. Palm trees rustled differently than birches. People didn't run. Time stretched.

2. From Winter to Summer in a Few Hours

For the first three days Mira was learning to be a woman again, not a function. She woke up at 6 a.m. to the sun, drank coffee on the terrace, kept a diary.

"Day 1. Smells like freedom. Forgot what it's like not to rush."

"Day 2. Bought a dress for 5 dollars at the market. The seller said: it suits you when you smile. I haven't smiled for no reason in a long time."

"Day 3. Saw a couple - he's 70, she's 65, holding hands. I cried. From envy? From hope?"

She had heard hundreds of stories from acquaintances and seen thousands of videos on social media about resort romances. And she knew for sure - that's not about her. She had a home, a job, a stability that takes all the time to start relationships there.

3. There Is a Man Waiting for You

A day before flying home the suitcase was packed, the taxi to the airport was ordered, the review was written: "Quiet, clean, warm sea." Mira went down to the lobby for water before bed.

The manager smiled: "There is someone waiting for you over there."

In a cozy corner with a green sofa sat a man. Extraordinary, interesting. In a linen shirt, tanned like a man who lives in the sun. A calm, attentive gaze. Not the kind who looks for a one-night adventure.

"I'm not waiting for anyone," Mira said.

"I know. I came earlier. Just in case," he replied.

They started talking. It turned out he had lived here a long time, knew every street, every temple. "Do you want me to show you the city they don't show tourists?" he asked.