“Good bye United States! Spain, here I come!” Jess Jones joyfully proclaimed.
“Aren’t you even a little bit nervous about being so far away from home?” questioned Rebecca Jones.
“Umm...no! Are you serious? I know it’s going to be a blast!” replied Jess.
“How can you be sure that nothing is going to go wrong?” Rebecca queried.
“Come on Rebecca, we’ve been planning this trip for what...five years now? I am pretty sure we have thought of just about anything and everything. Besides, if we have any questions or issues, Uncle Matthew has lived in Spain for over ten years, and he will be there to help us. Why are you so nervous all of the sudden?” Jess challenged, becoming a bit annoyed.
“I don’t know. But I can’t help it, Jess. I have a wild imagination that makes up tons of situations in which things go terribly wrong,” Rebecca stated in a barely audible voice.
“I know what you mean. This being your first time away from home and all, but let’s just try to enjoy it,” Jess answered sympathetically.
“You’re right. A girl needs a little bit more adventure in her anyway. Let’s get this 10-day party off to a good start!” Rebecca exclaimed.
“Now that’s what I like to hear!” remarked Jess.
“Only seven hours and thirteen minutes left on this crowded plane until we arrive in Madrid. Now, I think I am going to get some sleep. This ‘whole forget all your worries thing’ really tires me out. I don’t know how you do it all of the time,” Rebecca stated and yawned.
“Good night,” responded Jess, “and don’t worry. I’ll make sure nothing happens to you while you’re getting your beauty sleep.” Jess chuckled and turned to her book.
Upon arriving at the airport in Madrid, Spain, the girls turned their attention to finding their luggage and letting their uncle know that they have landed.
“Jess, I found my bags,” Rebecca shouted over the noise in the airport.
“Where could mine be?” Jess asked impatiently, “Uncle Matthew has probably been waiting outside for at least an hour!”
“Has he called you back yet?” questioned Rebecca.
“Um...let me check,” Jess responded and pulled out her phone. “No, I don’t see any messages.”
“Well that’s odd. I wonder where he could be?” remarked Rebecca.
“Oh no! Rebecca, the luggage carousel stopped and my bags aren’t here!” Jess moaned.
“Are you kidding? They lost your bags?” Rebecca asked and looked over to recheck the luggage carousel for Jess’s bags herself. “What did your suitcase look like again?”
“It was that bright purple one with the Green Bay Packer bandana tied onto the handle,” replied Jess.
“Well, I guess we can just share my stuff,” stated Rebecca plainly, “and maybe Uncle Matthew will know a good place to get a few things.”
“But I’m not going to fit into your clothes, Rebecca. You’re so skinny. What am I going to do?” Jess complained.
“Don’t worry. I’m sure we’ll figure something out Jess. I just hope this isn’t an indication of what the rest of the trip is going to be like!” added Rebecca sarcastically.
“Don’t say that! I thought on the plane you promised to be more positive,” Jess came back.
“And I also said that this kind of thing would happen,” Rebecca reminded her cousin.
“True, but worse things could have happened, so let’s just be grateful that we got here safe and sound,” said Jess. After a brief stop at the baggage claim office to explain their dilemma to the airlines, the girls decided to go look for their uncle. Jess wondered aloud, “Where should we look first?”
“The sign says passenger pick up this way,” Rebecca said. She pointed down the hallway, “He’s probably right outside.”
As the girls stepped outside, it felt as though they had hit a wall. Almost immediately they began to sweat. The sun was high in the sky and blazed down from a cloudless azure sky. The flowers surrounding the entrance had wilted, and the girls could see the tar on the parking lot melting.
“Do you know what kind of car he has?” Rebecca questioned.
“No. I don’t even really know what he looks like. I have only seen him like five times before in my life,” commented Jess.
“Well this is going to be fun, trying to find a guy at a busy airport and we don’t know what he nor his car look like. And worse yet, it is like 106 degrees out here.” Rebecca began to laugh at their sticky situation. “I am pretty sure we are never going to find him. Let’s just wait on these benches for him to call us like we planned. We don’t want to go messing up the trip already.”
“Okay,” Jess agreed. A few minutes later, Jess impatiently checked her phone again, “Oh, I just got a text message from Uncle Matthew. He said... He can’t wait to see us in a week?”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Rebecca asked, confused.
“I’m not really sure,” Jess replied.
“Is this some sort of mean joke or something? ‘Cause it’s not funny,” Rebecca stated angrily.
“Rebecca, he doesn’t even know us that well. Would he really scare us this much on purpose when he already knows that we must be a little bit nervous about being in a foreign country by ourselves?” Jess thought aloud. She reread the message a couple of times. “What if he actually thinks that we are coming next week?”
“Why does this kind of stuff always happen to me?” growled Rebecca. “I knew this trip wasn’t going to go well!”
“Calm down, Rebecca. Our trip has just begun, and we’re going to make sure that we have some serious fun,” Jess tried to reassure her cousin, but she was a little bit worried herself. “Let’s just grab your bags and go find us a hotel where we can spend the night.” Rebecca reluctantly followed Jess to a taxi.
Once inside the taxi, the girls explained their predicament to the driver. He was surprisingly cheerful and eager to give the girls sincere advice. He dropped them off at an inexpensive, but decent hotel in the center of Madrid, wished them a good rest of their trip, and drove away. 
“Wasn’t he nice? Now, let’s go get settled in and then we can go get some dinner. I’m starving,” declared Jess, “and let’s pray that there aren’t any other surprises in store for us tonight.” 
Luckily the hotel had a few open rooms, but only for one night. The girls checked in, brought Rebecca’s bags up to their room, and then began to walk around Madrid and looked for a restaurant that sounded appetizing. The girls settled on a corner cafe called Casa del Burrito. Inside, the girls looked at the menu, but didn’t recognize many food items. Their waiter tried to explain some of the dishes to them, but he didn’t speak English, so the girls didn’t understand much of what he said either.
“Well, I guess we’ll just have to try some new food. That’s what we came here to do, right? Experience a new culture and try new things. Yolo,” Jess expressed. She seemed overly excited about her sub-par circumstances.
“I’ll just get the fish,” Rebecca said when the waiter came back, “it seems pretty safe.”
“Well, I’m going to go out on a limb and get today’s special, Cochinillo. I not sure what it is, but I want to try it,” explained Jess.
When their food was brought out, the girls gasped. The waiter looked nervous and asked if everything was okay. They told him everything was fine, but clearly it was not. The fish came with its skin and scales, its tail still attached, and worst of all, it still had its head and eyeballs.
“I’m going to go with the fish because it seems pretty safe,” Jess mimicked Rebecca.
“You think mine is bad, look at yours! It is a roasted, baby pig! And as if that wasn’t bad enough, it still has its curly and now crispy tail, crispy ears and snout, and hard, inedible tiny hooves and toenails! That’s something new alright. But there is no way I would ever take a bite of that!” Rebecca calmed down noticing that she had almost been yelling.
“Oh, come on, its gotta be just like eating bacon,” reasoned Jess, trying to figure out how she was supposed to eat the pig.
“Please Jess, I’m begging you, don’t eat that! It can’t be good for you. This is just about the worst day ever. Between you losing your luggage, the miscommunication with Uncle Matthew who is at a crucial business meeting, and now getting stuck with this...stuff that we are supposed to eat,” exasperated Rebecca. “I don’t know if I can handle this.”
The waiter looked over and noticing their discomfort, he went to their table and asked the girls what country they were from. The girls explained that they were visiting from the United States. He brought their food back to the kitchen and when he came out next, he had a beef burrito (Number 8) and a fish taco (Number 2). He set these two plates on the girls’ table. They thanked him profusely and thoroughly enjoyed their meal. Now their only problem was trying to get the images of the pig and fish out of their minds. As they left the restaurant, they thanked the waiter one more time and gave him a generous tip. The girls walked back to their hotel, exhausted from their eventful day. When the girls got to their room, Rebecca pulled the hotel key out of her purse. She tried it a couple of times, but the door would not open.
“Seriously, Rebecca?” uttered Jess, “Give me the key.” Jess tried a couple of times, but the door still would not open. “Did you break the key?” Jess asked sarcastically.
“Oh, no. This is not good…”
“Thanks Captain Obvious,” Jess declared. She was tired and annoyed and didn’t want to deal with this problem right now.
“Could you just listen to me for a second?” Rebecca was infuriated by Jess’s overreaction. “We need to go downstairs and get a new key because I think I accidentally put this in my purse next to my phone.”
“Rookie mistake, Becca,” returned Jess.
“Hey don’t call me that,” Rebecca was irked by all of Jess’s sarcastic remarks. “I’ll go to the front desk myself. You just stay up here and chillax.”
“I’m sorry Rebecca,” Jess apologized. “But I really have to go to the bathroom. Do you know where that is?”
“Umm...I’m going to guess that it is in the lobby, but don’t quote me on that,” Rebecca replied.
“Okay, well then I guess I’m going with you.”
When the girls got to the first floor, Rebecca went to the front desk and Jess began wandering around looking for the bathroom.
Where could the bathroom possibly be? I mean there’s gotta be one, right? When Jess came out of her thoughts she noticed she was doing a little jig. She tried to stop herself, but she just couldn’t. She really, really had to go, and now! She ran to the front desk where Rebecca was attempting to explain her quandary in Spanish to the receptionist.
“Where’s your bathroom?” Jess interrupted.
“Disculpe?” the receptionist questioned, perplexed.
“She doesn’t know English,” Rebecca whispered to Jess.
“Darn it. Hold on. Let me think about this. How do you say bathroom in Spanish? Oh, I know I learned this! Why do I always get a brain fart at the most critical times? Rebecca, help me. What’s the word?”
“I don’t remember either,” Rebecca answered.
“I have to go to the bathroom!” Jess was basically screaming.
A bystander caught the last part of this conversation and rushed over to help. He explained the situation to the receptionist who nodded and pointed down the hall. Jess ran there in a full out sprint. Rebecca thanked the man who stepped in for her cousin who said it was no problem. He walked away shaking his head, people who come to Spain and barely know the language. Rebecca got back to her dilemma with the hotel key. At last, the receptionist understood what Rebecca was telling her. She went to the back room, gave Rebecca a second key, and warned her to be more cautious with this one. The girls got back to their room, laid down on their beds and immediately fell asleep. The next morning Jess tried on some of Rebecca’s clothes.
“Do these clothes look okay on me?” Jess asked and turned to show Rebecca.
“Yeah, they look fine,” Rebecca convinced Jess. 
“I don’t know about you, but I slept really well last night. What should we do today? We have to be out of the hotel by 11 and they don’t have any rooms open tonight,” Jess reported. 
“Well, we’re going to have to find a place to sleep tonight, but I also want to do something fun today. I came here to enjoy myself and that’s what I plan on doing.” Rebecca was fired up and ready to take on everything the day had to throw at her.
“I heard that there are some really beautiful historical sites in the city of Castilla,”  Jess suggested, “and, I found out that it is a pretty populated area and many tourists go there, so they should have hotels there...hopefully with open rooms. Apparently it is only about an hour away from here if we take the AVE train.”
“That sounds awesome!” Rebecca returned, “I love history!”
“Perfect. What are we waiting for?” questioned Jess. “I don’t want to waste any time.”
The girls grabbed Rebecca’s bags, gave the key back to the receptionist at the front desk, and got a taxi. They told their driver to take them to the train station. Upon reaching the station, the girls bought tickets.
“What did you say the name of the city was?” Rebecca quizzed Jess.
“It was Castilla.” responded Jess. The girls looked at the departure board.
“Oh, I see it. It must be Castilla y La Mancha.” Rebecca stated.
“I guess so,” Jess affirmed, “and it only takes 33 minutes!”
The girls got their tickets, found their train with ease, and waited until their scheduled departure. As the train pulled out of the station, the girls could not help but stare at the beauty of Spain. The countryside was breathtaking, so the girls did not say much during the ride. Upon arriving to Castilla y La Mancha, the girls were surprised by the few people there.
“I thought you said there would be lots of people here!” Rebecca said, surprised.
“There were supposed to be…”
“Is today going to be as bad as yesterday? Because I don’t want to deal with those kind of things today,” Rebecca complained.
“Don’t freak. We’ll figure something out,” Jess reasoned, “just try to enjoy the beauty.”
“Sorry, Jess,” Rebecca hated the fact that she could never stop worrying.
“So, what should we do?” Jess questioned.
“C’mon. Let’s follow the crowd. Most people are going that way,” Rebecca observed.
The girls climbed to the top of a large hill and many old buildings with gorgeous architecture stood before them. The girls stood, with their mouths gaping, trying to take in the artistry and charm before their eyes. A dog barking in the distance pulled the girls out of their trance. They decided to go explore.
“I don’t think that this is the city we intended to come to, but I’m happy that this is where we ended up,” Jess concluded.
“I concur,” Rebecca agreed.
The girls meandered through the streets, oohing and ahhing at almost every building they passed. The girls determined that it was a good thing they only had to lug around one person’s bags.  Around four in the afternoon, the girls decided they better try and find a hotel here because there were no more trains going back to Madrid today. After talking with a couple other people, the girls figured out that they needed to take a taxi to the other side of the town, where they would find hotels and restaurants. When the girls got to a hotel and were making a reservation, Rebecca became frantic. Nooooooo. Oh my gosh! Where could it be? Rebecca thought, I know I had it. She began to search through her bags and in her pockets.
“What’s wrong Rebecca?” Jess asked, noticing her panic.
“I can’t find it -”
“Can’t find what?”
“Our credit card,” Rebecca replied. “I know I had it yesterday, but I didn’t use it for anything so far today.”
The man at the front desk said that they accepted cash as well. For this the girls were grateful, but they only had so much cash. After getting into their room, the girls went through all of their bags and clothes looking for the credit card. Having no success, the girls laid on their beds and tried to recall where they possibly could have left it. Their only reasonable thought was that they forgot it in their hotel.
“What are we going to do? We don’t have enough cash to make it through eight more days,” Rebecca declared. “I mean, we’re almost out of money as it is.”
“We’ll go back to Madrid in the morning and maybe someone will have turned it in. If not, well, we’ll figure that out when the time comes. Now let’s go get some dinner. I’m starved!” Jess commented.
“Look at me. I’m a mess! Besides, I’m not all that hungry. I kind of just want to hang out in the hotel for the rest of the night,” Rebecca said.
“Are you sure? I mean, I don’t mind going to get food all by myself, but it would be more fun if you came along,” Jess insisted.
“No, I’d rather stay here tonight,” Rebecca asserted.
“Okay. Whatever floats your boat, man. I’ll be back soon,” Jess confirmed as she grabbed one of the room keys and left with a wave. Jess started down the street. She was feeling something more American tonight, but she knew she wanted to go somewhere where they had take out because she wanted to be able to bring the food back to the hotel and eat with Rebecca.
In the hotel room, Rebecca put her pajamas on and was about to begin reading the book she had brought along, when there was a knock at the door. That’s odd. She thought. Did Jess forget something? Rebecca peered through the peep hole on the door, but no one was standing there. Rebecca opened the door, but nobody was in sight. “Whatever. Maybe I’m just hearing things,” Rebecca said sarcastically to herself.
Jess rounded a couple corners and found Hector’s Hamburguesas. Satisfied, she went inside and asked if they had take out. The cashier said they did, so Jess ordered two burgers and two medium fries.As she walked outside the cool air greeted her.
Back in the hotel, Rebecca was reading her book and there was a show about the history of Castilla y La Mancha on the tv in the background. For a moment, there was no sound coming from the tv, so she glanced up. She found that the show had stopped and on the tv screen appeared an image of herself staring at the tv with her book in her lap. She realized she was watching herself. Even more horrifying, it struck her that the tv portrayed a man standing behind her. Terrified, she whipped her head around only to find the padded headboard and the wall. At first, she was startled and then she screamed as a shiver went through her whole body. She leapt off of the bed to turn off the tv and look for a hidden camera, when all of the sudden the history show switched back on.
Meanwhile, Jess came to a corner and she could not remember which way she had come from. She instantly became nervous, but tried to calm herself and recall from which way she had come. She drew a blank, however, and it dawned on her that she was lost in a strange country.
Rebecca curled up on the chair in the corner of the hotel room and forced herself not to cry and tried to convince herself that there had to be a logical explanation for this. Why do I worry so much and have such a crazy imagination at such stressful times? Rebecca wondered. Then, breaking the silence, the hotel room’s phone rang, pulling her out of her thoughts. She gathered the courage to answer the phone. “Hello,” she said, nervously.
The person on the other line replies, “Why didn’t you open the door when I knocked on it. I knew you were there, because I saw you on the tv.”
“Who is this?” Rebecca asks. There was a brief pause, and the only answer she got was a click of the call coming to an abrupt end.
Jess saw a taxi and walked up to it. She asked the driver how to get to the Casa Hilton. The man gave her clear directions and she thanked him profusely before going on her way. When she arrived to the hotel, Jess found Rebecca locked in the bathroom. Jess knocked on the door and was about to say that she got a burger and fries for Rebecca, when Rebecca shrieked. “Is everything okay in there?” Jess questioned.
“Who’s out there?” Rebecca demanded an answer.
“Umm… it's me… Jess,” Jess replied, suspiciously.
“Don’t you dare ever leave me alone again,” Rebecca stated as she came out of the bathroom.
Rebecca’s face was ghost white and Jess asked, “Rebecca, what happened?”
Rebecca explained the whole story. At the end, Jess sat with her mouth hanging open. She did not know what to say. “Maybe it was just your imagination,” Jess suggested, trying to sound convincing. “How ‘bout we eat now?”
“Good idea. I’m starving now. Thanks for getting me some food,” Rebecca said gratefully. The burgers and fries were amazing, just like back in the states.
That night, Rebecca could not sleep. The few times that she managed to dream, always ended quickly when she would awake and find herself sweaty and shaking.
The next morning, the girls got on the first train back to Madrid. They went to the hotel that they stayed at on their first night in Spain. They inquired at the front desk if anyone had turned in a credit card, explaining that they had misplaced theirs during their previous stay. After going through all the necessary steps to ensure their identity, the receptionist, told the girls that someone had in fact turned in a credit card that they found when they checked into their room. The girls were elated; this gave them hope that the events of this trip were finally taking a turn for the better.
The girls spent a few uneventful, yet enjoyable days at the beach and exploring different parts of Spain.
On their seventh day of the trip, they returned to Madrid to meet up with their uncle. He greeted them and apologized for the miscommunication. “I hope that your stay in Spain so far has been exhilarating and memorable.”
“Oh it has been…” the girls responded in unison.