Rio, baby

Nothing good had happened in Tina’s life since the earth-shattering breakdown of her long-term relationship. Seven years down the pan and nothing to show for it, her career had taken a back seat throughout the whirlwind that had begun too soon and should have ended long before its poison turned each partie bitter. In the aftermath, Tina’s life spun uncontrollably as bits of her life dissolved around her and all she could do was nothing. Until one day the earth froze and has been ever since. Since it sunk in that Luke wasn’t coming back. Life now was monotonous and if anything, going in reverse. Tina’s alarm goes off at 6 AM each morning, she makes black coffee and is (hopefully) on the Victoria tube station by 7:30 AM, usually with damp hair. Last week on her way into the office a text came through from Sally that both excited and terrified Tina. "GET PACKED. We are finally doing it this year. RIO BABY!”. Tina and the group have had the Rio De Janeiro Carnival on their bucket list for about as long as they have known each other. The three of them, Tina, Sally and Liv met at Glastonbury Festival six years ago outside the burger van when swapping meals because they had all been given each other’s order. In the years gone by, they’ve formed a sisterhood, an intimate club of three. Tina knew it was time to start moving on, it had been a year now since Luke packed his bags, and where better to be on the rebound than Rio? Besides, she deserved the break she told herself; if she had to eat one more stale office doughnut out of curtesy, she was going to shove it down Pete’s neck. How many times did she have to plead him not to buy her one, for him to completely ignore and guilt her into eating the wretched beige phenomenon? Sally, AKA, the ringleader of the group had sorted out all of the holiday logistics to the point that Tina needed only show up two hours before the flight with a passport in hand. Before they knew it, they were in Rio and the whole city was a kaleidoscope. Day 1. Walking through clouds of coloured chalk in the streets had begun to make the girls woozy and they were now all samba maestros, or so they thought. With their spirits higher than they felt in the midst of all the chaos, colour and humid sweat they had decided that for this weekend, all bets were off. Liv, their style guru, had made sure that no patch of skin was missing a streak of pastel (pastel is SO in right now) face paint and, of course, the occasional stick-on diamanté flower power symbol. Feathers were a must; Tinas head-dress looked like a peacock which she was surprisingly happy with considering Sally was bordering on parrot cross drag-queen. They had no choice in the matter. Besides, Liv had not left herself out, she was a sort of walking flamingo, and they couldn’t care less because they were finally going to cross Rio off that list. Accomplishments, no matter how big or small, were essential for Tina; keeping busy kept her mind from wandering back to him. The girls had never been to an event this size. They were field-festival veterans, the loudest at any house party and the best dressed at any concert. Here in Brazil, however, they were three specs in a sea of flamboyant colour. Dinner was planned inside a hotel restaurant, but the streets were flooding with more and more people now, and it was getting too dark to see through the crowds. Street food seemed their only option, and so linked together like a daisy chain, the girls squeezed arms and pushed forwards until they saw a food stall with complimentary fire-eating performers. Not only was the fire a landmark to follow, but Liv, who had been bursting to showcase her carnival dress designs since they landed, was about willing to catch on fire herself if it meant getting that perfect holiday Instagram snap. The girls huddled around the vendor who was shovelling meat onto a lit fire. Without a word of Portuguese between them, they held out paper plates and caught whichever pieces were thrown to them. “Why is it that we are always eating food that we didn’t order on the side of a road. Next year I am choosing the destination girls!”

“Liv, the all inclusive’s have fire breathing dancers too, but they don’t look like that in Benidorm.” Sally directs the girls’ attention back at topless male performers.

Tina, however, found herself fixated not by the attractive foreign men but the fire itself. It felt freeing, to be stood so close to danger. Drawn in by the flames, Tina’s feet were taking her closer and closer. How close could her bare skin get to the heat? What would it feel like to reach out and touch a flame? Tina only knew that it would hurt so badly, that it would hurt more than losing Luke and Tina needed something to burn more than her heart did, so she kept moving forwards. Mesmerized and completely unaware of herself, Tina was now following the yellow torches away from the group. In her mind, she was letting go of all the things that kept her grounded and rational. Instead, her body was moving without her permission and not having to think about her actions was the closest she had felt to a holiday in too long. Absentmindedly, Tina twirled and moved with the crowd as the fire gleamed on her skin. Letting go. Until all of a sudden, the lights went out, and Tina’s head jumped up to find that the performance was over, and she was brought back to reality by the deafening cheering and clapping from the on-lookers. Tina could no longer see her friends behind her, but she could have sworn she had only closed her eyes for a minute, two at most. Trying not to panic, Tina calls out to Sally and Liv, but they aren’t anywhere to be seen, and now she can’t find a single landmark. The whole city looked the same to her; it was a maze. Her phone had run out of battery, given that they had been out all day. Tina hadn’t even realised it had gotten dark until now, which made her panic again. Too much drink. Loud music now was starting up around her; the next float must be some kind of traditional band as people are jumping with excitement in their hundreds. Tina can barely breathe. Was this really happening to her? All the beauty of the carnival had now turned ugly. The once vibrant colours were now horrifying to the eye, and the loud chanting is no longer fun- it´s burying all of her screams. People in face paint are dancing around her; the world is spinning and then, blank. “Olá? Você pode me ouvir senhora … ? “

Opening her eyes, Tina makes out the blurry shape of a man looking down on her. She realises now that she has fainted. “Shit”, she speaks in a language the man seemingly understands. “You are English? Don´t worry, Miss everything is fine, you fell down in the street. Here, have some water”. The man hands her a bottle. Tina feels a surge of relief, he doesn’t look like a murderer, and he speaks English. She can tell him that she is lost and she´ll find her friends and this will all be funny in an hour, two max. “Thank you, sorry, I´m fine. Are you one of the performers?” Tina quickly realises that this is the man she had been following blindly down the street, she was fixated on the fire, but she must have subconsciously registered his figure and face too.

The local police station is a crime scene in itself, notes Sally as Liv hammers at the vending machine. Since informing the officer in charge that Tina had been missing all night and she had not called in at the hotel, they have been sat sick, with worry, in a waiting room no bigger than a prison cell. Damp with sweat, all they could do was wait in a panic deafening silence for someone to inform them that their friend has been found safe and well. The hours had merged, and they had not realised the sun was up until Liv squealed at a blinding ray of sun cutting through the blinds and into her face. Deciding to take matters into their own hands, they agree that the longer they sit and wait, the more likely the worst outcome will come to pass. No one’s face looks good in a foreign TV plea. Sober and pissed off, Sally leads the march. Tanking down the main street, they trace back their steps until they get to the food stall from the night before. The celebrations are still causing havoc in the street. They don’t remember seeing Tina eating any food, but she was here watching the performance, they both confirm. Sally asks the food vendor about the fire performers, and luckily, they are regulars of the carnival, so he gladly tells them where their rehearsal rooms are. Arms and legs swinging in all directions, the girls fly down the road frantically looking out for the 'Red door' What they might find behind the red door is another matter. Liv screams, “SALL HERE, THERES A RED DOOR!! HURRY!”. They both stand in front of the door, both too scared to open it. Knowing that the longer they stand there, the further they come to finding Tina safe and well. Liv thunders a gut-wrenching scream as she bravely reaches out her hand to grab the door handle. Instead, the door swings open before Liv could turn the knob and what they see next knocks them both for six.

“Guys!” Tina shouts happily. No one can utter a word for what feels like hours from the shock and relief rolled into one.

“Well, this takes ´all bets are off´´ to another meaning Tina!” Sally remarks angrily.

Gobsmacked, Liv and Sally watch as their thought-to-be dead friend walks out of the door in a white dress arm in arm with a tanned, tall local man. Their anger quickly subsides as they witness the unwitting smile spread across Tina´s face. The happy couple, man and wife walk back into the carnival river as if nothing had happened. Tina looks back at her friends with a wink that says "I'll explain everything later, promise!". Sally and Liv afford her a smile and turn to each other. "Imagine that, she gets lost and then she finds a husband all in 24 hours" Liv teases.

"Tina had been lost for a very long time before this weekend, all things considered a pretty successful outcome, wouldn't you say? Smiles Sally.