[ WP ] You wake up one morning to find a boarding pass on your counter . Its destination is a country you know little about . You live alone , and you do n't have any friends . The flight leaves in ten hours .

It was probably past noon. The sun was shining through the blinds. That ’ s the most of the sun I get to see nowadays. I haven ’ t stepped foot out of my apartment in days. No, wait. It ’ s been weeks. I haven ’ t left my apartment in three weeks. It ’ s been three weeks since Ella left me. She was my whole life. Ever since we met, my whole world revolved around her. She was my sun; the center of my universe. I groaned. It was happening again. When Ella left me, she left a huge gaping black hole in the middle of my universe. The black hole sucked my will to live into the darkness. Today was going to be one of those days. 
 
 I heard the door slam. I bolted out of bed and ran to the door. 
 
 “ Ella! ” I yelled out. There was no one there. The apartment was empty. I was alone. 
 
 I felt a familiar grip in my heart. It was becoming hard to breathe. The room began to spin. I stumbled forward and fell on the floor. My mind was racing. 
 
 *Where the hell is my Breathalyzer?! * 
 
 I crawled towards the desk in the living room in a panic. I reached for the Breathalyzer and fought to regain control of my breathing. 
 
 I laid there on the ground surrounded by used tissues gasping for air. I survived yet another asthma attack induced by my anxiety. 
 
 I used the desk for support as I struggled to sit on the computer chair. My desk was more organized than I last left it. Ella was in my apartment after all. She left the boarding pass on my desk. 
 
 And her wedding ring. 
 
 I picked up the boarding pass and inspected it.The flight was for tonight. We were supposed to go on our honeymoon tonight. We were supposed to go to Belize. We were supposed to be married. 
 
 I did n't even know where the hell Belize was. I let Ella choose. As usual, she let fate decide. She threw a dart at a spinning globe and the dart happened to land near Belize. If it had landed in Antarctica, I ’ m pretty sure the boarding pass would be for Antarctica. 
 
 Something did n't feel right. Where was the other boarding pass? Did she still have it? Why did she clean up my desk? 
 
 I looked around for some more clues. Maybe Ella left a note. Maybe Ella is trying to send me a message, like the one she left for me when she left me three weeks ago. 
 
 *Austin, * 
 
 *I can ’ t do this anymore. I can ’ t pretend to be someone I ’ m not. I can ’ t be the perfect wife you want me to be. There ’ s just too much of this world that I ’ ll miss if I marry you. My heart is filled with wanderlust. Don ’ t wait for me. The love of your life is out there waiting for you. She ’ s just not me. * 
 
 *Ella* 
 
 That word has been haunting me for the past few weeks. What the hell did that word even mean? Wanderlust. I did n't want to look for another love of my life. Ella was the one. She was the only one. 
 
 I stared at the wedding ring. 
 
 *Wanderlust…* 
 
 What I loved about Ella the most was exactly that: wanderlust. I loved the way her eyes would light up when she talked about the places she wanted to see. I loved her determination and courage when she faced her fears. Ella was always dauntless to the point of reckless abandon. 
 
 She was spinning the globe and throwing darts; going wherever the hell the dart landed. 
 
 Belize was n't just another trip to satisfy her wanderlust. Belize was my commitment to her. I would show her my own determination and courage by fighting for our marriage. Ella was daring me to be dauntless. Her heart was n't just filled with wanderlust. Her heart was wanderlust. 
 
 Ella is my great adventure. Pursuing Ella was pursuing wanderlust. 
 
 Suddenly, it all made sense. I knew what I had to do. I knew where I had to go. 
 
 I arrived in Belize in the morning. I brought nothing but a backpack with some clothes and Ella ’ s wedding ring. The eight hour plane ride gave me some time to think. 
 
 I realized where the other boarding pass was. I realized why she was there that morning. I realized why Ella left. 
 
 To answer the first, I ripped up my plane ticket to shreds. I thought that Ella dropped off a boarding pass to leave me a message. I thought that she wanted me to fight for her and to pursue her in Belize. However, last night, I got black out drunk. I must have called her or something. Ella was on her way to Belize. She got my messages and felt guilty about going. She came to my place and dropped off her ticket, along with her wedding ring. 
 
 I suppose that this whole incident sums up our relationship. I held her back. I've always held her back. She was my whole universe, full of life and her contagious wanderlust. I tried to put her in a box and call her mine. 
 
 The cab took me to the resort Ella and I would have spent our honeymoon. I did nothing but sleep that day. 
 
 When I woke up, it was about evening. I collapsed on the bed as soon as I got in the room and was knocked out. I don ’ t know if it ’ s the Caribbean air, but I felt a million times better than back home. The honeymoon suite was a beach side pavilion. The sun was just setting across the sea. The colours of the world melted into the sun. Wanderlust seized me and I walked to the beach. 
 
 The last thing Ella told me was that I would find the love of my life out there, somewhere. I ’ m still not sure that she ain ’ t the one. But, the wanderlust that filled my heart came from her. She left me and took my whole life away. Yet, she is also the one who led me here to Belize. She was the one who spun the globe and threw the dart. Now it ’ s my turn. It ’ s my turn to spin the globe. 
 
 I took Ella ’ s wedding ring and threw it into the sea. 
 
 

