When it was the late afternoon, Crystal met up with Mariana and her girls and they all went to a pizzeria for lunch. They sat outside comfortably and in the shade. Mariana had a little sun hat on, and her sunglasses hid away her eyes as she smiled like a princess. She ordered the pizza alla diavola which was pepperoni pizza. She cut it up and started eating some slices.

"By the way Crystal in case if I haven't already, thanks for letting me come on this trip," she said.

"Aw it's okay, I love having you on anyway and it takes away all the stress back home."

"Yeah, it really has," Mariana said as she dug into her pizza. She heard birds chirping around the leaves that blew a melody among the wind. She painted her nails yellow which matched the yellow tulips that were settled on the table and looked like you could drink honey out of them. All the beautiful colors radiated off her and made her feel happy and bubbly.

"I wonder how many food places we can go to in a day," Makayla said, stuffing multiple into her mouth as tomato sauce dripped out to escape.

"You'll probably balloon up and not be able to walk if we go to every single one," Mylah said.

"Nah I got fast metabolism, I'm not gonna gain any weight," Makayla said in defense.

"Enjoy it while it lasts. Because when you get older, you will have to start watching what you eat," Crystal said.

Makayla just continued eating and slurping her coke loudly. Meanwhile, Mariana laid back in her chair, drinking her tropical drink that had slices of lemon and lime. She had a look around at where they were currently in time. People were eating and smiling with their loved ones, the smell of glorious food filled the air, and she could see a faint rainbow peeping from behind the leaves that rose from the edge nearby.

Sometimes, all you have to do is sit back and admire where you are right now. Live in the moment and savor every bit, before it passes by like a little drop of water falling slowly into a lake, rippling away into nothingness, just like life itself.

Mariana didn't know the next time she would be in Italy, so best to make the most of it while she still can.

When they were full, Crystal held onto her daughters' hands as they walked around with Mariana a bit ahead, dazing away. They got a couple of stares of curiosity and some men called out 'cioccolata' which made Makayla and Mylah speed walked and hid their faces as they started to feel embarrassed and anxious.

When they reached the end of the path, Mariana turned to them and said, "I am so sorry about that."

"It's okay, I was half expecting it," Makayla said awkwardly, "but what does 'cioccolata' mean?"

"Um... it means chocolate."

"Okay, I don't want you hear you screaming that at me out of the blue."

"Haha okay," Mariana chuckled nervously.

They then went on a tour around the Casa Degli Atellani which was a restored mansion from the 15th century that was once owned by the Duke of Milan, Ludovico il Moro, and also contains the vineyard of Leonardo di Vinci at the back. The house was porcelain white at the front with a luscious, fresh-looking lawn and a small fountain that was inactive. The glossy windows looked intact with vines climbing their way up like a snake.

They went inside and had a bit of a look around. Mariana was quite intrigued as she had never been here before and it was fun to visit such an ancient place that was still up even after being so old.

They saw patterns formed on the ceiling that made them feel like they were inside a kaleidoscope. There was also some artwork of planets, people, and mythology. They captured Mariana's gaze at their amazing detail. They looked so carefully and cleverly crafted, especially with the intricate detail of the faces and the colors. They just made the place a whole lot brighter.

"Guys, look at all these cool drawings," Makayla said, pointing at a wall full of portraits. Their appearance made them look like someone got a pallet of dust, and blew all over the picture like pixie dust, completing it. There was a mountain goat, stood tall and proud with its grayness.

"That one looks cool," Makayla said, pointing at a creature running across a field with its horse legs, stretching out a bow and arrow. It looked quite fierce and Mariana seemed curious about the story behind it.

"Yes it's called a centaur," Crystal said, settling her gaze upon it. "In Greek mythology, there was a mythical tribe called Lapiths and their king, Ixion, fell in love with one of the wives of Zeus, Hera. But Zeus shaped a cloud to look like Hera called Naphele and brought it to life, and Ixion fell for it. So they had a child who was either the first centaur or mated with horses and created the first centaurs. Well, at least that's how I think the story goes."

"Greek mythology is so interesting," Mylah said.

"Especially watching animated YouTube videos about it," Makayla said as her fingers touched around the frame and then took a picture. They decided to explore somewhere else and Mariana ended up in a little study area. There were two couches on opposite sides of the room, an old fireplace that had smudges of coal around, the only thing that remained of it being in use. But the light above it roared like the sun was trapped inside, and it ignited out like it was on fire.

She stepped inside the room quietly and cautiously, like she was trying not to disturb anyone that might be in here. She felt really comfortable and wanted to stay in here for a bit before moving on to a different part.

She sat down as the brown walls, tinted with red, surrounded her. Some objects were carved into the wood which was slightly cracked and crumbled, enhancing its antiqueness.

She admired the huge paintings that were on the wall and she just thought of how someone once lived here thousands of years ago. All this furniture used to belong to them and now they are not here anymore. But we can still learn some things about them from the objects they possessed, and through that, they can still live on through the things they leave behind.

When she felt like she had seen enough in here, she got up and went to find Crystal and the others. They were outside in the vineyard near two statues of dogs. They were lots of leaves that were gradually covering up the outside of the walls as mother nature was slowly taking back what was hers. Crystal, Makayla, and Mylah were out in the garden, looking at the different flowers and the bushes that were trimmed into gates around the vineyard.

The sun spread its friendly glow all over the grass, making it slightly brighter than the side that was in the shade. Flowers, white of elegance and purple of royalty, bloomed around the vine, making it look like May, the season of spring and full of joy. Butterflies fluttered around them like fairies and even around Mariana's blushing cheeks that were red as cherries. They tickled her a little and she wanted to follow them as they flew away like she was in a Disney movie.

"So this was actually Leonardo's vineyard?" Makayla said as she circled it.

"I guess so," Mylah said.

"I'm really enjoying this," Makayla said.

"Same," Mariana said. It was so nice for things to be preserved in history for people of the present time to enjoy and appreciate.

Crystal came over to them with her phone out. "Let me take a picture of all of you like that."

Mariana stood in the middle with Makayla and Mylah on the side, leaning on her as they all did peace signs. The sun beamed on their foreheads as Crystal took the picture.

"You all look so cute." Crystal's cheeks lifted as she flicked through the pictures. When she was satisfied, she put it back into her pocket. "So, would you like to go somewhere else now?"

"Okay," Mariana said.

They came out of the mansion and went somewhere else. They had a bit of a walk around, enjoying the summer air while they still can, and they ended up at a park, different from the one they went to yesterday.

This one was called Giardini della Guastalla and it seemed to be much quieter as there weren't that many people around so they could have a bit of peace to themselves.

They walked along the stony path, Mariana kicked some stones across, and she saw some feverish trees that looked like they were screaming with their branches going everywhere. They were still out of the sun's eyes until they came across what looked like a small lake, bordered by a white fence. Mariana couldn't really see it properly because of the trees that overshadowed it, the ones in front were darker than the ones further out, making it look like a picture within a picture.

Mariana went ahead and sat on the bench. There was indeed a large lake in the middle with small red flowers sleeping on the side, round, ripe bushes that hid away any woodland animals, and some buildings in the distance. It was like she was at a special resort for a vacation.

"Let's race!" Makayla said, suddenly coming up beside her.

"Okay!" Mariana jumped up from her seat and stood in a line with her and Mylah. Crystal sat down and watched them as they started running around the water to the other side. Mariana was fast on her knees and the wind flew against her face, it sent chills of relief against her sticky skin. She felt like she was having a cold glass of water, as she could taste an icy feeling in her mouth. This is the first time she had felt some fresh air since going out of the hotel today and it felt amazing.

Makayla ended up winning, with Mariana coming in second and last Mylah. They were now panting out of breath. Mariana started coughing as she tried to regain her breath but that was a good run regardless.

"Let's do another one!" Makayla said.

"Alright," Mariana said, still panting as her knees were slightly wobbly. They started running again but this time, further down where there was a ring of trees. Mariana won this time and she jumped high in the air, cheering loudly and throwing her arms about. But when her steam died down, she was even more tired than before and decided that she'll have a little rest before racing again.

She went back and sat next to Crystal who was typing something on her phone. She looked between her and Makayla and Mylah who was laid on the grass, doing snow angels except there was no snow.

"Crystal, can I ask you a question?" She said as she wanted her advice on something.

"Sure honey, what is it?" Crystal replied, putting her phone away and leaned back as she turned toward Mariana.

"What would you do if you and your husband had a big disagreement and you were finding it hard to talk to each other?"

Crystal looked at her for a minute before answering. Mariana's tone was low and toward the ground like she didn't want to reveal everything. "This is about you and Micah isn't it?"

"Um... yeah," Mariana said, she didn't want to blush but she could feel her cheeks going red as they heated up. She felt embarrassed by that question now.

"Okay, first of all, you two need to communicate your feelings openly to each other without fighting. That's the only way it's going to be resolved. But because things were getting too heated, it is nearly impossible for a couple to talk to each other calmly when there's too much tension between you so that's why I took you with me. So when you get back, you two would've calmed down enough."

"Yeah that is true," Mariana said.

"Sometimes you need to talk things out or give each other space and then talk things out," Crystal said as she sighed like she was reminiscing something.

"Yeah I agree," Mariana said, listening deeply to what she said like she was listening to the sounds of the wind. She was really feeling so much better now and didn't have the feeling of fighting anymore.

"But sometimes you really do feel like giving them the silent treatment. My husband and I had a little fight because of his actions toward Electra. I'm not mad anymore but I'm still not talking to him for a little while so he can fully think about what he did." Crystal said as she starting laughing a little. "Men can be so annoying at times."

"Yeah, I agree," Mariana said, cracking open a smile as she fiddled her fingers.

"Well, not all the time. They can be very sweet. He did use to call me Queen of Sheba sometimes."

"Aw, that's so sweet. Micah called me his little nugget," Mariana giggled like a little kid.

"That's so cute!" Crystal said as they started smiling and laughing together. When it died down, Crystal pulled Mariana into a hug. "I love you too much and I want you to be in my family so I really don't want you guys to break up."

"Thank you," Mariana smiled sheepishly.

"Now just enjoy the rest of this trip and when you get back, hopefully, Micah will also be in a better mood for you to talk."

"Yeah, I hope he is," Mariana said, awkwardly shaking her head as she remembered how he ran off to find Mason. She hoped he wasn't hurt or anything and that he was okay.

She felt a little better and decided to get up since she was rested enough. She hugged Crystal one more time as a thank you and went back to Makayla.

A/N: Hey I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I just love the relationship Mariana has with her in-laws🥰🥰 (well the female ones 😂XD).