Lille Havfrue (Little Mermaid)

Once upon a time there was a young woman named Lille who lifeguarded on the beach every summer.
A young woman who had always been told by inspirational Instagram poetry that 'your adventure awaits', Lille's heart had always ached for a big change and a new life.

One day, as she contemplated this from her lifeguard tower, the winds picked up as a storm moved in, and a boogie boarder got knocked out in the waves. Lille dove in with the grace of a fish, wrapped her arms around the stranger, and dragged them back to shore. With the help of her coworker, Lille brought the stranger back to consciousness, but was soon called over by some moron who had buried themselves in the sand for a prank and was stuck. By the time the stranger came to, Lille was gone.

As the summer went on, the stranger continued to hang out at the beach, unaware of Lifeguard Lille and the fact that she had been so heroic the day of the storm. But Lille, too shy to strike up conversation, learned everything she could about this mysterious, beautiful stranger.

Her name was Erica. She was completely different than anyone Lille had ever met. She spoke differently, walked differently, and seemed to have a different way of life that Lille found unbearably attractive.

Erica was European.

As the summer came to an end, Lille took another hard look at her life and couldn't quell her yearning for change. Straightening her crop top and squaring her shoulders, she marched up to campus, down the winding road the maintenance crew always ignored, and ventured into the decrepit old building that housed the Exchange Program.

The Exchange Program Coordinator, to be blunt, was a creepy old bitch. After a few insults on Lille's appearance, she finally noted that there was one spot left on the exchange to Denmark and Lille could have it, but at a high price.  Lille knew nothing of the people of Denmark, she signed up anyway. She left to pack, humming softly to herself with a lilt in her voice and a skip in her step. "Ready to know what the Danish know."

Once in Denmark, Lille found communication near impossible. She felt completely out of place and alone. But lo and behold Erica was there, having just returned from summer vacation. Erica instantly noticed Lille, the "Silent Redhead" as she was affectionately called by her Danish classmates, and took Lille out on adventures with her. The language barrier was no match for their undeniable attraction, and Lille and Erica soon had the glow of young love that knew no bounds.

They explored the town on scooters, Lille's arms wrapped around Erica's back, caught up in the smell of hair that was perfumed with aristocracy and argon oil. Erica was basically royalty in Denmark, her family having an established fork design company. She tried to describe the family business once, and Lille, not knowing any Danish, could only smile in return. But they didn't need words to convey their love for each other. Lille and Erica made out on moonlit boat rides, ocean shorelines, kitchens, classrooms, they were certainly not shy. At one point Lille looked around her and thought, 'Sure, I've got everything.'

Then Erica met someone else and broke Lille's heart. The little redhead cried every night by the oceanside for weeks, her tears stinging like shards of glass down her cheeks. Her new friends brainstormed all of the ways Lille could hurt Erica back, and after a lot of alcohol, concocted an elaborate plan involving breaking and entering and petty theft while Erica was sleeping. Lille, almost drunk and sad enough to do it, got all the way to the bedroom door before stopping herself at the very last minute.

She looked at Erica and her new love sleeping soundly and sobered the hell up.

"This is my first love, but it won't be my last. If inspirational Instagram poetry has taught me anything, it's that I'm the maker of my own damn destiny," she stated, and left, thinking of her expiring student visa.

When she got back to her dorm, Lille packed, flew home across the sea, and saved up for the Work Abroad Program in Australia, where she continues to live her best life. Happily.

Ever fallen in love with a European? Relive memory lane in the comments section!