About twenty minutes later, we stepped out of the funicular station and followed the stone pathway toward the castle entrance.
The afternoon sun bathed the ancient walls in warm golden light, making the old stones seem almost magical.
Taeng had already stopped at least six times to take photographs.
"Taeng," Kit laughed, "at this rate we'll still be here tomorrow."
"I can't help it," Taeng replied, lifting his camera again. "Everything is beautiful."
Anamarija smiled knowingly.
"I told you you'd love it."
As we approached the ticket office, a few visitors stood in line ahead of us.
Anamarija walked confidently toward the counter.
Just before she reached it, one of the employees looked up.
For a second, he stared at her in surprise.
Then his face lit up.
"Mari"
Anamarija blinked.
She looked at him more carefully before her own eyes widened.
"Oh my gosh... Boštjan?"
Without hesitation, they both walked around the counter and hugged each other warmly.
"Tak lepo te je videt"
Anamarija laughed.
(It's so good to see you!)
"Ne morem verjeti da si res ti."
Boštjan said with a huge smile.
(I can't believe it's really you,)
"Malce si zrasla." He joked
(You've little grown up.)
"Bom vzela to kot kompliment." She said with a smile
(I take this a compliment.)
"Definitno je" he's said
(It definitely is.)
The rest of us exchanged curious glances.
We didn't understand anything.
Chai leaned slightly toward Kit and whispered, " How do they know each other?
Kit shrugged.
"I don't know. Ask her."
Torn quietly chuckled.
Even Suraphom looked mildly surprised, though he remained standing calmly beside Anamarija.
Boštjan finally looked past her at the rest of us.
"To so zagotovo tvoji prijatelji."
"And these must be your friends?"
"V bistvu so moja družina." She's corrected him. And said proudly.
(They're actually my family).
Boštjan smiled warmly at all of us.
She pointed to Malai, Chak and Chai and said: "to sta moja brata in sestra."
(These are my brothers and sister.)
Then she pointed to me and Torn and said:" To sta partnerja od Chaka in Chaia.
(These are Chak's and Chai's partners)
Then she pointed to Kit and Taeng and said:
"To pa sta dobra prijatelja katera sem spoznala na Tajskem."
(These are the good friends of them I met in Thailand)
"To pa je Suraphom moj varnostnik."
(This is Suraphom my bodyguard.)
"It's nice to meet you all." Boštjan said.
"Welcome to Ljubljana."
"Thank you," we answered almost at the same time.
He turned back toward Anamarija.
"You know what?"
He waved his hand dismissively.
"Forget the tickets."
Anamarija blinked.
"What?"
"You're all my guests today."
"Oh no, Boštjan you don't have to—"
"I insist."
He smiled.
"It's wonderful seeing you again.
He reached for several visitor wristbands and handed them to us.
"Enjoy the castle."
Anamarija looked genuinely touched.
"Thank you so much."
"It was the least I could do."
After we had all put on our wristbands, we stepped away from the entrance.
The moment we were out of earshot, everyone turned toward Anamarija at exactly the same time.
She laughed.
"I know that look."
Chak pointed back toward the ticket office.
"Explain."
Kit nodded.
"Please do."
Torn folded his arms.
"You got us free entry."
Taeng smiled.
"I'd also like to know."
Even I looked at her curiously.
She smiled fondly before glancing back toward Boštjan , who was already helping the next visitors.
"We've known each other for a long time."
"How long?" Malai asked.
"Since I was little."
Everyone listened quietly.
"He's one of my mom's closest friends."
She smiled at the memory.
"When my mom had to work late, he used to look after me."
She laughed softly.
"I spent so many afternoons with him when I was a child."
"He'd take me for ice cream, tell me stories about Slovenia and the other countries and sometimes we'd just sit in the park watching people walk around."
She looked back toward the entrance with a nostalgic smile.
"He always treated me like I was part of his own family."
A warm smile spread across Malai's face.
"That's really sweet."
"It is," I agreed.
Kit grinned.
"So you've basically had VIP connections since you were a kid."
Anamarija laughed.
"I wouldn't call it that."
"I would," Chai said immediately. "Free tickets definitely count as VIP treatment."
Everyone laughed.
Suraphom finally spoke.
"He helped take care of you while your mother was working?"
Anamarija nodded.
"Yes."
Suraphom looked thoughtful.
"Your mother told me about him. She told me a lot about your childhood and the people who were important to you."
Anamarija smiled softly.
"She did?"
"Of course," Suraphom replied. "She wanted me to understand your life. Not only the person you became, but also the child you used to be."
She smiled warmly.
"I have a lot of happy childhood memories because of people like him."
For a brief moment, everyone fell silent.
It was easy to hear the affection in her voice.
Then Chai clapped his hands together dramatically.
"Well..."
He looked toward the castle courtyard with an excited grin.
"Now that we've officially entered the castle for free..."
He raised the bag of crackers.
"...who wants a victory snack?"
Torn covered his face.
"You lasted less than twenty minutes."
"I knew it," Kit laughed.
"I told you!"
The courtyard echoed with laughter once again as we followed Anamarija deeper into Ljubljana Castle, ready to hear more of its stories.
The laughter slowly faded as we stepped farther into the castle grounds.
I instinctively slowed my pace.
The atmosphere felt different here.
Quieter.
The thick stone walls surrounded us on every side, carrying centuries of history within them. Sunlight streamed through the open courtyard, while the shadows cast by the towers created a pleasant coolness despite the warm afternoon.
"It's even more beautiful than I imagined," I admitted softly.
Anamarija smiled.
"I never get tired of coming here."
She turned around so she could face all of us while walking backward.
"Did you know that this hill has been inhabited for thousands of years?"
Taeng immediately lifted his camera.
"Really?"
She nodded.
"Long before the castle you see today was built, people were already living here. The castle itself has changed many times over the centuries."
Kit looked around at the old stone walls.
"How old is it?"
"The oldest written records date back to the twelfth century," Anamarija explained. "Over the years it served as a fortress, a residence, a military stronghold, and even a prison."
"A prison?" Torn repeated, suddenly fully awake.
She nodded.
"Yes. Some parts of the castle were used to hold prisoners."
Chai looked around dramatically.
"So..."
He lowered his voice.
"Are there ghosts?"
Malai rolled her eyes.
"That was your first question?"
"What?"
He shrugged.
"It's an old castle."
"There are ghost stories about almost every old castle," Anamarija laughed.
"But I've never seen one."
Chai pretended to sigh in disappointment.
"There goes my excitement."
"You'll survive," Kit teased.
"I suppose."
Taeng wandered a few steps away, carefully framing one of the towers with his camera.
*Click.*
*Click.*
*Click.*
The shutter echoed softly through the courtyard.
He smiled at the screen.
"Oh, these turned out great."
"You've taken at least fifty pictures already," Torn observed.
Taeng looked genuinely confused.
"Only fifty?"
Everyone laughed.
"I think he'll fill an entire memory card before sunset," I said.
"I brought three," Taeng replied proudly.
Chai stared at him.
"You planned this."
"Of course."
Anamarija chuckled before pointing toward one of the stone staircases.
"Come on."
"We're heading to the observation tower."
"The view gets better the higher we go."
As we climbed the wide stone steps, I ran my fingertips lightly along the cool wall beside me.
The stones felt rough beneath my hand.
I couldn't help wondering how many people had walked these same steps before us.
Kings.
Soldiers.
Merchants.
Children.
Tourists from all over the world.
It was strange to think that history could feel so... close.
Beside me, Chak noticed me looking around.
"What are you thinking about?"
I smiled.
"How many stories these walls must have witnessed."
He glanced at the ancient stonework before looking back at me.
"And now they'll witness ours."
I looked at him in surprise.
A warm smile spread across my face.
"I like that."
His fingers found mine once again.
This time, neither of us looked away.
Ahead of us, Anamarija reached the top of the stairs and spread her arms with a proud smile.
"Okay..."
She stepped aside.
"Welcome to one of my favorite views in all of Ljubljana."
One by one, we stepped onto the terrace.
For a moment...
Nobody spoke.
The entire city stretched out beneath us.
The red rooftops of the old town glowed in the golden evening light.
The green ribbon of the Ljubljanica River wound gently through the city.
Church towers rose above the buildings, while the distant mountains stood quietly against the horizon.
A soft breeze swept across the terrace.
"Wow..." Kit whispered.
"I don't even know what to say."
Taeng slowly lowered his camera.
For perhaps the first time that day...
He simply looked.
"This..." he said quietly, "...is one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen."
Anamarija smiled, her eyes sparkling with pride.
"I was hoping you'd all feel that way."
I stood beside Chak, taking in the breathtaking view.
For a few peaceful moments, nobody reached for their phones.
Nobody joked.
Nobody hurried.
We simply stood together in silence, letting Ljubljana speak for itself.