The Twilight Twenty-Five
thetwilight25 dot com
Prompt: #25
Pen Name: bigblueboat
Pairing/Character(s): Jasper, Maria, Alice
Rating: T
Word Count: 485 according to MS Word
Photo prompts can be found here:
thetwilight25 dot com/round-eight/prompts
Lots of people backpack across Europe after high school. I wanted to see what all the hype was about.
I started with the normal touristy cities: Paris, Geneva, Milan, Vienna, Budapest. From Hungary I headed into Romania. Who wouldn't want to check out the birthplace of vampires and werewolf folklore? That is where things fell apart. I was wandering through the halls at the Museum of Romanian Peasants when I literally stumbled over a woman. She was crouched down, examining some stitching on a gown. I had my head up, trying to find a way down to the basement to explore the Communist-era items.
We both ended up apologizing profusely to each other. She tagged along with me to the basement, happy to help translate for me.
The next week, she played tour guide, showing me the nooks and crannies of the cities she grew up in and loved. The last night we were together, the night before she was supposed to accompany me to Moldova, we got drunk. I awoke the next morning with a killer hangover and a single bag to my name. My camera, computer and wallet—that contained my money—long gone.
The paranoia instilled in me by my best friend seemed to come in luck. My passport and ticket home out of Paris remained hidden in a hidden pocket of my jacket.
Here I am stuck in Romania, only able to speak about a hundred words, without a means to get back to France, let alone into a country where I can easily call someone to send me a valid Eurorail Pass to get me back home.
As I wander along the train tracks, I notice most people are out in the fields, cutting the dried hay, songs floating over the fields. Some give me odd looks, others ignore me completely. At least the weather is mild compared to the Texas summers back home. It's been three days since I had anything to eat. I'm tempted to ask for food in exchange for a day's work in the field.
The choice is taken out of my hands when a tall man waves me over.
"You okay? Lost?"
How do I explain in my limited Romanian what happened? How I was just a stupid shit to fall for the big eyes and curves of a woman? I give up and start ranting in English, not like this guy is going to understand anyway. I'm cut off shortly after I start by a bellowing laugh.
"I talk bad but understand. Come. Eat. Work today. We figure it out night. Get you home."
Eight hours in the field is harder than it looks. I drag my feet behind the man into his home. I'm about to collapse into a spent heap on the rug when a tinkling laugh from the table distracts me. Her short, spiked hair and bright eyes call to me.