The country of love
Love Intere$t
The road was long, extending for miles and miles over the vast grass field that continued in all directions as far as the eye could see, like a green ocean. The wind passed over the grass like waves, carrying leaves, dust and the smell of wild flowers wherever it went. The wind brushed on the hair of a traveler, playing with her hair and making her coat dance as she moved along the thin strip of black that broke the green monotone of the landscape. The road was long and destination was still beyond the eyesight of even the keenest bird.
"The next country we're going to has a very strange reputation, Hermes," spoke the traveler, not taking her eyes from the road. "I must admit I'm curious about it."
"What is it, Kino? It's not something dangerous, is it?"
"A travel is full of dangers, Hermes. Even when I'm riding you I'm in danger. I could fall and break my leg my leg, for example."
"What? But that can't happen, Kino! Your balance is perfect and the road isn't even bumpy," exclaimed the motorad in an alarmed voice. Kino laughed and looked down.
"It was just an example, Hermes. Calm down."
Motorad and traveler, progressing along the road, locked in conversation. It would be difficult to know where motorad ended and where traveler began.
The town that greeted them was charming and pretty in a strange, simple way. The houses were painted in pink, beige, and yellow. Many had different ornaments, statues and paintings on the theme of love, from the pure to the passionate, and hearts were numerous in many of them. The sight and scent of roses filled the streets and there wasn't a single road that did not have a park, a theater or restaurant, all frequented by loving couples. They walked hand in hand, they whispered sweetly to each other, they embraced innocently, they kissed. It was as if the people there couldn't live separately or in groups of odd numbers, always walking, eating, laughing and existing in pairs.
"They seem very happy, don't they?" said Hermes brightly as they passed by the blissful townspeople on their way to the inn.
"Then I guess the rumors were true," muttered Kino.
"Do you want a room for how many?"
"One person and one motorad," answered Kino, holding Hermes as she faced the innkeeper, a girl hardly eighteen years old. "Excuse me, but are you the owner of the inn?"
The girl smiled and replied "Oh, that's my parents. But they went out so I'm running the place. I am young after all, so I have to work while they enjoy themselves together," Here she sighed and looked dreamily at a far-off scene in her imagination. "I wish I could have enough money to buy a bottle... But it's so expensive... I still have a lot of work in front of me…"
"Is it true then?" asked Kino. "That they sell a bottle of love here and that they make you love much more and much longer?"
"Have you come to buy a bottle, traveler? I envy you," she complained with a mixture of pain and happiness in her expression. "Many people come here form all over the world to buy one of our miraculous bottles."
"No. I'm only visiting this place," said Kino, calmly smiling while her eyes remained grave and thoughtful. "I'm not interested in that kind of thing right now."
"Oh. Right," responded the innkeeper after a surprised pause. "How… How long are you staying then?"
"Two nights and three days."
It was the early morning of the next day, and Kino was standing in front of the mirror. She looked into it, and drew her weapon in a flash, pointing it at her reflection. After a brief moment, she put her gun in her holster and relaxed, only to draw it again with the speed of a rattlesnake.
"Kino, don't you feel a bit awkward, practicing your skills in a country like this?"
"Remember what we talked about danger yesterday, Hermes?" said Kino, without stopping her gun practicing.
"Well, it's a little strange to see them selling love here as if it was a thing, like a ring or a cake," pondered the motorad. "Is it really love they sell? Why don't they just wait for it to happen? Wouldn't it be truer than if they bought it?"
"That's a difficult question, Hermes," answered Kino after a pause, with a little sad smile as she drew her weapon again. "Nobody knows where these feelings come from, so it's hard to say what would be true and what wouldn't," put the gun back in the holster. Draw. Place it back. Draw. "Who knows what love really is?"
"Waah! It sounds so complicated!"
They entered the shop and paused in shock. They were in a cold room painted completely black. There were no windows and only a small marble desk, where a middle-aged man with a serious, yet dreamy expression sat in front of. He noticed the traveler and the motorad and immediately focused on them, loosing his meditative manner instantly.
"I surmise you wish to buy one of my wares?" He said with a grave expression and a courteous voice that didn't betray a hint of enthusiasm.
"Actually, I didn't. I am just a traveler visiting the shop," she said, causing the man to arch his eyebrows in curiosity. "Are you the owner of the shop?"
"Yes," he spoke, in the cautious, calculated tone of someone that had to be careful about what he said. "I am David Winthorn, creator and seller of the essence of love." He looked at Kino, and added: "are you sure you don't want any?"
"I'm not interested in that right now. I just came here to see the shop," and with that she passed her eyes over the somber room that completely lacked any decorations. "It looks like you're very successful."
"I try my best," he said, still looking at Kino in a curious manner.
"Mr. Winthorn wants to see you, Miss!" whispered the innkeeper excitedly. Kino rubbed her eyes and looked back at the young girl who was barely constraining her joy. Her eyes were shinning and she still held a small vial with a vivid red liquid inside.
"In the middle of the night? Can't it wait until tomorrow?" yawned Kino.
"He said it was urgent, Miss! You shouldn't leave him down there waiting, Miss!" The innkeeper replied quickly, gripping the bottle even more fiercely as if she was afraid of someone taking it away.
"Well, tell him to wait a moment while I get ready," decided Kino after a moment of hesitation. The girl giggled and agreed, sprinting off after the door had closed. Meanwhile, Kino had a thoughtful expression in her distant, sad eyes.
"Wait for me, Hermes. I'll be back as soon as I can."
"Thank you for coming to my shop in such an inappropriate hour. It is terribly important, you see," he muttered. He was walking so fast Kino had a hard time following him and he kept rubbing his hands and thrusting them back in his pockets. "I could not possibly discuss it in front of anyone. Then again, I need to tell you. It is terribly important. My shop is the perfect place. It is safe."
Kino remained in silence as he talked and gestured nervously. They hurried through the streets, which were empty save for a few couples that were enjoying the night and each other's company. They arrived at the shop that looked even darker at night and were soon inside. The owner silently closed the door and locked it before looking at Kino with an anxious, intense expression.
"You must know that… I have no wife, right?" He carefully asked.
"Winthorn, I'm sorry, but…"
"Come inside. I have never shown this room to anyone, but there is something you must see," He interrupted. He took another key from his pocket and unlocked a sturdy door in the back of the shop. Kino entered, masking her own anxiousness with a calm face. The room was filled with glass containers and a stone well had been built in the middle of the room. "This is the room where I make the love bottles," explained Winthorn. Suddenly he turned and grabbed Kino's coat. Her hand flew to her gun.
"Traveler, please answer me. Have you ever seen somebody fall in love without the aid of one of my bottles?"
"They are only colored water?" asked Kino with disbelief in her expression and in her voice. The owner of the most famous shop in the country nodded and laughed madly.
"I only mix some water with a little seed that has a very bright color. But I know it has no effects. I've seen another country use it for seasoning," he chuckled, holding his head close to his knees. "I had no money. I thought I could get some quick cash. But they said it worked. It really worked. And people started buying and buying and…" he started laughing hysterically, his hands shaking as tears ran down his face.
"Stop it," she remarked with firmness, yet calmly. His laughter subsided and he looked down in embarrassment.
"Sorry," he wiped his face. "But it's terrible. I can't fall in love with anybody. I always keep wondering… Is she really in love with me? Is it just the fake love I gave her? Is there any other kind of love? Which one's the truest? Which one's the best?" He looked at Kino, and repeated with the same wretched expression:
"Traveler, please answer me. Have you ever seen somebody fall in love without the aid of one of my bottles?"
"I don't know," Kino hesitated. "After all, how can you know if other people are in love or not? And how do we even know what love really is?"
His face showed surprise, sadness and cruel disappointment .He turned his back to her and said "I see."
"But…" Kino continued, in a thoughtful tone "But I really like traveling. Whenever I see a different country in the horizon I feel a thrill of curiosity inside me. When I have to sleep in my tent I still love the freedom I feel. And whenever I see a bird…" her voice paused, before continuing: "…I remember why I'm on a journey. I like meeting people. I like seeing the different customs of each country. I like reflecting on the things I have seen. I like making poems at night. I like riding Hermes." David Winthorn was looking at her with an awe-filled expression, mouth slightly open. She smiled and said: "I would like to see more of this beautiful world."
The next day Kino was again rudely awakened by someone knocking rapidly on the door of her room. It was already morning, but Kino still felt sleepy as she opened the door again.
"There she is!"
"Yes, that's the one! I've seen her walking with Mr. Winthorn to his shop yesterday evening!"
"She'd better explain this to us!"
"I can't believe this is happening!"
These phrases, and many others, greeted Kino as she opened the door, each coming from a different person that had gathered at her door. "Excuse me," she asked, scratching her head. "But what are all of you doing here? Did something happen?"
"Traveler," began the innkeeper with a worried expression "What happened between you and Mr. Winthorn? He left the country today and there was a note fixed on his door. It said he was leaving on a journey! What happened?!"
"I don't know. I had no idea about that," she replied, truthfully since after those last words he had just let her go without uttering another word.
"She's lying! She did something to him!"
"How come he's leaving the country right after she met him, eh?"
"And what about us? What are we gonna do if our love supply runs out?"
Kino stared at the confused, angry mob and stated: "I don't know anything about all this. Wouldn't it be better if you went to the shop to see if he left some kind of recipe or instruction?"
These words took a little time to sink in the crowd, but had a violent effect once they did. Everybody left the inn hallway immediately and ran outside, stepping over each other and racing as fast as they could to their destiny. Kino, left alone once again, closed the door and turned her motorad. "We'd better get out of here quickly, Hermes."
"What was all that, Kino?"
"One of the dangers of traveling, Hermes."
Kino was traveling once again, and the wind was sweeping across her hair as the morning air greeted her. She saw someone walking down the road further along. As she got closer, she confirmed who he was, and slowed down before stopping.
"Traveler. So we meet again," greeted David, shifting the weight of his backpack and smiling.
"So you really left. I'm surprised." smiled Kino, before being interrupted by Hermes:
"Hey, mister, you should be more careful the next time. We almost got into trouble back there."
"Did someone do anything to you?" asked the new traveler anxiously.
"What do you think will happen to your country?" Kino asked in turn, her face back to a thoughtful expression.
"I left the recipe inside my shop. If they will find out that it's useless or if they'll still believe in it I don't know." He said shrugging. "But I haven't thanked you properly. I really owe it all to you." He looked at some mountains at a distance and smiled. "I want to find out what different kinds of love exist out there."
"Is this your first time traveling?"
"Well…" his voice faltered as he scratched his head with an apologetic smile on his face. Kino opened one of her pockets and tossed him a few white packets.
"These are traveling rations. Eat them as a last resort, since they don't spoil. Be careful as you travel," she said, starting the engine of her motorad once again.
"Thank you. Good luck with your travel," replied David.
And he watched as Traveler and Motorad accelerated and grew smaller and smaller, until they seemed just a distant dot in that endless road.