REVISED: 13 January 2019

2. Under Snowdrops

-;-

One week later…

It was already dusk and the place has been colder than ever. Throughout the day, not a single ray of sunlight touched his pale skin. He glanced out the large window of Winter Palace and noticed the white sky turned into bluish black. Ivan needed to go home as soon as possible. He was completely aware of the weather forecast that a dangerous blizzard will strike tonight.

His workmates waved him goodbye as he made his cue to leave. He cannot wait to go home and drink vodka after he attended a three-hour meeting about Syrian refugees. What a nerve of them to commit crimes in Russia even if the citizens let them stay in open arms. Those scavengers should know their lessons and their place in the society.

With a relief sigh, he found his car and went inside. His hands on steering wheel as he drove away from the gates of Winter Palace. He could not help not to admire the view of Saint Petersburg from the car window. From architecture to the streets and to the landscape design, everything was breath taking. It was already 2016 but its beauty did not fade after all these years.

The streets were empty and only a few cars passed by. Along the absence people, the whole place was covered in silence. From the white mist of winter was a small visible figure near the gates of another building. Curiosity took him in and now, he found himself driving towards it.

He stopped and was surprised to see a woman with a smartphone and monopod in hand. Her face filled with delight as she looked around her surroundings and Ivan could tell that she was not more than 15 years of age. She was dressed in a white coat that matched the white ushanka with a creamy pink scarf draped around her neck. Why she takes selfie in the middle of blizzard target-potential-street, Ivan had no idea.

Maybe she was not aware of the weather forecast today…

…Or maybe she was just stupid.

He had no intention to disturb her selfie business, but he felt that he needed to warn her about the climate. Immediately, he stepped out of his car and she gave him an alert, wide-eyed look in return.

He was about to say a word, but the girl almost drop her smartphone. Luckily, he was quick enough to catch it.

She muttered a small "thanks" and looked up to him. At that moment, Ivan noticed how short she was, her head only reached his elbow and the coat she was wearing was obviously big for her small body. Rarely did he encounter Russians to be so small like her…

'A foreigner!' he realised.

"Miss, are you aware of the blizzard that will occur tonight?" He asked in a deep tone. He never intended to frighten her as he quickly noticed how she flinched on her place when he spoke.

"I… I… I do not know about it. Was blizzard so bad?" the girl answered shyly.

'Oh, what a stupid question', he thought and rolled his eyes. "You haven't encountered blizzard before?"

"Well, today was my first day in Russia and this was my first snow experience. I was really delighted to see all these white stuffs falling down from the sky!" she exclaimed and surprisingly, she positioned herself next to him, pulled out her smartphone and he realised that the odd foreigner wanted to take a selfie with him.

"You wouldn't mind this, do you?" she happily said and made a 'peace' hand sign while he, on the other hand, only looked at the camera with a blank stare. She finally pressed the capture button and Ivan saw how awkward they looked in the picture.

'What the hell was that for?' Ivan thought. This foreigner was probably the oddest one he encountered in his existence! Noticing her pale lips, he shook his head and said…

"It's getting colder and it will be the best for you to go home… to whatever hotel you're staying…" he commented as he made a distance towards them.

"Well yeah, you are right. Thank you for informing, I was really unaware about this blizzard thing, how silly of me…" She replied but a horror was suddenly shown in her face as she looked around her surroundings. "I... I… I…" her voice trembling.

"You what?"

"I think I'm lost! I do not know how to get back to the hotel! Arrgghh I think I need to check google maps…" she hastily said but… "Not now, you stupid one!" she cried and Ivan noticed the screen went dead black. "Damn it! My battery drained!"

Oh, what a great situation, Ivan could not help not to laugh at her.

"Is there anything funny, Mr. Tall Guy?" the girl commented in an annoyed tone.

Ivan did not mean to offend her by any means. Looking back at her, Ivan realised that he really have no other choice but to help her.

"Get inside my car." He said and again, she gave him an alert look. Oh, does this foreigner think he is so dangerous? "I'm not going to harm you, little girl. Tell me the name of the hotel you're staying and I'll drop you there."

She was staring at him in awe.

"If you don't want me to help you, I understand." Ivan added. Frankly, who would trust a stranger anyway? "But I don't want to hear a news next day; broadcasting about a foreigner lost in this city or perhaps murdered by some serial killers or frozen to death by a blizzard."

"Okay." Was all she can answer and Ivan opened the car door for her.

Inside the vehicle, she informed him that she was currently staying in Astoria Hotel and the drive from Winter Palace will take 20 minutes. For a few moments, both of them did not say anything. Ivan almost chuckled at the idea of a cute stranger in his car, a woman in his car. And along with that thought, he suddenly remembered the excerpt from the East Asian book he was reading yesterday.

How weird…

"What is your name, Mr. Tall guy?" the girl asked softly, breaking away the silence.

"Ivan." He answered as he stopped the car, following the red light street signal. He looked at her quickly and realised that she was simply beautiful. She has tan skin that looks like summer had recently passed. Her dark hair was wet from the melting snow and her eyes matched the colour of her locks. "And you?" he asked.

"I'm Maria." She replied and smiled. "And you live here in Saint Petersburg?"

He only nodded and drove again.

The short trip was not really boring as Maria continuously asked him with silly questions like:

*'Is it true that Russians drink vodka all the time?'

*'Is it true that there are bears roaming the street?'

*'Is it true that all Russians could not get over communism and your national hero is a man called Lenin?'

*'Is it true that Russian men are all drunkards who could beat their wives?'

He laughed at how innocent she sounds now. Ivan concluded that Maria probably reads all these silly stereotypes in the internet, but he only answered, "Lies."

"I see, well, I thought it was really true! I almost believed on all of it, especially the beating-the-wife part! There was an American game I played before and the villain was a Russian man. Guess what, he beat the poor lady in the story!" Maria explained.

Ivan sighed. Those American media should stop making Russians look so bad! Suddenly, he thought about his wife, Georgia. He emotionally distressed her, yes, but he never sank so low to physically hurt her.

They can now see the hotel and Ivan was somehow disappointed that she has to go now. After all, he actually enjoyed his little time with her.

She removed the seatbelt and was about to open the door, "Mr. Ivan…" she paused and this time, blushing, "Thank you."

He only gave her a nod and a small smile in return. Immediately, she stepped out of his car and shut the door closed. Ivan watched her small figure went to the entry of the hotel. He could tell that she looked back at him one last time before going inside.

She looked very familiar, he was certain of it. He could not quite remember when and where he saw her. He should have asked where she came from or what she was doing in Saint Petersburg. There were so many questions in Ivan's mind and suddenly, he felt the desire of a woman's company… preferably, the mysterious stranger Maria.

Their meeting was an unexpected one and Ivan doubted that he will see her again.

He drove away from the gates of the hotel and with a smile escaped his lips; Ivan wondered if someday, he would meet her again.

End of Chapter


Author's Note: Ushanka - is a Russian fur cap with earflaps that can be tied up to the crown of the cap, or fastened at the chin to protect the ears, jaw and lower chin from the cold. The dense fur also offers some protection against blunt impacts to the head.