REVISED: 13 January 2019

3. Unexpected Meeting

-;-

New York, United States of America

"I can't believe this!" cried by a man as he slammed the newspaper on the mahogany table. America was outraged as he read that China have announced an alliance with his little sister - his little innocent sister. She did not seem to realise how this nation was so manipulative like its ally, Russia. As he read, it mentioned that she have informally broke the alliance with the United States of America… and he cannot let the fact sink in.

Alfred F. Jones, the human name of America is prominent for saving people as long as he can, whether they matter to him or not. The idea of peace always fascinates him and most nations worship his generous deeds.

But was he really good enough knowing that his sister is currently rebelling against him?

Well, he admitted that it was his fault; he should never have made her feel like a bird locked inside a cage. Day by day, she was growing up and so was her desire for freedom. However, Alfred would not allow her to be on her own yet. She still lacks a lot of knowledge to be a fully independent nation.

He looked at the skyscrapers through the large curtain wall as he recalled the last time he spent with her. It happened a month ago, but the memory is still clear. He was dressed in black pants and a thin cotton shirt while a soft caress of wind brushed against his skin. He was alone with her, watching the waves reached the shore as the sun disappeared below the horizon.

Alfred observed the way she traced her fingers in the sand and how her eyes stared blankly at the ground. She has never been so quiet and he knew something was troubling her. With a heavy sigh, he touched her shoulder...

"What's the matter? Ate a fish with a seed of sadness?" He joked out but she did not respond. "Oh fish doesn't have seeds, what a crappy joke I made."

"Brother…" She said softly as her hands fidgeting the hem of her skirt. The wind caressed her dark hair, hiding half of her face from his view. "I want freedom…"

"What do you mean?" He answered, confused. "You're already free."

"I'm not! You always questioned my decisions as if you don't trust me!" she cried and the air between them tensed. "I also don't understand why you don't want me to be acquaintances with your enemies! You always told me that they're dangerous, but who tries to approach them often? YOU!"

He understands her reasons, he was so overprotective that he failed to realise that he was controlling her.

"Maria, I just want to ensure your safety. Please stop being selfish." He said. After all, it was the real reason.

This time she stood up and was nearly crying, "Wow, me, selfish? Brother, who travels around the world trying to save everyone like a hero?" she paused and pointed her finger at him. "And after saving them, he will make others feel like they need to pay the debt of gratitude?"

What the hell?

"This is a misunderstanding! I have never treated anyone like that, especially you my sister!" he yelled and saw how she trembled. Sighs, he never meant to scare her.

Therefore, he put both his hands on her shoulders and looked straight into her eyes, "Maria, please stop this childish behaviour and let's go back inside."

"No!" she pushed him away, "From now on, you will never command me again!"

This time, his patience snapped.

"Then fine, be it! I should have never kept you under my wing and stepped on this messed up place and…"

Before he could continue, she slapped him and muttered, "Are you trying to say I'm just an eyesore?"

Was he? Alfred admitted that he never wanted her in the first place. It was all force; she was only a part of the treaty when Spain lost against him. However, he grew to love her as the years passed by. She had shown him nothing other than kindness and respect, something that Alfred was grateful for.

"You're no different from my father…" she said and walked away.

Shaking the unpleasant memory away, Alfred looked at the picture of Yao and Maria from the newspaper. Their hands held and raised together as if they were forming a sign of victory. A grin could be seen in Yao's face while Maria smiles shyly at the camera. Alfred felt a sharp pain in his chest along the guilt on his conscience. She never belonged to him anymore.

Quickly, he crumpled and tossed it on the fireplace and watched the paper slowly burn into pieces - until it was nothing. Looking at the flames, he swore under his breath that this time he would do everything to have her back.

-;-

Bright city lights and joyful Christmas songs filled the busy shopping district in Saint Petersburg.

Ivan has never been a fan of shopping like most men. He remembered how his previous wife, Tamar Eristavi (Georgia's human name) spent almost three boring hours just to buy a single pair of red heels. He recalled how upset she was that leads to no communication for three days – all because he refused to accompany her for the damn shopping.

He walked faster and groaned as he quickly glanced at his surroundings. Several couples were kissing under the gentle fall of snow, parents were holding the hands of their children as they walked, several people were hanging out in large group date and the irritating sight was like a message, telling him that he was single.

Yes, he never tried to date anyone since Tamar divorced him three years ago. He has been alone for too long that Yao began to crack some jokes that he might not be so appealing to women anymore. Truth to be told, Ivan could not count how many women have offered themselves to him. He has just begun to like being single in some sort of degree.

He was now focused on finding a clothing store. He will need to buy a new apparel for an important meeting tomorrow. He will finally meet the new interested ally Yao has been talking about and knowing that she is an Asian woman, (Yao won't specify her country) the first thing that Ivan wanted to do was to look good.

Walking on the large alleyway, he saw a familiar figure in the souvenir shop. The figure seems to belong from a short woman who was having an argument with the shop owner. Curious, Ivan quickly went inside.

"I really want to buy this, I can pay for double price!" a teenage girl said in a very frustrated voice. "It was so unfair that you sold a similar item to another tourist earlier!"

"I'm sorry Miss, I told you more than five times that this is the last stock we have and it's already reserved for a French tourist!" the male shop owner said as he was holding an exclusive Orthodox Christmas design of matryoshka dolls. "Just to another shop if you don't have anything to say, I have more customers to entertain!" he added.

The girl was about to reply but instead, she just walked with a heavy heart towards the exit. Ivan immediately recognised her melodious voice and the pink scarf she was wearing.

'Maria?' he thought.

Ivan immediately followed her outside and luckily, he quickly caught her wrist.

She looked back and her face filled with surprise, "Mr. Tall guy?" she said, perplexed. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask the same to you." He replied, still not letting go of her wrist. "Maria, it was so nice to see you again."

She chuckled at the thought, "Certainly! And seeing you at least diminish my annoyance to that rude shop owner!"

"There are more souvenir shops around here if you really want to buy dolls. But take note that Russians are not the warmest people you'll meet…" Ivan paused and realised he was still holding her wrist. Awkwardly, he quickly dropped it and saw her blushed. "You're alone, Maria?"

"Obviously yeah…" she said and looked up to his towering figure, "And you?"

Ivan only nodded as an answer.

A rumbling sound came from her stomach and a manly laugh escaped from his lips. She blushed and quickly apologised. He quickly scanned her, and well… her beauty does not resemble any supermodels, but Ivan could tell - she was really cute like most Asian girls! Noticing his short and petite figure, Ivan patted her hair.

"What was that for?" she commented and touched her hair.

"We're both alone and I think it's cool that we run into each other again." he answered and felt an urge to pat her head once more but decided to keep his hands in his pockets. "Do you mind to join me? I'm hungry and dinner's on me."

For a moment, Maria thinks about the situation. She was clearly aware of "stranger danger" but Ivan seems to be a nice person. He saved warned her about the blizzard and dropped her home last night. And it seems so wrong to decline an invitation from a handsome Russian guy!

"Okay." She answered and nodded. Maria blushed extremely at the thought of hanging out with him with so many couples around them, it was like a... date?

Ivan turned his back on her and led the path, she followed.

-;-

Maria felt her heart racing. She never imagined that her first travel in Russia would turn out so good. No, 'good' is not the right word to describe it. More like, 'great' and 'amazing'.

He was so intimidating; Maria felt the butterflies inside her stomach as he offered her to have a seat in some sort of fancy restaurant which the name she could not read. Suddenly, a blonde waitress came, offering them two menu books. Maria could tell how she was struggling not to glare at her. Well, sharing a table with a handsome man, she could not blame her anyway!

Quickly grabbing the menu and scanning the pages, she could not concentrate on choosing what to eat. She glanced at her plain clothes and simple hairdo; she became conscious and began to wonder what he thinks of her.

"Have you chosen now?" Ivan asked her. "You should taste Beef Stroganoff or Chicken Kiev; these are my favourites."

"I'll just order the same as yours." Maria answered shyly. She does not know what to choose anyway…

Ivan turned to waitress, "Two plates of Chicken Kiev, put extra sauce on top and two glasses of vodka."

Immediately, the waitress quickly wrote their orders in a small piece of paper and walked away. This time, they are alone and she felt his violet eyes on her. Neither of them said a word to each other, only a romantic violin music filled the silence between them. Oh, if it is not so cold in this country, Maria swore under her breath that she will melt right now…

"So… how do you find Saint Petersburg?" Ivan asked, initiating the conversation.

"I think it's beautiful." She said. "One of the most beautiful cities I have visited so far…"

"And how old are you? Are you travelling alone?"

"I'm already 17…" she replied, a blushed rose from cheeks. "And I'm with my friend when I travelled here, but he decided to leave me alone, he had some business to do here." She added.

The blonde waitress approached them once again and gently put their meals on the table and left. Maria watched him fill their glasses with vodka and offered the latter to her. Toasting their wines together, they both drank the liquid and felt an immense heat flowed inside her body.

"I never thought you were 17 honestly, I thought you were 15. He should never leave you; it's dangerous for young ladies to travel alone in a foreign country." Ivan commented and started to consume his meal.

She began to ask questions while they ate. She learnt that he was already 26-year-old man who has many experiences in military services. After eating their meals, they both shopped together. She helped him choose new clothing while he helped her buy some souvenirs. It was a long night and now they are walking in the large parking area of the shopping district.

They only know each other for a day, but Maria felt a connection with him. Ivan looks achingly familiar, she felt she saw him somewhere, but she could not quite remember when.

It was past 12am and he offered to drive her home again. She laid her head comfortably on the head of the driver's seat while her brown eyes watched the city lights glowed like an abstract light from the tinted glass of window car. She was already tired; she cannot wait to go back to her hotel room and sleep.

However, part of her do not want this night to end. To Maria, his company was different from what she experienced from other people. He was a reserved person, he rarely cracks jokes and his mysterious demeanour caught her interest. She was aware that he was already an adult; he probably has a wife anyway. But does it really matter, it was just a harmless crush anyway.

Oh, how she wish that the road is endless so she could be by his side a bit longer… Maria giggled at her thoughts.

Ivan looked at her, wondering what was amusing. 'This girl is really odd', he thought.

"We're already here." Ivan said and stopped the vehicle in front of the hotel.

"Thanks Ivan, I had fun with you today." Maria said and quickly grabbed her belongings. Her hand began to shake as she opened the door. Before she could leave, he quickly grabbed her hand and she found herself facing him.

"Maria, I want to know…" he paused, sounded nervous, "when will you leave Russia?"

"I'll leave the day after tomorrow." she replied.

He did not say anything in return and let her go.

"But Mr. Tall guy…" she paused and grabbed her smartphone from her pocket, "I really wanted to keep in touch with you, maybe someday, we'll see each other again…"

He nodded and they both exchanged their smartphones and typed their contact numbers.

Before leaving, she said, "Be well."

End of Chapter