I gave her door a quick, light knock and entered the room. And stopped in my tracks when I noticed her eyes were wide open, smiling at me just like her lips did.

"I'm glad you came back," she whispered. I lied down next to her. I couldn't believe it. Was it really happening? Had she finally accepted me as her man?

"I've just had a horrible nightmare." She hid her face in my chest. Oh. So that's what you meant.

I sighed, wrapped my arms around her and stroked her forehead and hair, the way I used to when she was a kid. There was no way in hell I'd force my little angel into anything. Ever.

"I'm so happy to have you in my life," she mumbled affectionately.

'...Brother', I mentally added. She's right. It's always good to have one.

Alright, then. Brother and sister. If that is what you want, so be it. I'll find a way to live with it.


I had an early morning meeting. When I got back, she wasn't in the house anymore. She left me a meal in the fridge and a note that she wasn't getting back before late evening. I knew it was just a note, but something about it felt strangely cheerful. And her food was just exquisite. I gathered she must be happy.

The time had come to take care of my own happiness.


It was getting dark, so I aimed for the bathroom to shower and get myself ready. Once I got out again to find some clothes, I realized the earlier light rain had turned into a rather violent storm. It made me think of Eva, how, on such nights, she would often sneak into my room, asking whether she could sleep by my side. Like I would ever say no to her.

What if she gets scared tonight as well, but nobody's here to reassure her?

Whatever. She's an adult now, I concluded. Time to learn to face her own fears and problems. As for me, I need a woman. Tonight.

I was glad to find out that I hadn't lost anything of my skills. Before too long, I was getting home with a cutie by each side. They laughed and clutched me close, a naughty touch here, a burning kiss there. I guided them to my room. As we got upstairs, the girls stopped in their tracks.

Eva was standing at my door. Even though it was February, she only had a rather light nightgown on. I thought she had to be cold, but by then, I'd already given up any hope of understanding her logic.

The girls looked at her, then at me.

"What's wrong with you, ladies?" I laughed. "Did a cat get your tongues? Won't you say hi to my little sister?"

"Hi!" they exclaimed in unison, relaxed again.

Eva said nothing. I gave her a begging look. Please don't ruin this, I silently implored.

"Hello and good night! Have fun with brother!" she sang and watched us disappear in my room.

That was close. Wait, was that lipstick on her mouth? I blinked. Of course not. She doesn't even know what that is. She probably just spent her evening stuffing herself with the raspberry candies she liked so much. Or whatever. I didn't really give it a lot of thought. I had better things to do. Like the two beautiful women undressing each other on my bed.


It was indeed a long, long night – I had two years and three months to catch up on. Girls left at dawn; they were sore. Needless to say I was sorer.

The day was just as stormy as the one before, so I stayed in bed a bit longer. At around four in the afternoon, I finally got out of my room, treated myself to a full English, showered, then retreated to the office to deal with some easy paperwork. The sound of rain was slowly cradling me, making my eyelids grow still heavier. Until a resolute knock on the door woke me up.

She didn't even wait for a reply, just marched directly in.

"Morning, sweetheart." I smiled.

"Good evening, brother," she replied coldly and slapped a bunch of sheets on my desk.

"Yeah, evening," I admitted and laughed. She didn't laugh with me. I thought a bad thing must have happened, that it probably had to do something with the mail she'd just brought in. I glanced at it and blinked. Divorce papers.

I wasn't blind. I knew there were problems. But a divorce? A divorce?!

I thought it was a joke. Or her way of asking for attention. I mentally mocked her. Then, conscious she truly meant it, I tried to talk to her. She told me it was too late to talk. That things weren't working out from the beginning and there was no way they would now.

So I simply refused to sign. Said I'd do anything to show her I cared, all she had to do was ask.

"Sign it," she asked.

I signed.

This is ridiculous. It isn't over, this isn't goodbye, I thought as I watched her do her bags. Once she was done, I loaded them into my car. The least I could do was give her a ride.

"On second thoughts, I've always preferred travelling light," she said, turned around and started on feet.

I wasn't going to beg her. But the whole thing just didn't feel right.

"Eva." I took a hold of her shoulder. She walked on. "Společně -"

"No, Czechia," she interrupted without even looking back at me. She never called me that name. "It's better this way."

I didn't insist.

So, this is it. This is how you leave me after more than a millennium together. No hug, no "thank you for everything", not even "bye bye". I'm not shit to you, am I?

Of course I'm not. But it was easier to stay by my side until you come of age. I was a good bodyguard, wasn't I? Be that as it may, you're big now, so go your own way. Live your own life. Be a sovereign country. Whatever.

I watched her disappear on the horizon, walking tall through the falling rain. She walked all the way from Prague to Bratislava, then toured her place.

Lightning strikes our mighty Tatras tempest shaken

Lightning strikes our mighty Tatras tempest shaken

Stand we fast friends of mine

storms will pass, sun will shine

Slovaks shall awaken.

I heard her chant the song I'd written for her decades ago. Her children sang along.

She wasn't afraid of the storm anymore.


I went through denial, then got caught up in a long angry phase.

She struggled with the political aspect of our separation. No wonder – she didn't have that much experience as a sovereign state. I could have mentored her, but I didn't. I let her deal with her own shit, so she'd realize what being independent truly meant.

She tried to make up with me – I didn't answer her calls, refused to see her, limited our business meetings to minimum. Sometimes, when we ran into each other, I'd just pretend I didn't see her or say I was busy. And she went on trying.

Until, all of a sudden, I came to terms with it all. She'd grown up and fighting for independence was natural at that age. That's what I was trying to teach her the whole time, wasn't I? I shouldn't have borne a grudge; I should have been proud.

So we fixed things. Made peace and toasted to our respective futures. She even helped me find lovers for the night. She convinced me that, maybe one day, I would fully forgive her.

Months later, I was about to receive a few visitors, so I decided to clean up the guest room a little bit. As I entered, I realized Eva must have slept there on her last night in the house. I shrugged and bent over to empty the bin.

The first thing I noticed was plenty, plenty of crumpled paper tissues. Some were fragile as if previously damped, some covered with lipstick stains. I caught a glimpse of something else right beneath. I removed all the handkerchiefs and retrieved some lacy tissue. It turned out to be feminine underwear. Fine lingerie, deep green with a leaf pattern, a bit of a see-through, nothing vulgar, just enough to tickle a man's imagination. I reached deeper inside the bin. At the bottom lied a matching silk nightgown. The one I saw her wearing that night.

And it hit me right between the eyes.

She loved me. She always had. And not just as a brother.

Back when she was fifteen and I explained all about sex, she asked me whether I was a respectful lover. She already liked the idea of making love with me. She just needed to grow up a bit. So, however unwillingly, she accepted that, in the meantime, I'd see other women.

On the night of our third wedding, she waited for me in my bed. To tell me I already had her heart and that now, she'd like me to have her body, too. But I spent the night with someone else, then got home and collapsed next to her, hungover and smelling of the person she liked the least.

It was only understandable that she decided to test me when we got back together in 1989. She took her time and she had every right to do so. Until she started to trust me again. And that day, in her eyes, I became the worthy first lover I'd told her about decades ago.

She bought lovely clothes, made herself pretty and waited for me to get home. To show me how she truly felt about me. To seduce me. Give me her innocence and everything else she had.

And I entered the house with two strangers, aiming straight for my room. Which was next to hers. I didn't even show her enough respect to do those two somewhere else.

Our bed, our house, our love - I tainted them all. Irreversibly. No wonder the next day, she left.

Eva gives lots of people a chance. But just one. Per lifetime.

Few are those who got a second one.

I, Hynek Kučera, was lucky enough to get three. And I've blown them all.

This wasn't about politics, economy, power or money. She couldn't care less about those things. This was all about her pride that had got seriously hurt. And her heart that I'd smashed to pieces. For the third time. She decided three was all she could take.

I buried my face in the nightgown (I didn't dare touch the underwear). Her smell still lingered on it.

And, for the first time in centuries, I allowed myself to cry.


1st January 1993. The first day of the two of us being officially single. We had a few announcements to make before starting the celebration. I walked outside to get some fresh air.

I can't quite tell how I knew. The place had changed so much. But there was something so familiar all around... The way the ground felt under my feet. The way the wind brushed against my face. The way the leafless trees stood there, recognizing me from the stories of their grandfathers. It was there that I first met her.

She was in charge of picking a spot for today. Though it might be just a coincidence, I thought as I entered the little that was still left of the forest.

"Looking for the berries?" a gentle voice from behind my back teased.

No coincidence, then.

I didn't turn around. I would have burst into tears for sure.

"They have been long extinct now, you know?" She walked over. I still couldn't face her.

"I've never thanked you for saving my life back then," I said to the mushy snow wetting my shoes.

"Well, you've been saving mine ever since."

She reached out to adjust my tie, then raised my chin. Our eyes locked for a while. We both had our military uniforms on. She looked so beautiful and unreachable, the way she'd always looked to me. The only woman I had ever truly wanted; the only one I could never have.

"What is it?" She smiled. There was so much I wanted to say, but I just didn't find the words.

"Nothing." I shook my head, smiling back. "Just that… that I'm so proud of you. I'm so proud of what you've become."

"Well, as I said, I would never be here today if it weren't for you. So be proud of both of us."

She hugged me. I hugged back. We both did it as delicately as possible, careful not to break that fragile line between the brother and the sister we now were. Once she couldn't see, a lone tear ran down my cheek. I didn't bother wiping those off anymore. One day, time would dry them all.

"You're right. I am. I'm proud of both of us," I whispered in her ear. She chuckled sweetly.

"And the best is yet to come!"


-THE END-


(Alternative ending in next chapter)