Today Alina knew she was going to meet her soulmate.
She felt it in her fingertips, down to her soul, she could feel his name tattooed on her skin in invisible ink. That morning Alina didn't go to work like usual. Instead she did something she never expected to. Something on complete impulse, based on nothing but a hunch
Feeling a red thread being tied around her finger, she took several buses, taking a route out of town for hours, feeling something calling her. Catching buses out of the bustling city into the fields of Ravka she followed the calling.
Somewhere he was waiting for her, and she was going to find him.
When Aleksander opened his eyes in his dirty motel room he felt like he needed to go some where. Something was calling to him. Without a plan or a map he jumped on his motorbike, riding up the winding roads of Ravka, at the fastest speed he could.
Somewhere near Os Alta she was waiting for him, he knew it.
He had slept in that hard motel bed, his dream showing him the back of a girl with long brown hair, he didn't get a chance to see her face or ask her name, but there was a red thread tired between them. She was his soul mate.
He traveled up the roads, his bike kicking up dust upon his black pants making him feel a sense of annoyance as his clothes got dirty. He wanted to look presentable for her even is he had no idea who she was.
After several hours, Alina felt herself getting off another bus that stopped by an Inn. She wanted to keep going, keep traveling to him, but her feet were getting sore and there were no more buses passing through the highway. She was exhausted an expedition that had started in the early morning had now taken her to somewhere far from Os Alta in the Ravkan countryside. It was the evening and Alina could hear crickets chirping in the grass around her.
She hung her head - she'd have to stop or today and rest. Walking inside the lonely Inn, she ordered a drink, to settle her rattling nerves.
There was no doubt in her mind she was going to loose her job. Alina worked full-time as a waitress, taking orders and passing trays in the restaurant over sixty hours a week, and only just making rent every week.
Her only friends had their own lives and most of the time Alina was on her own, just working, and sleeping, then she wakes up and everything repeats all over again. Work, wake, sleep, work, wake, sleep, work, wake, sleep.
It was draining.
Then today when she woke up she had a dream. A man with his back turned to her, a thread tied between them. She didn't know who he was, but she knew she had to see him. So instead of working the moment she got up she ran away.
Whoever he was she had to meet him.
Aleksander's bike ran out of gas somewhere past Ryevost, forcing him to walk it up side the roads, until he could feel his feet hurting in his boots. But the pain didn't stop him, nor did the weight of his motorbike. He kept walking and walking, the thought of meeting her keeping him going.
He spent everyday on the road, traveling with no purpose. He figured he'd just die someday with no one remembering him but his grizzly old mother. Outside of his mother he had no friends or family, no one who loved him or cared about being around him.
Everyone found Aleksander creepy, his like for the dark, and the colour black, the fact he rode a motorcycle. People's first impressions of Aleksander were always negative. Not that he cared much, Aleksander had stopped caring about other peoples and their opinions. He'd given up on feeling anything from anyone, until he dreamt of her.
Whoever she was, he had to meet her.
Hours ticked on as Alina sat at the back of the empty bar. Even the bartender had disappeared. She'd already paid for a room, but she couldn't move, her eyes focused on the windows. Looking out at the road ahead of her, something was telling her to wait.
Aleksander kept walking with his bike at his side. Occasionally cars passed him, but he ignored them. Someone had even offered him a ride, but he didn't want to abandon his bike so he declined and kept walking by himself.
The hours kept ticking past as Alina waited impatiently.
Eventually an Inn came in sight, Aleksander could feel that that he was getting closer to her.
Alina felt her heart skip, she got to her feet and opened the Inns doors, looking out at the road, seeing someone walking in the distance. Her heart was pounding, as she began running into the night.
Aleksander saw her. He abandoned his bike, and helmet by the road and began running.
They both stood face to face looking into each others eyes, both of them gasping for air. Too afraid to talk, scared they were still dreaming.
"Are you…" Alina began.
Aleksander felt his heart pounding, his mind swimming in her voice.
"Are you real?" She asked.
"Yes." Aleksander managed to say.
Alina stepped forward, placing her hand on his cheek. He gave her the most beautiful smile,
"What's your name?" He asked kindly.
"Alina," She answered. "What's your name?"
"Aleksander," He said.
"Aleksander," She echoed. His name sounded perfect. Aleksadner, That was the name of the person in her dream. This was the man she was meant to meet, this was the person she had to find. Aleksander.
"Alina." Aleksander rasped, pulling Alina into an embrace,"I'm so glad to have finally met you."
He held Alina tightly not wanting to let her go.
Aleksander filled his bike with gas at the station, outside the Inn parking it and then coming up to Alina's room as they began to talk.
"Where are you from?" Aleksander asked as he drank some milk from the rooms fridge.
"I was born in Keramzin. I grew up in an orphanage," Alina said while sitting on the bed. "What about you?"
"I'm from a small town down south." Aleksander said.
"What's your family like?" Alina asked.
"I never knew my father. It was always me and my mother. Yourself?"
"It was always me and Mal."
"Mal?"
"He's a friend…"
Alina felt a sense of anxiety rise inside her. She was worried that Aleksander would get the wrong idea. That she was in love with Mal, or that her feelings for him were more than a short lived childhood crush, and that she grew out of any feelings she had for him.
"It's good to have friends," Aleksander said. He threw the empty carton in the bin and settled next to Alina on the bed, watching the television. His eyes looked distant as he glowered.
"I have a few back in Os Alta! There's Mal, Genya, Tamar, Tolya, David and Nikolai!" Alina intentionally avoided mentioning Zoya. Though they had been friends for the longest time, Alina often struggled seeing eye to eye with her due to her attitude.
"You have quite a lot of friends." Aleksander said, sounding impressed.
"I'm only close with Mal and Genya. I grew up with Mal. Genya I met her through acting classes!"
"You went to acting classes?"
"Briefly. I wanted to be an actress, but I was always too clumsy so I gave up on it."
"What do you do now?" Aleksander asked.
"Just a normal job. I'm a waitress," Alina confessed feeling her cheeks heat up.
"That must be busy."
"It is! If it weren't for Tamar and Tolya I'd never survive!"
Aleksander sat there quietly, not saying much other than asking Alina questions about herself. Alina gave a silent gulp as she asked,"What about you?"
"Hm?"Aleksander's attention was turned to Alina.
"What do you do, Aleksander?" Saying his name felt right to Alina. She wanted to say it again and again and scream it to the rooftops. Aleksander. So simple and common, and yet it was his name. The name of the man in front of her. The pale skin, dark haired, grey eyed man in front of her was Aleksander.
He spoke slowly,"I don't do anything other than ride."
"Ride?"
"You saw my bike. I call it Volcra. It's all I ever do. I ride around Ravka and do whatever I can to get by."
"Oh," Alina said sadly. "That must be lonely."
"You get used to it."
Even though Aleksander was sitting next to Alina, he seemed so far away. So distant. Carefully, Alina reached out and placed her hands on his cheeks. He looked into her brown eyes, not saying a word, as Alina came closer and closer to him, and then pressed her lips to his.
He tasted her skin on his, feeling her warmth against him felt secure.
Once Alina pulled away she said gently,"You don't have to be alone anymore, I'm here or you. I'll be here for you forever."
Aleksander smiled,"I think, I'd like that."
They both laid in the bed, as Aleksander staring at Alina feeling he'd waited a lifetime for this moment. He was scared she'd be afraid of him, be disgusted by him, but she didn't complain. Alina held him, and in his arms she fell asleep as he soon followed.
They had finally me as they saw each other in their dreams.
By morning they shared breakfast. A big plate of bacon and eggs all paid for by Alina. It turned out Aleksander spent all his money on gas for his bike and he had nothing left. Not that Alina minded They sat across from each other in the cushioned seats, smiling and giggling together.
"What's your favorite color?" Alina asked.
Aleksander bit into his toast,"Black. What about you?"
"Blue."
"What do you want to be in the future?" Aleksander asked.
"I don't really think about that kind of stuff," Alina glowered."I just want to pay my bills and hang out with my friends. I never made it as an actress, and I've never really considered anything else. What about you?"
"I just want to get by..."Aleksander finished his toast. "Life keeps passing me by and the people I know keep dying. I want to see the whole world before I join them."
"You've lost people?" Alina's face grew sorrowful.
"Sure. We all have. I mean you lost your parents, right?"
"Well yeah...but they died when I was a baby so I never really thought of it that way," Alina said sadly, quickly trying to change the subject,"What are the top three things on your bucket list?"
Aleksander furrowed his brow,"Fix my bike, go to Ketterdam and make a friend."
"Well you can tick off the last one," Alina beamed, finishing off her dish.
Aleksander blushed,"It seems so…"
After they had both finished their breakfast, they stood outside the Inn, by Aleksander's heavy motorcycle. It was a sleek, black, machine with scratches and dents littered all over it's metal. It was clear that Aleksander rode it everywhere.
He helplessly wiped it with his shirt, careful not to mess up his leather jacket. Alina watched him, as he looked back at her. They stood in the morning air, the wind rustling through the grass at their feet.
"Now what?" Aleksander said. "I've finally found you so what do we do now? Are you going back to Os Alta?"
Alina was taken aback by his words. Back of Os Alta? What was waiting for her there? Another long winded day working as a waitress while she barely sleeps to meet rent? That was barely a life she wanted. Were there friends waiting for her there?
Genya and Mal barely ever spoke to anymore, Alina was always the first one to message them. After months of being ignored she grew sick of it, barley wanting to think about them again. In a cold voice Alina said,"I'd rather die. I'm going wherever you're going."
"What about your friends?"
"Forget about them. I want to forget about everything. My life has been suffocating, now that I've met you I feel like there is some kind of hope out there for me."
Aleksander laughed. He laughed?
"What's so funny?" Alina asked.
"It's just," Aleksander chortled. "I was feeling the same way. I wanted to disappear and fade away, spending everyday riding my bike and ever night drinking myself to sleep. Then suddenly a light shone. I dream of you and knew I had to meet you."
"Let's start a new life," Alina said, kissing Aleksander on the lips. "Let's runaway together and never look back!"
Aleksander went on his back and nodded at her,"Get on!"
Aleksander threw on his helmet, strapping another one he'd kept a hold of, to Alina's head.
She didn't hesitate, sitting behind him and hugging him closely. He began to move, the engine roaring and both of them heard it rumble. The motorcycle began to drive and it was off, driving up the highway, air whipping against their skin.
"Where are we going to go?" Alina yelled over the roaring wind rushing past them.
"I don't know!" Aleksander yelled back.
"You know I hear there are some great mechanics in Ketterdam, how about we head there?"
"That sounds like a plan!"
There was nothing else standing in there way. There was no one to stop Alina or Aleksander. There was nothing but the road ahead of them and each other.
As the wind passed them, and the clear sky stretched over the horizon they rode leaving their past lives behind them, only looking to the road ahead.