"Hi!"
"Hello. Do you need something?"
"Japan! I've been so excited to see you again!"
Japan was taken aback by this. He looked at the man standing in front of him a bit closely; he was certain he had never seen this man before.
"Yes, yes, of course. It certainly has been a long time. Come in," Japan managed.
Japan made tea. The man babbled on and on, mentioned how much he liked an art piece Japan had made for him.
"Art piece? What art piece?" Japan turned to him.
"This one." The man grinned. "I bring it with me all the time. It was so nice of you to make it for me." He opened his briefcase and pulled out a small framed painting— and sure enough, it had Japan's signature on it.
"Oh. Yes, I remember that," Japan mumbled.
They sat in silence. Once the man was finished with his tea, he said, "Well. Sorry to drop by so suddenly—,"
"No, no. You should stay a little longer," Japan cut himself off abruptly to avoid having to say the man's name.
The man laughed and clapped Japan's shoulder. "If you insist."
...
Japan left the room for a while, and searched through his contacts to see who this man could be. He was able to put a face to every nation's number, and none of them were him.
Finally Japan brought out a map. "Sorry— maybe I'm a bit forgetful, but... where are you located?" Japan asked.
The man's face fell, but he looked at the map. He circled a bit of land— the map hadn't labeled it, but Japan recognized it as Andorra. "Why isn't my country here?" He asked. "It well should be. It's a thousand years old, you know."
"A thousand?" Japan asked. How had he forgotten this man, then?
"Yes. Taured. It's... not here."
"Taured?"
"Yes." Taured pawed the spot a bit sadly. "That would be me."
"Is it— is it possible you're just a region? What's the last thing you remember?"
"I remember eating breakfast yesterday, but the rest of the day is kind of a blur. And no, I'm not a region. Of course I'm not."
Taured seemed more than a bit upset. If Taured really had been around a thousand years at any given point, he definitely wasn't around now; surely, if Taured did exist, he would be surprised by the map's layout.
"Look at some of the other countries. Like— like this one." Japan leaned over and pointed to the United States. "Does this one seem familiar?"
"Yes."
"And what about this one?" Japan pointed to the Czech Republic.
"What about the Czech Republic?" Taured asked.
"Does it seem right? No Czechoslovakia, no Austria-Hungary. Czechia."
"Yes, it seems right."
"And the Roman Empire's disappearance doesn't bother you?"
"...No. Japan, what are you on about?"
Japan sighed. "Sorry. Sorry."
Japan excused himself and went to a different room, and when he came back Taured was gone.
Japan looked up and down the street before returning to inspect his house. Taured's briefcase was gone. All the windows were locked. There was no way Taured could have left without Japan hearing or seeing him; the room Japan had been in had a window overlooking the road in front of the house, and Japan didn't have a back door.
The whole experience had really creeped him out. He decided to call America, because if anyone knew everybody it was America. America bled influence all over the place, in particular the Western world; besides, if America had happened to meet Taured, it would be on a list because America kept a list of every nation he'd ever been remotely involved with.
"Hello?"
"America. I wanted to ask you something."
"Okay?"
"You know Andorra, right? Do you know if he likes to be called Taured instead of Andorra?"
"Andorra? I don't think I've been, dude."
"Well, do you know a 'Taured,' then?"
"No. Why?"
"Because a man just came in, claiming to be a nation called Taured, and he knew that I was Japan. He presented an art piece that I must have signed— apparently I made it, and apparently I knew him well, but I don't remember him."
"Huh. That's really weird."
"Taured says he's been around for over a thousand years. He wasn't surprised to see your country on the map. He wasn't surprised about the layout of Europe. Only that his country wasn't there."
"Was his country modern-day Andorra?"
"Yeah."
"And he knew you were a nation?"
Japan hesitated. "Yes. What should I do?"
"Hm." America went quiet on the other end, and then said, "Let's cover this up and never speak of it again!"
That sounded just fine to Japan.
Based on the story of the man from Taured. However, this story doesn't actually have a set date— the only thing is that it's somewhat modern. Anyway a review would be hella lit. Stay safe.