Never had you wished so hard to be able to speak in another language. Sure, you had those times when you had wanted to be able to simply wanted to know a language to travel to a different country and have no problems. But the language barrier made you realize how painful communication could be. Both you and the shop keeper ended up communicating through gestures, mainly pointing and facial expressions. A few times you tried something on and she would try and explain if it fit well on you.
In the end, you got a pair or two of long underwear; a very warm, very pleasant sweater; a pair of boots that went up to your knees; and some extremely comfortable set of gloves with a matching hat and scarf. Everything was even in a muted color, mainly black and brown.
You handed her the money Ivan had forced upon you. She took what was needed and gave the little amount that was left.
"Thank you," you said, although she probably didn't understand what you were saying. She gave some sort of response that seemed jumbled to you. Although, her actions made it seem like she meant well. "Oh, okay. Bye!" You stumbled out the door and into the snow coated streets.
With the bag in your hand, you realized that you probably should have changed into the clothes and not continued wearing Ivan's. Too late to go back and fix that. He seemed hospitable enough.
"Oh, Amy, there you are!" you suddenly heard somebody say behind you.
You twirled around, nearly slipping on the ice. A firm hand caught your arm and held you steady. No surprise, it was Ivan's. He gave you a glowing smile.
"Are you okay?"
You nodded. "Yes, I am fine. I got some clothes... Sorry I didn't change into them."
"It is no problem. You can change as soon as we get back to my home."
Both of you headed to his car and got in wordlessly. There was not much for you to be saying. Also, he looked so content being happy. His smile never grew lifeless and cold, as many sustained smiles seemed to do. It was just there, set in perfect peace.
Nearly out of the city limits, you broke the silence. It felt almost wrong to do so. "By the way, I still have a bit of the money left over. It's in the bag."
"You can give it to me when I am not driving," he said with the same smile.
Back to the silence. There was an occasional crunch of snow and sound of wind, but no words were exchanged. Both you and him seemed to be debating asking something.
You cleared your throat. "Aside from the sister that made us hide in the closet... Do you have any other family or relatives?"
"I have another sister. She is very nice. I thought about asking her to let you borrow some of her clothes, but she has very large chest." One of his hands released the steering wheel and made gestures at his chest. "The clothes would not be fitting you well."
"Oh. Well I wasn't meaning to stay all that long. I could have just worn the clothes I showed up in."
"Do not be silly! You should be able to be comfortable for the whole time you are here. Besides, now you have things to take home, da!"
You felt yourself smile a bit. The tension that was inspired by what was in the bag was simply dissipating into the air.
"So, Amy, what do you know about how you got lost?" he asked out of absolutely nowhere.
"I don't know much, really." You stared out of the windshield, looking at the horizon. It was all kind of hazy. "I just know that when I woke up, I felt like I had been drugged or something."
"How about we talk about what happened before you blacked out. What did you do the whole day before you woke up?"
You concentrated a moment. The events came to you slowly. "Let's see. I woke up as if it was going to be a totally normal day."