Five days went by as the Orient Express made its way to la Ville Lumière from Istanbul, carrying la crème de la crème and me, the simple and promiscuous dancer who was expecting a triumphant success in Paris. From Vienna, I sent a telegram to Andreas, the Cypriot entrepreneur with whom I shared the most wonderful time of my life in Cappadocia, telling him as much as I could about my journey and excluding the part about my erotic encounter with General Bonnefoy, as well as I did when I sent a telegram to my sisters in Russia:

IN VIENNA NOW. HEADING TO PARIS. TERRIBLY EXCITED ABOUT FUTURE. TRAIN BEAUTIFUL. LANDSCAPES ALSO BEAUTIFUL. GET BACK TO YOU IN PARIS. LOVE YOU.

I paid and got back on the train as soon as I could. During the rest of the journey, we stopped at Munich where new passengers boarded and I tasted beer for the first time that, as courtesy to the new German passengers, was served at the restaurant coach at dinnertime – it was a bit bitter, but not as strong as vodka, I didn't like it – and Strasbourg, our last stop before Paris. At that time I was beyond excited because we were nearing my dream as each hour passed.

During those five days, General Bonnefoy and I didn't speak again, but we kept sharing coy smiles and lustful glances and once, when he was walking down the corridor, I opened the door of my cabin and pulled him in. We made love passionately and the windows of the cabin were fogged because of our body heat.

When we arrived at Paris, it was nighttimes and snowing and I felt so much at home in the middle of the crowd of the Gare du Nord with the chilling cold. It reminded me of my motherland. I immediately remembered that I had reservation at the Hôtel Ritz and didn't want to be late, so I grabbed my suitcases, but they were too heavy for me. Suddenly, I felt a hand sliding over my own gloved one and grasping the handle of my heaviest suitcase.

"Let me help you"

It was General Bonnefoy, who was looking at me with a smile on his face. I smiled too and walked with one of my suitcases in hand to take a taxi. The driver helped us both with the suitcases and I was about to say goodbye to the General when he kissed me in the lips, in front of anybody who was wandering outside the Gare. I was beyond shocked. He seemed to catch on my surprise because he spoke up.

"Don't worry, we are not in Istanbul. It's a little freer around here"

He patted the car and it left the Gare du Nord leaving a smirking General Bonnefoy to wave at me. When I arrived at the Hôtel Ritz, I could still feel the tingling sensation on my lips from the kiss stolen from me by that handsome man. Finally in my room, I threw myself on the bed and just laid there for at least an hour until I decided to actually do something. I wrote two letters, one to Andreas, other to my sisters and then sent it from the hotel lobby.

Walking down the Rue de la Paix and admiring the showcases I touched the presentation card of Yao Wang in my pocket and looked down at it. I decided to call him as soon as I got to the hotel, which I did. A woman picked up the phone and she told me she was Yao Wang's maid.

"Hello?"

"Mr. Wang? My name is Menekşe; I was given your number by General Francis Bonnefoy..."

From the other side of the phone, I heard a chuckle and when he spoke, in a rather playful tone, I could feel the smirk on his voice.

"So you are one of Francis' friends, huh? I see, well you must be a dancer"

"Yes, how did you know?"

I asked, marvelled at his ability to discover things about my life so quickly... or at least the bit he could have known with my contact. I shook my head and decided to continue speaking.

"Anyways, indeed, I'm a dancer and General Bonnefoy told me that you could help my career. I'm staying at the Hôtel Ritz, would you meet me for tea tomorrow afternoon?"

"Certainly"

And with that, he hung up leaving me a little dumbfounded. The following day, I met with him. He was a handsome and small Chinese man, dressed impeccably. It looked like he had a lot of money to spend. He took his right glove off and shook my hand before sitting down on the small table of the slightly crowded restaurant... they were mostly old ladies having tea with their friends.

"Well, tell me about yourself, Menekşe"

I swallowed hard and decided to tell him the fake story I had created for myself during my trip to Paris.

"I was born within the court of the Ottoman Sultan, where I was also trained in the art of belly dancing for several years since I was very young. I became one of the Sultan's favourites and was a lover of several powerful men at court. I then moved to Paris when my parents died a month ago and met General Bonnefoy on board the Orient Express"

He looked impressed and was staring intently at me with his fingers intertwined in front of his face and resting his elbows on the table. It reminded me of General Winter, when I used to dance for him in his private study. That seemed to have happened centuries ago.

"That's certainly an interesting life story"

I was about to say something when I began hearing that awful wheezing sound from my chest as I began to breathe heavily, Monsieur Wang must have seen my state because he put his hand over mine, which was grasping the white tablecloth tightly.

"Are you alright?"

I motioned him to wait and took out a cigarette from the cigar case I always carried with me and put it on the holder. Monsieur Wang looked in his pocket and lit my cigarette. In Cappadocia, during my stay in Andreas' villa, I discovered that I was allergic to sunflowers even though I loved them and that caused me to have a terrible attack. He gave me a cigarette made of medicinal herbs that his sister used during her attacks and instantly they seemed to clear my lungs and open my airways, so I began to use it and bought it as soon as I ran out of them during the stopover in Vienna. My condition was the absolute worst and I hated whenever I had an attack, but that was what saved me from conscription.

"Are you sure that smoking is advisable in your, hum... condition?"

I blew the smoke seductively as my lungs cleared almost instantly and I was able to breathe normally again.

"Don't worry, this is medicinal"

He seemed to understand and left it there. We continued chatting and by the time my cigarette was completely consumed, we had closed a deal. The following day, I meet Monsieur Wang in his house. He had an hôtel de particulier at the Rue de Seine which was exquisitely decorated. From the outside it seemed like a regular Parisian house, but from the inside, it looked like a Chinese imperial palace. It was beautiful. I danced for him that afternoon after tea was served by the same maid that answered the phone when I had called. He was bewitched by my dance and I was wearing the dance outfit given to me by Sadiq.

"You are a natural talent, Menekşe. I will be glad to produce your spectacle"

"Are you serious?"

I asked, excitedly jumping up and down, still exhausted from my performance. He chuckled and smiled.

"Certainly"

That night, at the hotel room, I wrote a letter to my sisters and other to Andreas:

Dear Andreas,

I couldn't wait any longer to tell you this, but I have been hired by a theatre producer to dance at the Folies Bergères. I am so excited I can't even contain myself. Paris is so exciting and wonderful, it's a city where anything can come true and I hope to be like Mata Hari one day. I hope to hear about you soon, and remember that my thoughts will always be with you, Andreas.

Yours sincerely,

Menekşe

I sent them from the hotel lobby and went to sleep.

I want to thank all my reviews and all the support I received while writing this. I would love more reviews and tell me what you think about the story so far.