PROLOG

 

“When should I alert the population?”

“As soon as possible, we don’t want people missing their dreams.”

“Yes of course sir.” An intern was walking along side a scientist scribbling down notes in a small black notebook.

“This is a huge deal,” said the scientist, “Are you absolutely positive it will happen? If we misread this, people will never find their soul mates.”

“I am. It will happen on the night of August 11th, 2037, exactly one year from today.”

The scientist nodded. “Very good. Tell the others.”

The intern nodded as she turned toward a large door. “Yes sir.” She stepped inside to find hundred of eyes looking at her. She cleared her throat. “There is going to be an eclipse exactly one year from today, the first we’ve had in 14 years."

 

 

 

 

CHAPTER 1

  

“Thalia Gray, if you don’t get up this very minute, so help me, I will ground you for a month!”

I opened my eyes slowly, letting them adjust to my surroundings. Dim light was leaking in through the old, tattered blinds, lighting up my room. I rolled on my side looking at the clock. 9:30. Crap. I sprang out of bed and grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

“Thalia!” My mom called again.

“I’m coming!” I yelled running down the creaky wooden stairs while throwing on a jacket. My mother and sister were sitting at the kitchen table watching me. “What?”

“You’re late, again!” Zoey said with a mouthful of food.

“I know, I know. I’m terrible.” I walked over to my mom and gave her a quick kiss on the check. “Bye mom!” I reached behind her and grabbed a piece of French toast and my bag.

“Remember you don’t have softball after school.”

“Right.” I said already out the door. I almost forgot about the eclipse. All the girls at school will be going crazy and all the guys will be so scared and nervous. Me on the other hand, I wasn’t too worried about it. Even if I found the man of my life and what not, he could leave as quickly as he came. Just like my dad.

When I arrived at school, all the halls were empty. I tried unsuccessfully to sneak into biology, but of course, Lilia, captain of the cheer team, ratted me out like every other time I was late. Then, of course, I received a four day detention starting tomorrow.

I threw my stuff down at my seat in the back and opened my text book. As soon as the teacher, Mr. Donningham, turned his back on the class, everyone broke out into excited whispering. My friend, Viviana, turned to me and said, “So did you hear about the eclipse?”

“Obliviously Viv, have I been living under a rock?” I rolled my eyes and tried to concentrate on the lesson.

“Well I didn’t find out until two days ago. Are you nervous?”

“That’s because you’re blonde. And no, not really.”

“Really? Because I’m a wreck about it. I mean, what if there’s no one in my dream?”

Oh here we go. “Viv, you’re going to be fine.”

“Thalia, would you like to share?” Mr. Donningham said glaring intently at me.

“Sir?”

“I assume you have something important to say if you were going to interrupt my class like that.”

“I’m sorry sir. It won’t happen again.”

He sighed. “I know you are all excited about the eclipse, but you still have to pay attention.” That was easy for him to say. Mr. Donningham found his soul mate forty years ago. Just then the bell rang and students swarmed out of the room as fast as possible.

The rest of the day blurred past. The whole school was focused on their dream and possibly meeting their soul mate. Viv would not stop talking about it.

“What if he doesn’t like me?” she asked.

I sighed. “Viv, he’s your soul mate of course he’s going to like you!”

“I’m just worried, you know?”

“Yes I know.” I said patting her on the back.

Then, later at lunch, I overheard Lilia and the rest of the cheer team talking. “I hope he has a 6-pack.” She was saying. “Oh, and green eyes and blonde hair!” She was practically drooling. I rolled my eyes.

 

When I got home, my family was waiting for me.

“Man, I wish I got to see my soul mate, but no you have to be fourteen and over.” Zoey said pouting into her soup.

“You only have two more years to go.” I said patting her back.

“Yeah, but the last eclipse was fourteen years ago! It could be twenty before I find my soul mate! I don’t want to be forty and see my soul mate as this weird old man!”

“Zoey please, you won’t be forty when the next eclipse happens.” My mom said setting my soup in front of me.

“I better not be.”

My mom sighed and turned to me. “Be sure you go to bed before nine. If you’re not asleep, you won’t dream.”

“I know.” I said looking down into the thick noodles in my soup. “Mom, what if I don’t see anyone?” Alright, I admit, I was just a tiny bit nervous.

“I’m sure you will see someone. Look at you, you’re so pretty and smart, who wouldn’t want to be your soul mate?”

I smiled. “Thanks Mom.”

 

Later that night, before I went to sleep, I took a good look at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t see how anyone could like me. I hated my curly, auburn hair. It was crazy and frizzy and was always in my eyes. My eyes, they were the worst shade of hazel; too much brown and not enough green. Then, my clothes were ratty and old. I’ve been wearing the same teddy bear pajama pants since the third grade.

I sighed, It’s going to be a miracle if I see someone I thought as I crawled into bed and closed my eyes.

                

 

CHAPTER 2

  

 I woke in what seemed to be a clearing in the forest. There was fog everywhere which made it extremely difficult to see. There was a white stone bench in the middle of it all. There was no one here, but me. I sat and studied my teddy-bear pajama pants, trying hard not to cry.

“What’s wrong?”

I looked up, startled. There was a tall, tan boy standing in front of me. He had bright green eyes, messy, dirty blonde hair, and was skinny, but slightly muscular. He was wearing shorts and a white t-shirt.

“Nothing!” I said wiping the tears away. He smiled, and when he did, I swear it made the forest grow brighter.

“My name is Luka. What’s yours?” He said sitting beside me.

“I’m Thalia.” I said still completely dumbfounded. “What- I mean- where do you live?” I asked, the words stumbling out of my mouth.

“I’m sorry Thalia, I was told I couldn’t tell you.”

“Why not?” That wasn’t fair.

He smiled sadly. “All the boys are given instructions on what to say, we can’t give away to many details. I do have some information for you though.”

“Really? What is it?”

“I need you to remember some numbers for me, it’s important.”

“Oh, ok.” Was he serious? Numbers?!

“Ready?” I nodded. “55.7517 and 37.6178”

“How am I supposed to remember that?” I was getting mad.

“Just do it, ok?”

“Fine.” I said.

“Thank you.” He said and looked away. I went back to studying my pants when the little forest began to slip away. I looked at him a little frightened. Despite everything, I didn’t want to leave. “Don’t worry.” His voice began to fade. “I will find you-”

 

I woke up to the same dim light seeping in through my window. I sat there for a moment, reliving the dream when I remembered the numbers. I practically fell out of bed and searched high and low for a pen and paper. When I finally found one, I scribbled down the numbers:

55.7517 ~ 37.6178

CHAPTER 3

  

“Thalia, what’s going on?” My mom said coming in my room. “Is everything ok?”

“Mom, I’m fine, I just had to write something down and couldn’t find any paper.”

“Ok,” She smiled. “So, how was the dream? Tell me everything!"

“Um, well his name was Luka and he had green eyes and dusty dirty blonde hair.”

“Very nice! How cute was he?” She sat on the edge of my bed and motioned for me to sit.

“Very, I guess.” I sat next to her and she wrapped her arms around me.

“Come on, you can do better than that! You’re not giving me much to work with here! On a scale of one to ten how cute was he?”

“Mom!” I pushed her arms away.

“What? It was an honest question. What did he say to you?”

“Not much.” I took out the piece of paper with the numbers on it. “Do you know what these stand for?”I asked showing it to her.

She shook her head. “I have no idea. Did he give you these?”

“Yeah. He said they were important.”

“Huh,” she said handing me the paper. “Well, I have to go get breakfast ready and you’d better get ready for school. Come down when you’re ready.”

 

As soon as I stepped in the school, I could tell everything was different. I got a lovely view of a new couple sucking each other’s faces off. New soul mates I thought. Then, couples that had been together for years suddenly broke up. When I finally found Viv, she was smiling from ear to ear.

“I’m guessing you saw your soul mate.” I said sitting next to her.

“Oh yes, Thalia he was amazing! His name is Ashton. He’s super cute! He has black hair and blueish-grayish eyes! Oh he was so wonderful!”

“That’s great! What did he say to you?”

“All kinds of stuff! We talked the entire time!”

“That’s great Viv!”

“How about you? Who was your soul mate?”

“His name was Luka and he gave me some weird numbers.”

“Numbers? Really? What for?"

“Exactly.” I said throwing my bag in my locker. “I have no idea what they mean.”

“Are they a phone number?”

“No, it’s only two really long numbers.”

“Well, maybe it’s some kind of code.”

“With only two numbers?” I asked slamming my locker shut.

“I don’t know, maybe. Anyway, I have to get to class. Talk to you later?”

“Sure.” I said as she walked away.

             

During my free period, I went to the library to try to find a book that might have to do with the numbers. The problem was I had no idea what I was looking for. It could be a distance, some kind of code, anything.

After school and softball, I walked over to the Research Center to ask Google. It was practically empty. I climbed the glass stairs to the I-Port room, turned the corner and there Google was. It was a Port screen with arms and wheels, so it could be moved.

“Google,” I began. “What are these numbers: 55.7517 and 37.6178?”

Google’s screen blinked before it responded. “Coordinates. 55.7517 degrees North and 37.6178 degrees East.”

Coordinates?! The numbers weren’t meaningless! I could barely contain my excitement. “Google, where do they lead?”

“Moscow, Russia.” It stated in its robotic voice.

“Moscow.” I breathed. That was thousands of miles away. How would I even get there? “Thank you.” I said before leaving.

 

“Mom!” I yelled running up the porch to my faded home. “Mom!” I cried again, dashing into the house.

“What is it Thalia? What’s wrong?” She asked running to meet me.

“Luka lives in Russia! The numbers were coordinates!”

“Oh my! All the way in Russia?” She scratched her neck nervously. “Thalia, I don’t think we have the money to send you there.” Her eyes wandered the room.

“What?!” My face fell. My family isn’t the wealthiest, ever since my dad died. My mom worked hard to keep what we have, but I figured because it was my soul mate, there was something she could do. “Can’t you do something?”

“I’m sorry Thalia, I-”

“No, it’s fine Mom.” I looked away, hot tears leaking out the corner of my eyes. “I understand.” I turned and ran upstairs as fast as I could.

 

 

CHAPTER 4

I sat quietly in my room, flipping through the channels on my television. There was absolutely nothing on, so I decided to write to my dad.

Dad,

I meet my soul mate, but he lives in Russia. We don’t have enough money for a way there. I wish you were here. You would come up with a way to send me.

The TV sounded in the background, “Russia has now locked on the U.S with a new nuclear weapon. There is no need to panic. The U.S is fully prepared to counter the attack. Will the Russians even fire? No one knows. In the meantime, it would be a good idea to build a bomb shelter, stack up on food rations, and stay inside. Prepare for the worst.”

What? Russia was going to attack the U.S? Just then my mom walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed. I grabbed the remote and turned off the TV.

“Thalia, sweet heart, I know this is really important to you-”

“Important? Mom this is my soul mate we’re talking about. Luka is meant for me and I have to way to reach or contact him!” I threw myself back onto my bed.

“I know, which is why I have come up with a way for you meet him.”

“What?!” I sat up so fast I almost knocked her off the bed. “Why didn’t you say something!”

She laughed. “I tried, but you were too busy yelling at me.”

“Sorry.” I mumbled.

“I came up with enough money to send you to London on a supply boat. I know it’s not much, but it’s a start. Once you get to London, you would have to figure out a way to Moscow. This ship leaves tomorrow at eight. If you want to go we’d have to leave now to get to New York by three in the morning.”

“Of course I want to go!”

“Now, you know I’m not going to be able to go with you. You will be doing this all on your own.”

“Yes Mom.”

“Ok,” She paused and took a deep breath. “You’d better get packing.”

 

I dragged my suit case down the creaky old stairs. My mother and sister were waiting for me at the bottom.

“You ready?” My mom asked.

I took a deep breath. “Yeah I think so.”

She handed me an old red back pack. “Take this. It has money and food in it. Do you have your Port-phone?”

“Yeah, I’ve got it.” I said.

All of the sudden Zoey flung her arms around me and began to cry. “Don’t go!” She wailed.

“I have to.” I said rubbing her head. “I have to find Luka. You’re going to be ok. I’ll be back before you know it!”

“Why can’t he just come here?”

“He can’t sweetie. I know, I wish there was another way, but there isn’t.” I hugged her tight and bent down to her level. “Zoey, I need you to look after Mom. Don’t worry, I’m not like Dad, I’m coming home.” I kissed her on the forehead and gently pushed her away from me.

“I’m ready.” I said looking up at Mom. She nodded and opened the front door for me. The sun was just sinking below the horizon casting an orange glow over the town. My mom took my bags and threw them into the back of the car.

“Bye Zoey!” I yelled as we began to back out of the drive way. “I promise to call!” She smiled as best as she could and waved us goodbye.

 

Once we arrived at the New York ports, we slept in the car until the honk of a nearby ship woke us both.

“Good morning dear.” She said as I wiped my eyes.

“What time is it?” I yawned.

“Why, it’s eight o’clock.”

“Sweet.” I said, then realization slapped in the face.

“Eight o’clock!” We said in union. The ship roared again as we stumbled out of the car to get my bags.

“Hurry!” I said in panic. She threw me my backpack and grabbed my suit case. “Come on Mom!” We rocketed down the harbor to the ship. The ropes were being untied. “Wait!” I screamed. “Wait!” I jumped on the ramp, just as the ship began to pull away.

“Bye Thalia! I love you!” My mom shouted from the dock.

“I love you too.”

“Be safe and smart! Make good choices! Call us every night!”

“Will do!” I waved. This was going to be a long trip.

CHAPTER 5

We never got any lunch, we worked instead. Then at dinner we ate more mush and worked until about eleven at night. It was exhausting.

The first night, I tried to call my mom, only to find that my phone had gone missing. I searched high and low for it, but never found it. It must have fallen out of my pocket when I was running toward the ship.What was worse was that I was seasick all the time. If I wasn’t eating or working, I was puking.

One night, I was trying to sleep when the alarm sounded. Red lights flashed while sirens blared. I ran up to the deck to see we were facing a major storm. Giant waves crashed over the side of the boat, lightning flashed, and the wind was so strong, it almost tipped the boat over. Within seconds, I was drenched. I’d never been so scared in my life.

Once the storm passed, we were miles of course, so it took us even longer to get to London. We finally arrived about a week and a half later.

London was tiny and crowded. The streets could barely contain all the people. I found a park bench to sit on and realized what little money I had, I couldn’t use because they were from the U.S. I’m never going to get to Russia I thought.

That night I found a nice alleyway to sleep in. I set up next to a dumpster, making a barrier with my suitcase and a bed with the jackets I packed. Then, of course, it began to rain. I pulled the blanket I stole from the ship over my head and tried to sleep. I cuddled the picture of my family I had packed, close to my chest. I was homesick, but there was no going back now. I just hoped Luka was worth it.

“Hey that’s mine! Give it back! Hey!”

“Shut up!”

I woke up slowly, wondering where I was. I heard people fighting, then it all came back to me. I peered out from behind the dumpster and saw three men beating up a teenager and taking his things. He looked to be about my age with crazy dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. He was a bit on the heavier side and was talking in a thick British accent. As I watched one of the bigger men punched him hard in the stomach. He collapsed coughing. I had to do something.

“Hey!” I shouted. “Leave him alone!”

The three men turned to look at me and snickered. “Oh yeah? What if we don’t? What are you going to do about it.”

“I’ll call the police!” I said.

“Oh yeah? You’re a little girl sleeping in an alley. How do you have a phone?”

“The only reason I’m sleeping in an alley is because I don’t have any pounds. I only have American money. Besides, I couldn’t find a hotel. You want to test me? I’ll just call them right now.” I walked over to my suitcase. I heard running behind me and I turned around just in time to get punched in the face. I fell hard on my butt.

“You little shit. I’m going to beat you so hard!” 

I rolled away just as he tried to kick me in my stomach. I jumped to my feet and ran toward the dumpster. I grabbed what looked to be an old lead pipe and started swinging. I felt the pipe crash into the man’s side and he fell to the floor, gasping for breath. The other two ran at me from opposite sides, so I did the smart thing and ducked. The two slammed into each other and knocked each other out.

I stood up, shaking. I threw the pipe down, grabbed the boy’s money, and gathered my stuff. I ran to where he was standing with his mouth gaping open.

“You couldn’t have helped?” I demanded handing him his things.

“That. Was. Awesome!” He began clapping and jumping up and down like a five year old boy about to get a new toy.

“Thanks I guess.” Just then the man I had hit in the stomach began to pick himself off the floor. “Come on, we’d better get out of here.” I said pulling him out of the alley.

Once we thought we were a safe distance away we sat to talk.

“Thank you so much for saving me and my money.” He said with a grin.

“No problem. I’m Thalia.” I said holding out my hand.

“Henry. Henry Johnson.” He said taking it. “You said you were from America?”

“Yeah, I am actually.”

“Awesome.” I laughed. “So, Thalia, what brings you to London?”

“I’m trying to get to Moscow, but I have absolutely no money and I lost my phone on my way here.”

“Well that’s a problem. Why do you want to go to Moscow?”

“I’m trying to find my soul mate. And Yeah it is. What about you? What are you doing wandering in an alley so early in the morning.”

“Just wanted to see London.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah. Anyway, I have a way for you to get to Moscow.”

“What? Really?” Was he joking?

“Yeah man! Do you know who you just saved?”

“No?”

“You just saved the rich and famous Henry Johnson!”

“Oh really?” I shook my head.

“No, I’m not kidding! I can get you an easy train ticket to Russia. Problem is, you have to take me with.”

“No way man! I’m sure you have a family to take care of and school to go to. I’m not taking you with.”

“Nah, besides this is a one way deal. I have to make sure you don’t spend my money on something else.”

“But I just met you!” I protested.

“Exactly. Now, come on. Do you want the money or not?”

“Ugh, fine.”

“Yes!” He said jumping to his feet. “Now, come on, let’s go catch that bus!”

“We’re going now?”

“Oh no, we can wait a few decades.” He said sarcastically. “Of course we’re going now!”

“Ok.” I let him drag me away through the narrow streets of London.

     

CHAPTER 6

 

The train was large and fancy. We were given our own compartment complete with two beds, a small dining area, a couch, and a TV.

“This is amazing.” I said flopping down on the couch. “Thank you Henry, I owe you big time.”

“Oh it’s nothing really.” He sat in a chair across from me. “So tell me about yourself.”

“Um well, I live with my mom and sister, Zoey. We live in a little wood house in Crown Point, Indiana, and I went to high school. There’s really nothing to tell.” I said making myself comfy.

“What happened to your dad?”

I looked away. “Um, he died five years after my sister was born. He went to work and never came home.”

“Oh.” He studied the door. “I’m sorry.”

“Anyway, what about you, do you have a family?”

“Well, I have a mom and dad and a little poodle named Scarlette, but I left them. My dad owns Johnson’s Goods, which is the biggest shipping company East of the Atlantic. To them, I was never perfect. To them, I was a screw up of a child. I would never be what they wanted me to be, so I left. Then, you found me getting mugged and here we are!”

“Wow, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be, I took all their money.” He smiled and I laughed.

“Yeah, ever since my dad left, my family struggled with money. My mom lost her job at the pharmacy and now she works in a factory about an hour from our house. She does all she can to keep a roof over our head and food on the table. That’s why she could only send me to London by ship.”

“Hey, at least she cares about you.”

“Yeah, that’s true.” I said, a smile tugging at the corners of my mouth.

He stood up and stretched “Enough with the sob stories! I’m starving. Where can a fat man get some food in this joint?” He turned to me and smiled.

“I think there is a dining car in the back.”

“Well why didn’t you say so!” He pulled me to my feet. “Let’s go eat.”

Two days later we arrived in Moscow. It was the exact opposite of London, Moscow was huge and colorful. It was cold and raining when we arrived.

“We should probably find some place to sleep!” Henry shouted over the storm.

“Ok!” I looked around. “Do you speak Russian?”

“Do I look like I speak Russian? For God’s sake I’m an Englishman who’s never left the perimeter of his own home!”

“Then how are we going to find a place to stay?” I asked pulling my hood up over my head.

“Um, well, I didn’t think about that.” He looked around. “Look! English! It says motel!” He laughed. “Oh what would you do without me!”

I rolled my eyes. “Come on Henry, you’re the one with all the money.”

“Oh, right. Well then, let’s go!”

We ran into the little motel and asked for a room. It took a while since the man at the front desk barely spoke any english, but eventually he gave us a room.

“Bloody Hell,” Henry said holding his nose. “It smells like death in here!”

“It’s just to hold us off until morning.” I said heading to the bathroom. “I think I’m going to take a shower.”

“Ugh, ok.” Henry said making sure there weren’t any bugs in his bed.

I went to turn the water on, but bugs flew out of the shower head instead. I screamed.

“What happened?” Henry said running in the bathroom with a lamp in his hands.

“Nothing,” I said taking a deep breath. “I don’t think I’m going to be taking a shower though.”

“Ew, gross.” His face turned green when he saw all the bugs. “Let’s just try to sleep.”

"Agreed. Then, in the morning, we start our search for Luka.”

CHAPTER 7

 

Henry and I stood side by side gazing up at the government center. We’d checked out of the motel, so I had my bags with me.

“What’s the plan, again?” Henry asked as we marched up the steps.

“We go inside and ask for all the Lukas in Moscow. Then, we go to their houses and see if it’s him.”

“Where did you come up with that idea?” He asked.

“I don’t know. It just sort of came to me. It’s the logical thing to do, we don’t know where he lives, so we go ask.”

“Alright, but you’re doing all the talking.”

I shook my head. “Fine.” We walked up to the giant marble door. “This is it.” I said and pushed it open.

The door groaned and revealed a vast room filled with desks and people. We walked up to the first one we saw. She was tiny old woman with short, curly gray hair and thick round glasses. She was wearing a dirty, old dress and scribbling words down onto a piece of paper.

“Excuse me,” I said as we approached. “Do you speak English?”

“As a matter of fact, I do.” She had a thick Russian accent, which made her difficult to understand.

“That’s great!” I smiled and looked at Henry. “Do you mind looking someone up for me?”

“Not at all. What is the name?” She asked digging through folders in her desk.

“Um, we only know his first name: Luka. I was wondering if you could give me his address.”

She peered at me from behind her glasses. “Alright,” She said after a long pause. “Give me a moment.” She stood up and walked away.

“That went well.” Henry said. “What if she doesn’t find anything about Luka? What if she does, but doesn’t know where he is? What if there are hundreds of Lukas and we have no way of telling which one is your Luka!”

“Henry please! This is no time to panic. Stay strong. We will find him!”

Just then the old woman came back. “Alright, there are four Lukas in Moscow.” She said handing me a sheet of paper. “This is a list of all their addresses.”

“This will work. Thank you so much!” I nudged Henry. “Give the woman a nice tip.” I hissed.

“Why?”

“Because she helped us and was nice about it.”

The woman looked at us expectantly. “Fine.” Henry grumbled. “Here’s your stupid money.” He handed her a couple Rubles.

“Thank you.” She said with a smile.

“No, thank you.” I replied.

Henry took my arm. “Come on, let’s go.”

Once we were outside, he took the list. “Luka Scolofska, Luka Crivse, Luka Soljka, and Luka Wessen. Which do you want to start with?”

“Luka Crivse is lives only a couple blocks from here, let’s start there.”

“Ok. What are you planning to say? ‘Oh hello, my name is Thalia. I think you might be my soul mate.’”

“Don’t be stupid. Come on, I’ll think of something.”

“This is the last Luka on the list. Luka Wesson.” Henry said.

“It has to be him, Henry! All the others were busts.”

“Thalia, we’ve been all over Moscow. What if it isn’t him?”

I shook my head. “This is him. I can feel it.”

We were standing outside of a large red victorian styled house. It had big brown French doors out front and was covered with windows. The landscaping was beautiful. There was a fountain out front that was surrounded by different colored flowers. Pink trees surrounded the house along with perfectly cut bushes.

I took a deep breath. “Here we go.” I walked slowly up the steps to the house. What if it isn’t him? I thought as I lifted my hand to knock on the door. Or what if it is and he doesn’t like me? I knocked on the door. Guess we’ll find out. The door opened slowly and all time seemed to stop. A silhouette stood in the doorway.

“Thalia.”

   

CHAPTER 8

 

It was him, the Luka from my dream. What now? Do I shake his hand? Do I hug him? Kiss him?

“Hi.” I said softly holding out my hand.

He smiled and took it. “Hi. You look so much nicer without your teddy bear pants.”

“Thanks.” I said. “I guess I really wasn’t counting on seeing anyone.”

We stared at each other for a minute before Henry stepped in. “Hi, I’m Henry.” He said stepping up to Luka. “She forgot to introduce me.” He motioned toward me.

“Sorry. Henry helped me get here. He’s a millionaire runaway.”

“Yup, that’s me!” Henry said proudly.

Luka laughed. “Well, won’t you both come in?”

“Don’t mind if I do.” Henry said and walked right in.

“Thanks.” I said following him in.

“Mama, Papa!” Luka shouted. A small, chubby woman with thin red hair wandered into the room followed by an older gentleman with black hair and a goatee. Luka was taller than both parents and looked nothing like either of them. “This is the girl I told you about, Thalia.” He said gesturing to me. “And this is her friend, Henry.”

Henry shook both of their hands. “It’s a pleasure to meet you both. I’m Henry Johnson.”

“Hello Henry,” The mother said with a heavy Russian accent. “And hello Thalia, I’ve heard so much about you, I feel as though I already know you.” She smiled. “My name is Bela and this is my husband, Jovan. Luka, why don’t you take them up to the guest rooms and make them comfortable?”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to do anything like that. We have a-”

“Nonsense, we have plenty of room!” She said with a flick of the wrist.

“Come on.” Luka took my bag and led me up the shining new stairs. Once we got to the top, he pointed me to a vast white room. “This is your room.” He said.

The bed was piled with pillows all different shapes and sizes. On the far side of the room was a giant window that looked out onto the city. A delicate chandelier hung from the ceiling, illuminating the room. A beautiful tiled bathroom was attached and filled with all the necessities.

I stared, my mouth gaping wide open. Luka saw me and laughed. “You like it?” He asked setting my suitcase on the bed.

Henry spoke up from behind me. “Luka, my room better be this bloody nice.”

“Of course it is Henry!” Luka turned and winked at me. “Thalia, why don’t you make yourself comfortable? This way Henry!” He pointed across the hall.  

I set my backpack on the tiny nightstand and sat on the bed. The sheets were soft and silky and the pillows were so unbelievably comfy. I sat there for a while staring out the window, watching as the sun slipped below the sky leaving trails of color behind.

I heard a soft knock on the door. “Thalia, may I come in?” Luka asked.

“Of course.” I replied.

He came and sat next to me on the bed. “See, I told you I would find you.”

“I found you!” I looked up at him dumbfounded.

“But I gave you the coordinates.”

I pushed him on the bed, making him laugh. “But I’m the one who traveled thousands of miles to find you.”

“Oh that’s right. By the way, what took you so long?” He asked playfully.

“What do you mean? First, I had to figure out what your numbers meant, and then get on a boat and a train to finally get to Russia. Then, there had to be four different Lukas in this city and you were the last one we visited.”

“Why didn’t you just fly? It would have been a lot easier.”

“My family isn’t as wealthy as yours or Henry’s.” I said looking back out at the sky.

“Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cause you trouble.” He said sitting up.

“Its fine, it was worth it.”

“Well, I hate to break up the romantic scene,” Henry said walking into the room. “But, dinner is ready.”

“Come on,” Luka said helping me off the bed. “Mama is an amazing cook.”

 

At dinner, Luka’s mother asked me about myself and my family. She asked how I got to Russia, since I didn’t have all the money in the world, and I told her my whole story. She told me about Moscow and all the things I just had to see. Then she switched to telling stories about a baby Luka, making him turn beat red.

Luka’s dad was silent for most of the time, speaking up only once or twice to correct his wife. He was a very calm and collected throughout the whole thing.

Henry was stuffing his face full, marveling over how good the food was. In between mouthfuls he spoke about his past and his father’s company. He talked about London and all the movies from London.

Once dinner was finished and everyone had eaten their fill, I went upstairs to shower since I hadn’t in about a week. The bathroom was very fancy. The glass shower didn’t spray bugs and the toilet was sparkly clean. All the products stacked in the cabinets were in Russian, so I just used the tiny bottles I stole from the tourist motel.

The shower was nice and warm and I could have stayed in there forever. There was a soft knock on the door and before I could respond, Luka walked in.

“Thalia, I brought you more towels and all the shampoos and stuff-” He looked up and stopped dead.

“Get out!” I screeched, falling to the floor. Luka dropped everything and scrambled as fast as he could out of the bathroom. “Get out!” I yelled again.

The door slammed shut behind me and I reached to turn off the shower. I sat there for a minute before grabbing my towel and getting out. I quickly put clothes on and stormed into the hallway.

“Thalia, I am so sorry.” Luka was waiting for me outside my room.

“What were you doing anyway?” I demanded.

“Well, I knew you said you wanted to shower, and I figured you didn’t know what the shampoo was, so I was going to shower. Plus, I brought you more towels.” He said rubbing the back of his neck and looking anywhere but at me.

“What’s going on out here?” Henry said coming out of his room dressed in ducky pajamas and holding a pillow under his arm.

“Nothing.” Luka said.

“Luka walked in on my in the shower!” I yelled. Luka’s face turned redder than a tomato.

Henry calmly turned toward Luka and said, “Man that is just wrong.” He turned on his heels and went back into his room.

“Look, I’ll make it up to you. Tomorrow, I’m going to take you out and show you all of Moscow.” Luka said finally looking me in the eye.

We stared at each other for what seemed like ages before I finally gave in. I sighed. “Fine, we can go see Moscow.”

He smiled awkwardly. “Thanks Thalia. Sorry.”

“It’s fine, I guess.” I studied my feet.

“Ok, well, I’m going to go to bed now. My room is just down the hall.”

“Ok.” I waved as he walked away. As soon as he was out of site, I ran in my room and slammed the door shut.  

 

           

Impressum

Texte: Leah Huffine and Emily Neu.
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 25.06.2013

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Widmung:
To one of my greatest friends, Emily who came up with the idea.