-Slovenia-

*a fiction*


Where is Slovenia? No, this is not to copy Coelho's Veronika Decides to Die, which is exactly the book I was reading when you came into the picture of my otherwise dull existence. You are from Slovenia. I just knew from a very reputable author that your country  was  part of the former nation called Yugoslavia. What I didn't know was that it was going to be quite memorable to make your acquaintance.

You were on vacation and you have already been to more places around the area than I can claim to have visited. It was only your first time in Southeast Asia and to think I've lived here all my life. You said you love the weather. And you show off your tan and the peeling skin on your arms. I gather you would love the sun as I've read it can get really gloomy where you're from. But if you stayed here a little longer, say all your life, you probably will share my curiosity about winter and the feel of snow and then learn to abhor the eternal summer of the tropics. That is the irony of anything and everything new. It gets old  and we get tired of it.

On your way back to Europe, you had a spare night to spend in Singapore since your plane takes off from here and not in Malaysia. We decided to meet. It is always thrilling to know people from around the world, quite more so if they are Slovene. You mentioned that not all Europeans know where Slovenia is located. So you drew a map to point it out. I remember that neither of us had a pen handy so you went to ask from the store owner and then started to draw the map of Europe at the back of a Toto ticket. I had to put the "boot" of Italy in place before I can get a bearing off the doodle that you just made. Yet  I'm quite satisfied that I was able to point out the principality of Andorra from Monaco. I felt wanting though when I realized I had no idea at all about Norway's whaling practices and how it stops them from joining the European Union (though it doesn't keep them from enjoying all the perks of a member just the same), or the United Kingdom's stance that the Sterling Pound may lose some value if they adopted the Euro. I remember that I had nothing relevant to say when you asked about Cambodia's current relations to Thailand. How embarrassing indeed that I didn't know about the current events around my area of the world. But we continued to talk. You asked my opinion about China as a superpower. I'm not very keen or interested about China's new found influence on the world. I said that as a non-Chinese, I felt bullied  when my own government had to boycott the Nobel Prize ceremonies honoring the Chinese revolutionary to avoid upsetting the Chinese government. I could only agree with you when you said that the Japanese people were truly remarkable, the way that they were coping and dealing with the tragedy that recently struck them. I said that they are handling their case gracefully and that no other nation can do it better.

The night was wearing on. You are not much of a beer drinker, so you said. You were more into wine. I figured that out when you drank your second bottle without taking off the crown. You made quite a mess of the table. I asked about the wine making process, if it was still anything like in the movies where people were dancing and stomping on grapes. Apparently, it was never the case since the last century and everything is processed by machines nowadays. I reckon that the beer making process is probably the same if not much less interesting so my indignation is definitely misplaced. You shared stories about your trips around Europe but I was more interested about Africa and it came as no surprise that you've been there too. So it costs 5 Euros to fly from Spain to Morocco. I still wonder how it feels to be in Casablanca though you say you went to a different city, probably along the same route that the guy in The Alchemist, trying to find his treasure, took.

We were running out of things to say. If you didn't notice, I was completing your sentences. When you couldn't find the appropriate words to articulate a thought, they seem to slip right out of my mouth and you agreed. It's a classic moment. In a way, we seem to be connected. Like two sides of the same coin, we somehow shared a common ground. And it was comfortable. There is nothing that can beat that feeling.

Then you asked if I wanted to proceed, I threw the question right back at you. And you said yes. I did too. Not because you said so first, but because I really wanted to. I didn't know the area; you were the tourist but you had to lead the way. I gave you my share for the room. Since beer was already paid Dutch, everything else was.

The moments thereafter were a blur. I just found myself in your arms and you were in mine. I could not stop staring at your grey eyes. And you looked right back, without prejudice, without expectations and without lies. We kissed. We kissed a lot. I could not get enough of your sweet little thin lips, my stubbles up the nape of your neck and your little fingers on my face and in my hair. I ran my fingers tracing the contours of your face, my nose is on your cheek, while you were  breathing into my ear. Then I kissed your pointy little chin, and your perfect neck pink from your recent basking. We hugged and cuddled, your soft skin against my unpolished leather hands. If only you didn't live in Ljubljana, you said we'd have a chance. We kissed like crazy, like we can't kiss anymore tomorrow. And sure enough, there was no tomorrow for us to keep kissing. You asked if it was worth it meeting you. I smiled.

It is dawn, minutes to sunrise. We were exhausted. But we still had our lives to live. You had to go back to your hotel and pray you'd be able to catch some needed sleep before your friend asks you to accompany her for some shopping. Your flight wasn't till midnight but that's already less than twenty four hours. I had to rest too as I was still recovering from a tooth surgery. We walk together towards the street, smoked a cigarette each and bought something to drink. You made me promise to write you. Then you showed me the way to go home. This is where we part, your hotel is just a couple of blocks across the street. We say our goodbyes. I look at your eyes for the last time, your tired grey eyes that I shall never see again. And then when I was going for a handshake, you pulled me in for a hug. Then I turned around and slowly walked away.

So where is Slovenia? If the map on the Toto ticket was accurate, it would be situated north of Croatia and south of Austria.