Siberia

As the air hostess announces the arrival into Schipol airpot, his thought drifts to Julia and his lips curve slightly in a smile. He couldn’t wait to see her as it has been three months since they were physically together and even though they had talked and skyped regularly, it still felt as if they had been million years apart. He anxiously and impatiently went through the motions of getting off the plane, processing through immigration and getting his luggage. All he can think of is the ensuing minutes after he comes face to face with her.

He walks out of the terminal, scans the faces of the people around but can’t find her in the crowd. He walks to a nearby phone station within the airport and calls her. The phone rings and she answers “hello?”. He can never get over the warm feeling that spreads within him every time he hears her voice. “It’s me babe. I’m here”. “Yaaaay. Where are you? I’ve been looking all over the place for you. What terminal are you at?” She rushed the questions at him in excitement. He loved that about her, how she gets excited over every little and simple thing. He smiles and answers, “I’m in C. I’m using the phone booths near the bureau de change?” “Oh, I’m close. I’ll walk towards you now…yaaaay..you are here!..see you babe” and she hangs up. He chuckles lightly and thinks ‘my Julia’ and shakes his head.

He drops the phone and scans the crowd and then he sees her straining to look over and around the people towering over her. Their eyes meet and a huge smile spreads across her face. His heart stops for a moment, his breath catches and he stares at her in wondrous awe. ‘How is possible that someone so small could undo me so?’ he thinks. ‘This my babe is hot! God, she looks amazing, how did I get so lucky?’ As she gets closer to him, she breaks in a light excited run, more like a skip. When she reaches him, he catches her in a bear hug. His heartbeat accelerates as he feels her in his arms and smells her. He has never felt this strongly about another human being, well except for his immediate family. He had to restrain from crushing her with his hug and gently sets her aside. With racing heartbeat, trembling hands, he reaches for the box in his jacket. He gets on one knee, takes her left hand in his (people around them gasps and starts oooohing and aaaahing) and watches as her eyes grow rounder and bigger with each second as the realization of what his actions meant sets in.

“Julia!” he pauses for some seconds and continues “for the rest of my life, you are the one I want to see in the morning, before I go to sleep at night. There is no one for me but you because you were made for me” He pauses again..takes a deep breath and asks “Marry me?” She kneels with him, tears streaming down her face unabashedly, takes his face in her hands, kisses him softly but with traces of passion. “I love you Tami, yes I’ll marry you”. They hug and kiss with so much joy, happiness and passion as the small group already gathered around, watching the display breaks out in uproarious applause and cat whistles. They break away and he slides the ring on her engagement finger. They hug once more and share a kiss.

The taxi ride back to the house is sweet torture. They have been looking at each other for more than 5 minutes without saying anything to one another. Something in the way she looks at him makes him want to completely loose himself in her eyes and all he wants to do right now was have her in his arms without any thought of people watching and staring. They just keep looking at each other smiling and grazing each others hands. The taxi driver looks at them through the rear mirror and smiles. “Young love really is beautiful” he thinks to himself.

On getting to her house, he carries his bags with one hand while he holds her close with the other. Almost as if he was afraid she was going to run away from him. They walk to the bedroom together, he sets his bag close to the wardrobe and then pulls her into his arms in a hug. She raises her face to look at him smiling sweetly and wondrously. He lowers his head and kisses her. They kiss so passionately and hungrily, like their lives depend on it. He gently lowers her into the bed and they continue kissing and touching one another. He trembles as he feels her hands on his bare skin, moving up and down his back. He pulls her blouse over her head as they continue to suckle each others mouth. As he makes to unhook her bra, he feels her hand on his, stopping him. She looks at him and stares into his eyes, “we can’t Tami” she says. He heaves a resigned sigh and replies “I know”. She can see the hunger and desire in his eyes. He can feel her trembling and the heat emanating from her body. They smile lovingly at each other and then she says “I love you Tami”, he replies “I love you Julia” and they share a light kiss and hold each other tightly, smiling in contentment.

His eyes gently flutters open as the rays of sunlight streak through the drapes, hitting him squarely on the face. He turns to his right and reaches for her but discovers that side of the bed empty. Then everything starts flooding back in memory. He remembered waiting at the airport, calling her cellphone with no response. He remembered waiting expectantly with the ring safely tucked within the breast pocket of his sports coat. Waiting eagerly to slid the ring on his beloveds finger. Waiting, waiting and waiting and she never came. A lone tear slid through the lid of his left eye down his cheek. His heart wretched in agony.

This was his Siberia.