A couple of hours had passed since the game of Truth or Dare had ended, the couples dispersed with Alessandro keeping Fritz company, and the sun had finally set on an otherwise exciting day onboard the Trans-Europa. In one train car sat Florian and Elizabeth, who sat there quietly to recover from all the insanity that had happened. The Roboter had his arm around her, while she rested her head on his shoulder. While he kept his eyes to life outside the window, her eyes were closed as she was half-asleep.
Finally, Florian spoke--"Eliza?"
Elizabeth opened one eye to look at him. "What is it, Florian?"
With a smile he looked to her. "A is for admirable, B is for brains, C is for cute, D is for darling, E is for educated, F is for fearless."
"Oh my God, Florian" she said with a soft laugh. "You're actually attempting the dare!!"
He nodded and continued. "G is for graceful, H is for human, I is for interesting, J is for judgemental, K is for kind, L is for laughter, M is for... erm... M is for..."
"M is for Marissa, which is my middle name" she added with a proud grin.
He blinked. "Really!? I didn't know that...!"
She shrugged. "Just ask Johanne!!"
He shrugged also. "Anyway!" he said, continuing where he left off. "M is for Marissa, N is for nowhere-near-normal, O is for off-the-wall, P is for pretty, Q could go for quite precise, R is for really cute, S is for the staring contests we almost always seem to have, T is for trains, U is for unusual, V is for very dear, W is for wonderful, X is in the word fix, Y is in the word snarky, and Z stands for what you're not: a zebra!"
Elizabeth laughed and applauded Florian for a job well done on his alphabet.
Meanwhile in another train car...
"Wolfgang, have you figured out anything?"
"About what, Reki?"
"I don't know. I just... about anything. I don't know."
Her boyfriend held her tightly in both arms as the two looked outside the window. "I know that..." he said, "A is for amazing, B is for bright, C is for courageous, D is for dearest, E is for enlightning, F is for fantabulous--which you are, by the way."
She grinned at him. "And you're quite the goober!"
"Thank you for the letter G, sweetheart!!" he laughed, kissing her forehead. "And H is for heartwarming, I is for imitable--which you're not, because there's no one to be you except for you. And J is for jumpy, K for your sugary-sweet kisses, L is for lovable, M is for mornings I wake up to see your smiling face, N is for...
"...uhm..."
"N is for Novalee, which is my middle name!" she giggled.
"Holy cow, Reki!" Wolfgang exclaimed. "Nice middle name."
"Thank you, honey" Rebekah replied, kissing the tip of his nose.
He continued, but not before wiggling his nose out of humor. "Alright--O is for outside-the-lines, P is for perfect shooting aim, Q is for quiet, R is for your bold red hair, S is for sweetness, T is for trusting me for who I am, U is for unusual because it's unusual for a sweet girl like you to love a former playboy like me... V is for a very, VERY darling girl, W is for the world I'd surrender just to stay yours, X is in the word sexy because... well, you just KNOW you are!! Y is in the word sassy, because you can be at times too--and that's alright with me! And Z... well... it's the last letter of the alphabet but..."
"...but?" she said, raising a brow with an amused smile.
"...but you'll always be the first in my heart" he admitted with a blush.
"...aww" she said softly, and hugged him tightly. "Those were the best ABC's I ever heard." He smiled back at her, hugging her close to him, proud at himself as if he wrote the best love letter in the world.
In another car, Karl and Anneke kept their silence for the most part, which was uncharacteristic of the two. For one, they were a bit exhausted after all the madness that the day could've overrun them with. For another, they had said all that was needed to be said when they spent the night together in the abandoned park in Venice. But sitting quietly against the wall, the Roboter stretched out his legs and rested them on the other chair. His beloved, meanwhile, had sat across from him, looking out another window.
Yet as Karl's eyes fixed to the brown-eyed princess of pranks who sat across from him, his soul was moved. How on earth did his heart ever get to be so strung through and through for someone he knew only a handful of weeks, maybe even a couple of months? He wasn't sure how but, when his eyes met hers, ever since their eyes first met, he'd felt a strange yet marvelous linking at the heart with hers--even though, for the moment, he was rewired without a heart.
"Anya" he whispered, and a second later the girl's eyes darted from the window to him. He blinked and gave a small half smile. Returning the smile she got up from her seat and walked to him. He stood up and hugged her tightly.
"A is for Anya" he whispered, kissing her after each letter, "B is for your braids, C is for your confession, D is for being downright daring, E is for the brown eyes I always gladly drown in, F is for friendship, G is for your bashful grin, H is for the heart whose beating I count my seconds in joyful sleep."
Anneke closed her eyes listening to his words, a sweet smile on her face which itself was adorned by light kisses from the one she loved. Karl was apparently attempting the dare yet, whatever surprises came out of his mouth, she loved and took in every word, every embrace and every kiss. It dawned on her that, apparently, he was still lost in the memory of the night she confessed her love.
"I is for inventive, J is for a joyful company of friends, K is for the knuckles that fight in defense of innocence, L is for being lost in laughter whenever I'm with you... M for the memories made so far since we've met, N for the new memories that are yet to be made, O is for... Ophelia, isn't it?" he asked, his eyes meeting hers for a moment.
She nodded. "Yep. You got it. Ophelia. My middle name."
"See, I told you I was paying attention!!" he retorted with a grin.
"You goofball" she laughed softly.
"But meanwhile..." he resumed, "O for Ophelia... P is for purple, Q is for quirky, R is for the ribbons that adorned your hair, S is for the sweetest soul that I'm glad to be with, T is for the tears you cry that I'm more than happy to wipe away, W is for these silly little whispers... X is in the word extremely which goes with 'I'm extremely happy to be with you', Y is for younger-at-heart-than-not, and Z... well, I don't know what we can find with that letter."
But Anneke didn't say a word in reply, but instead held his face in her hands and kissed him on the lips. Karl blinked for a moment over what she had done, and realizing that words were not worthy of saying how she felt, held her tightly to drown for that moment.
Meanwhile Ralf and Johannes talked much of the afternoon away, the conversation ranging from the moment they met to their time together in Venice.
"You know, all that we've been through, it's got me inspired finally" Ralf said wistfully, smiling to Johannes.
"Inspired to do what?" she asked.
"Well, let see" he answered, thoughtfully. "A is for adorable, B is for beautiful, C is for your cheerful smile, D is for this crazy Dare, E is for your enchanting face, F is for the flowers that graced your hair in Venice yesterday..."
"Oh Lordy" she sighed with a giggle.
"...G is for your grace that inspires and captures me, H is for the hope we both share for the sake of Eastern Europe, I is for that infectious giggle!!" he continued, stopping only to giggle with her. She held him to her.
"Oh please" she spoke, "do keep up with your humorous words, Ralf!"
"Gladly!" he responded. "J is for Johannes, that dear sweet little angel who, though blind, can see the world around her. K is for the knowledge that you rightfully possess, L is for the love we've found for each other in each other, M is for missing your company yesterday because I talked with Florian too much!! N is for naptime together well spent, O is the openheartedness, P is for pink which is the color of your cheeks, Q is for the quick-hearted intuition that only you have. And R is for that really jawdropping outfit you wore yesterday!!"
Johannes grinned proudly. "Well, my sis said Mama had made the outfit just for me. And, although I cannot see it, I can feel it. I actually feel a bit like a princess in that outfit. I rarely ever wear it, and I'm glad that Elizabeth saved the outfits Mama made for me."
Ralf held her face in his hands and kissed her forehead. "And rightly so, as you are my princess, and no one else's... well, except for your sister of course, but still."
She snuggled up to him. "Please do finish the alphabet, pretty please" she begged with a giggle. Hugging her to him the mensch-maschine smiled and continued.
"S is for your middle name Seraphim, T is for the truth of angels among us, U is for this unlikely yet undeniably nice romance, V is your vibrant soul, W is for words that sometimes need not be said but felt. I can't really think of anything for X but I do know one for Y, and Y is for you, because as Dr. Suess said, 'there is no one alive who is youer than you'! And Z... I can't really think of one for Z either..."
But Ralf's thinking-through was interrupted when Johannes, sparked by her intuition, placed a finger to his lips. He blinked for a moment while she smiled and, wrapping her arms around him, spoke up in reply--
"A is for awesome, B is for brilliant, C for cuddly, D for dreams, E for endearing, F for funny, G for gracious, H for humble."
The semi-human being blinked and continued to listen to her, eyes widened in surprise.
"I for intriguing, J for joyful, K for my knight in suit for armor, L for love that knows no bounds, M for the music that raises up hope" she continued, smiling contentedly. "N for the joyful noise of birds that sing, O for the one whose heart beats inside me, P for the patience to be there for me. Q for the quiet ways of letting me know I'm loved, R for romantic--just like Ralf, my Roboter. S for the smiles that warm my soul, T for taking my heart and soul just as I am. U for unexpected but mostly pleasant surprises, V for my Valentine, W for the whimsey I can't find in anyone else. I'll agree on X and Z, but I'll also agree about Y--for YOU!"
Ralf smiled and, hugging her tightly, cheered. "Now THAT was what I call a good alphabet!!" But Johannes just smiled, held his face in his hands, and planted kisses along his cheeks.
"I do silly things like that" she explained "because no other force greater than love will make me do this. Love makes people do what no one would ever expect."
The half-human robot then stood up carefully and, helping his beloved stand up, held her face in his hands, and smiled sweetly.
"Then, I suppose, it's enough to allow us to be the unexpected, then?" he asked.
She nodded lightly. "Y-yes, for love is the only force that can help make this chaotic world whole... or at least, in my opinion anyway. And the string that ties hearts in love to each other, no matter what the distance. With love, the distance is immeasurable, as it does not matter."
His own feelings for her overwhelmed him slightly and, leaning against the wall, he pulled her over to him and hugged her tightly. "I pray that there be no distance between us then, Johanna" he whispered before taking her face in his hands. "And even now I fear that words are not enough to say whatever else I wanted to say."
But Johannes wrapped her arms around his waist and blinked for a moment, her usually cold gray eyes adorned with a spark of love. "Words need not be said," she whispered. "In times like these no words are needed."
"And I truly believe it, mein liebe" he whispered as he lowered his lips to kiss her still-smiling mouth.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment