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melissabik

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I said my teary goodbyes to Sonya as we entered the airplane.  I put on my seatbelt and began to feel nervous.  This time we weren’t going out of the state; we were going out of the country.  Sam sat down next to me and grabbed my hand.  “He may be quick, but he isn’t as fast as an airplane,” he assured me.  I shook my head because I wasn’t so sure that was true.  So, where were we going?  We searched the entire globe for a remote place many people may not have heard of.  As we racked our brains on a place, one kept popping into my head.  The reason being, because my best friend in junior high was from there.  She had a funny accent like she was Russian, but when I asked her about it, she said she was something called “Croatian.”  I had never heard of Croatia before, so I was intrigued.

She told me that not many people knew about Croatia because it was a small country.  It used to be part of Yugoslavia, but after the war, it didn’t exist anymore.  She said Croatia was a beautiful country and it had lots of secluded areas.  I figured we could go there; how would Gabe know we would go to Croatia?  He would have no way to find us…  It seemed perfect.  “So we have a layover in Frankfurt, then we fly to Zagreb,” Sam stated, looking at his ticket.  I nodded as I waited for a long flight.  It was going to last for at least 8 hours.  I had lots of time to rack my brain with worry and struggle to get some time to sleep.  I had no idea what we were going to do when we got there; I couldn’t speak Croatian; neither could Sam.  “Right about now is when I wish I was still good friends with Nevena,” I muttered to myself.

The plane began to go down the tarmac as we waited to take off.  I turned to Sam and gave him a weak smile.  “We can do this, right?” I questioned, more to myself than to him.  Sam nodded his head as he gave my hand a little squeeze. I briefly closed my eyes, realizing that I was exhausted from running all day.  I hadn’t had any chance to sit down and take a breather.  Now I had 8 hours to do it…  “Yes, sir… we will be landing in about an hour or so…” I heard a flight attendant say to another passenger.  I opened my eyes and rubbed them, realizing that I had fallen asleep.  I turned to see that Sam was no longer sitting next to me.  That’s when I began to panic.  Had Gabe gotten on the plane after all?  Had he lured Sam into the lavatory and killed him right there?  I didn’t even have a chance to say goodbye.  I felt the tears welling up in my eyes as I struggled to search for him. 

Suddenly, I spotted Sam walking back from the lavatory slowly, passing through the small space between himself and the flight attendant.  I let out a sigh of relief as I watched him sit back down.  “Don’t scare me like that,” I warned him with a slap on the arm.  Sam looked at me with a surprised look on his face.  “What did I do?” he asked, feeling helpless to my anger.  “I thought you were dead,” I muttered under my breath.  Sam rolled his eyes as he put his seatbelt on.  “Stop worrying so much; I told you… nothing will happen,” he stated.  I shook my head.  “You can’t be so sure, Sam.  You aren’t invincible; you don’t have superpowers; you AREN’T immortal,” I spat.  Sam sighed as he put his arm around me.  I was stiff under his touch because I was frustrated.  “That’s the thing; I didn’t tell you my secret; I am immortal,” he joked.  I rolled my eyes as I pulled away.  “That is not funny, Mr. Livingston,” I hissed.

Before I knew it, the plane was on the ground and we were in Frankfurt waiting for our flight to Zagreb on Croatia Air.  I sat at the gate while Sam went to get us some McDonalds.  The food on the plane wasn’t too appealing, so I just flipped through the magazine I bought in one of the duty free shops.  Sam returned with a Filet-O-Fish sandwich for me and a Quarter Pounder with Cheese for himself.  We ate our meal quietly, as I was still a bit upset with him from our earlier fight.  “Flight 234 to Zagreb on Croatia Air is now boarding…” we heard over the intercom.  I got up and grabbed the duffel bag; the sole possession we now owned.  I couldn’t believe our lives were reduced to this…  But there was nothing we could do.  Before we boarded, Sam grabbed my arm.  I turned to him with annoyance.  “What?” I asked impatiently.  Sam huffed as he pulled me closer to him.

Nevena was right about Croatia; it was a beautiful country, especially now in the spring time.  All of the flowers were blooming, and everything looked so much cleaner.  When we exited the little airport with our one duffel bag, I looked into the distance to see that we were surrounded by lush green mountainsides and a blue sky with no clouds.  This was a great spot to pick for a hiding place.  We blended in well with all of the Croatian people; plus, we didn’t really look like tourists because we had one bag, and it was small.  Now the problem was understanding the language…  “Gde hočeš da ideš,” the taxi driver asked as we entered the cab.  I turned to Sam in confusion, wondering if he understood anything more than I did.  I turned back to the taxi driver and shrugged my shoulders.  “Idiota,” the taxi driver muttered under his breath.

THAT was one thing I understood.  I racked my brain trying to think of phrases Nevena had taught me when we were friends.  All I could remember was, “Dobar dan,” and “Zdravo.”  I became frustrated.  Cursed foreign language!  “Look; I don’t understand Croatian, so I can’t answer your question.  Do you speak English?” I asked, hoping for a miracle.  “You are lucky dat I do, lady,” he replied in a thick accent that sounded a bit Russian.  I let out a sigh of relief as I turned to Sam.  “We need to find a hotel,” Sam stated.  Brilliant idea!  A hotel would work for now, until we find jobs and learn the language…  The taxi driver shrugged his shoulders.  “Which hotel do you vant me to take you to?” he asked, still waiting on the shoulder of the airport.  “Any hotel is fine, okay?  Just take us to a cheap one,” I exclaimed, feeling very irritated.

The man huffed as he turned back around and stepped on the gas.  “Udavit ču te,” he muttered under his breath.  “Remind me to buy a Croatian-English translator dictionary when we get settled in the hotel,” I stated to Sam angrily.  The taxi driver found a CHEAP motel that looked cheaper than a Motel Six.  I turned to him thinking this couldn’t possibly be the place he had dropped us off at.  “Vat?” he asked in annoyance.  “THIS is where you’re dropping us off?” I asked in astonishment.  “You vant palace, I take you der; you vant cheap, I give you dis,” he replied angrily.  “Now get out of my car,” he added.  I turned to Sam, who was fuming.  “Let’s just get out of the damn cab, Kat,” he muttered through his teeth.  I followed him out of the car as the taxi driver sped off.  “Croatians are bastards,” Sam replied.  I shook my head.  “No; taxi drivers are bastards,” I corrected.  Sam smiled as we headed to the little check out desk that was at the end of the hotel.  “I šta mogu radit za vama?” asked a little woman who was stout and had her hair pulled back in a tight bun.  I looked at her in confusion.  “I’m sorry, but we don’t speak Croatian,” I informed her, hoping she was going to be nicer than the taxi driver.  The woman smiled.  “Oh; I see…  I was just asking to you what I can do for you peoples,” she explained.

Sam and I nodded, relieved to find someone who had common courtesy to foreigners.  “We would like a room,” Sam replied.  The woman nodded.  “Yes, well, I am Bogdana, and I would be so pleased and happy to have you peoples as my guests,” she exclaimed as she typed on her little outdated computer.  She turned around and pulled out a room key for us.  “Here you goes; thank you for staying wid us,” she added politely.  “Thank you,” Sam replied as we headed for our room.  When we opened it, we found a tiny bed against a green and peeling wall.  There was one nightstand on the left side with a broken lamp and a little television in front of the bed on another nightstand.  The bathroom was a sight; there was a shower with a broken shower curtain that was falling, no toilet paper, and a toilet seat you had to flush by pulling a string.

So THIS was Croatia…