needed to be typed, and it was my turn. )
“Do you think you will be coming back?” ( Coming back to... me? )
“Sure! I don't think I will like the weather there...” ( Or staying away from you. )
“Ok then, when you come back bring some really tasty British tea and I'll make cookies.” ( Don’t you dare forget you have someone to come back to...me! )
“Deal!” ( Cookies and tea are worth coming back for, if you will be sharing them with me! )
Annika was sad. It was stupid... he was just a friend. And actually only a virtual one, since they did not meet in person again after the jump, and the chat was all they had. But either way, it was much nicer to think of Vasko being a two-hour drive away rather than a four-hour flight away.
****
By the time Vasko left for the UK, Stefan had finally stopped trying to reach Annika and either believed that she had left the country, or pretended to believe it. In any case, Annika no longer jumped whenever her mobile rang and, in her perception, Stefan was sliding into a memory.
Stefan was memory, Vasko was away. She missed both of them and she felt a huge vacuum inside... She felt empty.
Annika filled the void with books. She swallowed them one after the other. After each book she read, Annika wrote something to herself. She wrote about her feelings, memories, hopes, dreams and pain. She did not write about the future though...
Annika did not know what the future would hold; nor did she even know how she wanted it to be. Her love of adventure sometimes made her think of going off to Tibet or Nepal and spending time there to find herself again and regain her equilibrium. But Annika decided that she’d already had quite enough adventures in the past few years. So she let inertia propel her forward and all she did was stick to routine, to what was ordinary and just happened day by day.
The only bright spots to her days were the late evenings, when Vasko appeared in the chat room. He was there every single day, with no exceptions, no weekends and no days off. For his part Vasko would count the hours until he could finally get into his dorm room, close the door and “date” Annika.
Annika smiled at the screen every time the message “Saviour logged in” appeared on it. He came, and it meant he cared, she thought. After what had happened with her and Stefan, she truly believed that caring for someone was more important than loving. That is what they were both doing at this stage: they were just truly looking out for each other. Nothing stronger, nothing deeper, nothing more... yet!
Their slow-paced cyber friendship was gradually becoming cyber love. Their conversations were taking on romantic accents. So, not just caring any more. They were opening up to each other and sharing everything together. No longer were their pasts mysteries to each other. They both knew where the other one was coming from and felt that from now on they should be following their paths together. Vasko was the only one Annika felt close to. Annika was the first person Vasko could trust. Things were so different from the fast-paced, insane passion and love-at-first-sight with Stefan. Vasko and Annika were both being very careful. They were moving slowly and the long distance only made everything progress more smoothly.
By the end of the second month of Vasko's stay in the UK, they’d already said they loved each other. By the third month they were already counting the days until Vasko would be back. They couldn’t wait to meet again and they were crossing off the days on the calendars which were hanging on their respective walls.
17
It was time for Vasko to be coming back. Annika was at work at the trade-fair reception when her mobile rang. She answered and heard Vasko's voice.
“Hi dear,” Vasko's voice was happy and excited.
“Hi, how are
“Do you think you will be coming back?” ( Coming back to... me? )
“Sure! I don't think I will like the weather there...” ( Or staying away from you. )
“Ok then, when you come back bring some really tasty British tea and I'll make cookies.” ( Don’t you dare forget you have someone to come back to...me! )
“Deal!” ( Cookies and tea are worth coming back for, if you will be sharing them with me! )
Annika was sad. It was stupid... he was just a friend. And actually only a virtual one, since they did not meet in person again after the jump, and the chat was all they had. But either way, it was much nicer to think of Vasko being a two-hour drive away rather than a four-hour flight away.
****
By the time Vasko left for the UK, Stefan had finally stopped trying to reach Annika and either believed that she had left the country, or pretended to believe it. In any case, Annika no longer jumped whenever her mobile rang and, in her perception, Stefan was sliding into a memory.
Stefan was memory, Vasko was away. She missed both of them and she felt a huge vacuum inside... She felt empty.
Annika filled the void with books. She swallowed them one after the other. After each book she read, Annika wrote something to herself. She wrote about her feelings, memories, hopes, dreams and pain. She did not write about the future though...
Annika did not know what the future would hold; nor did she even know how she wanted it to be. Her love of adventure sometimes made her think of going off to Tibet or Nepal and spending time there to find herself again and regain her equilibrium. But Annika decided that she’d already had quite enough adventures in the past few years. So she let inertia propel her forward and all she did was stick to routine, to what was ordinary and just happened day by day.
The only bright spots to her days were the late evenings, when Vasko appeared in the chat room. He was there every single day, with no exceptions, no weekends and no days off. For his part Vasko would count the hours until he could finally get into his dorm room, close the door and “date” Annika.
Annika smiled at the screen every time the message “Saviour logged in” appeared on it. He came, and it meant he cared, she thought. After what had happened with her and Stefan, she truly believed that caring for someone was more important than loving. That is what they were both doing at this stage: they were just truly looking out for each other. Nothing stronger, nothing deeper, nothing more... yet!
Their slow-paced cyber friendship was gradually becoming cyber love. Their conversations were taking on romantic accents. So, not just caring any more. They were opening up to each other and sharing everything together. No longer were their pasts mysteries to each other. They both knew where the other one was coming from and felt that from now on they should be following their paths together. Vasko was the only one Annika felt close to. Annika was the first person Vasko could trust. Things were so different from the fast-paced, insane passion and love-at-first-sight with Stefan. Vasko and Annika were both being very careful. They were moving slowly and the long distance only made everything progress more smoothly.
By the end of the second month of Vasko's stay in the UK, they’d already said they loved each other. By the third month they were already counting the days until Vasko would be back. They couldn’t wait to meet again and they were crossing off the days on the calendars which were hanging on their respective walls.
17
It was time for Vasko to be coming back. Annika was at work at the trade-fair reception when her mobile rang. She answered and heard Vasko's voice.
“Hi dear,” Vasko's voice was happy and excited.
“Hi, how are
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