Chapter 5
Lisa
I balked at the sight of her. What shocked me the most was her hair. It had been cut very short, like a man’s. And even for a man’s hair, it was short. It was definitely shorter than mine, and I reached to feel my locks, which were down to my shoulders.
And then there were her clothes. The woman was wearing tight trousers made of a shiny black material that clung closely to her body.
Instead of a shirt, she had on a matching black top, revealing her neck and shoulders.
In Zorya, women usually wore dresses or skirts, and my mouth gaped open as I took her in.
“Harry!” the woman exclaimed, rushing to the little horse. “What are you doing here?”
“Lisa!” Harry neighed, and I swallowed hard, realizing Lisa was human and not the horse I’d pictured all this time. This definitely explained why she resided in the small house and not in the stables. “I want you to meet someone.”
“Hello. My name is Lisa.” She fixed her gaze on me as she extended her hand.
I froze. I’d never shaken a woman’s hand before, but she looked at me expectantly, and I hesitated only briefly before taking her hand in mine.
It felt soft, and a current ran through my body as I did, the realization that this woman was very pretty hitting me at once.
She had bright-blue eyes, a straight nose, and beautiful full lips.
Despite the incongruous hair and the strange clothes, she was extremely attractive.
“Nice to meet you.” I swallowed hard.
“And what’s your name?” She opened her eyes wide.
“I’m Ivan,” I introduced myself. This time I stopped myself just in time to omit my embarrassing nickname.
“Ivan?” she asked, her mouth quite nearly gaping open.
I followed her gaze and realized she was staring at my clothes: the light-brown caftan and matching trousers. I adjusted the sash tied around my waist. Her eyes settled on my feet.
“What are these shoes you’re wearing? They look very old. Did you come from Colonial Williamsburg?”
“What?” I frowned, looking down at my bast shoes. They were worn, but not overly so.
“You know, are you part of a reenactment?” She tilted her head.
“What’s that?” I turned to Harry for support, but the pony was staring at the ground, avoiding eye contact.
“Umm, you don’t know? Okay, you don’t have to tell me. I’m just curious. Your clothes look a little different, that’s all.” As she said this, Lisa raised her hand, and I noticed a huge ring on her right hand. The stone was a soft shade of pink and shone brightly in the sunlight.
“So, your name is Ivan? Like Ai-van?” She pronounced my name in a strange fashion.
“No, not Ai-van, it’s Ee-van.”
“Russian Ivan? Is that who you are?”
“I’m from Zorya,” I said proudly, immediately noticing Harry fidgeting nearby.
“What’s Zorya?”
“It’s where I come from. My land is called that.”
“All right.” Lisa brought her hand to her mouth, as if to stop herself from speaking.
“It’s a little different from how things work here,” I elaborated, hoping it would help Lisa understand Zorya better.
“Umm, so, where did you guys meet? Are you working at the stables?” She gave me an encouraging smile. As she did, her whole face lit up, and she looked even more beautiful.
“No, not really. Not here, I mean. I tend to my father’s horses,” I muttered, blushing.
“And I also do a few other things around the house. Like cleaning the stove, getting the fire going in the mornings, heating the water, sweeping the floor, but that’s just the usual chores.
But then I tend to the horses, too, and take them to pasture, and I also go hunting. ”
As I mentioned hunting, I remembered the hare that I’d been chasing before I found the feather, and my stomach growled. I hadn’t had a proper meal since I’d come through the portal, and I wasn’t sure the porridge Baba Yaga had given me counted as one.
“I see,” Lisa said, and at that very moment, my stomach grumbled again, louder now, and Lisa must have heard it, for she threw a concerned look my way.
“Are you homeless? Is that what’s going on? We’ve had a few homeless people come through recently, walking over from DC,” she sighed.
“I’m not homeless.” I shook my head. “I’ve got a home over in Zorya. I live with Papa and my two brothers.”
“That’s what I thought, because you don’t actually look homeless. I can always tell. It’s their eyes. Yours look different.”
“I come from a village called Yassy. And our house is right on its edge.”
“Is that in West Virginia?” She frowned, scanning my face for clues.
“No, where’s that?”
“What do they teach you guys in school these days?” Lisa put her hands on her hips. “Where did you go to school?”
“I’ve never been to school,” I said. “I had to help my father, and then I have two older brothers, and they needed tending to, you see.”
The topic of my scholastic abilities was about to come up, and I tried to avoid the sensitive conversation. I didn’t want to lie to this beautiful woman, but I didn’t want to tell her my embarrassing nickname, either. And who would want to tell a person you’re called a dimwit?
“Never? Were you homeschooled?” she asked, her eyes lighting up. “Did your mother teach you at home then? I hear that can produce excellent results.”
“My mother died in childbirth,” I noted gravely. “But my old nurse, Arina, was very kind, and she taught me how to read and write.”
“How awful. I’m so sorry. America is unbelievable. We have the highest rate of maternal mortality of any OECD nation.”
“America? Is this what this land is called? I thought it was Virginia.”
“Yes, we’re in America. I mean, Virginia is in the United States of America. Listen, Ivan, are you on drugs?” She took a step back. “If that’s the case, I suggest you go and get yourself clean.”
I stared at Lisa in confusion, unsure of how to respond.
Was she implying I wasn’t clean? The night before finding the feather, I’d been to our banya, the sauna, where I’d washed and scrubbed myself clean, but then, of course, there was my adventure through the forest, Baba Yaga’s hut, and the night in the stables.
Harry came to my rescue, neighing to interrupt our conversation:
“Lisa, Ivan is a confused man, but he is kind. He’s just come from a faraway land, and we can’t quite figure out what it is. He calls it Zorya. And it’s not in Virginia. We know that much for sure. And I don’t think it’s in America, either.”
I thought Lisa would get mad at Harry, but to my utter surprise, she remained perfectly calm and collected. On the contrary, she smiled at Harry politely and patted his back. Then she turned to me.
“I see we’ve got a strange case here. Listen, just come with me, all right?” She pointed at the building. “Harry, you’d better stay here for now.”
Before I had a chance to say goodbye to the humpbacked horse, Lisa led me into the small building.
“I teach yoga and mindfulness here,” she noted, “and my apartment is also here.”
I heard Harry’s neighs warning me of something, but I couldn’t understand exactly what he was trying to say as I followed her through the front door.
We entered a hallway with ceilings surprisingly tall for such a small building.
The walls were painted beige, and I heard the sound of dripping water, noticing a miniature fountain that was mounted into a wall.
There were two benches next to it, and right above the fountain was a picture of a metal man sitting cross-legged with his eyes closed.
His head was round and had a pointy top.
“This is the reception,” Lisa noted as we walked past the fountain. On the right-hand side, there were thick brown curtains drawn together. Lisa pulled them apart, announcing, “And here is the studio where I teach.”
I followed her into a large, bright space with a light wooden floor. It smelled of roses and vanilla, and I heard the most beautiful, gentle music playing.
“This is my space,” Lisa said, drawing a wide circle with her hand. “My yoga classes take place right here. And I also run a meditation group.”
“This is very nice,” I responded. I didn’t know what meditation was, or yoga, for that matter, but decided not to ask any more questions to appear more worldly to Lisa. I wanted to impress this woman. I wanted her to like me.
“Listen, let me take you to my apartment so I can feed you,” Lisa suggested softly.
“Thank you, but you don’t have to.”
My hands were shaking, I was so hungry, but I didn’t want to impose on Lisa.
In my village, the last three years had been tough.
Our harvests were bad, and we barely had enough to eat among the four of us, Papa and my two brothers, especially in the spring, when the supplies ran low.
There was an unspoken code of avoiding visiting our neighbors during mealtimes, so as not to embarrass them as people struggled to feed their families, and I assumed this was the case in Virginia, as well.
“It’ll be nice to share a meal with someone,” Lisa said. “Why don’t you join me?”
“Do you have enough food?” I furrowed my brow, staring at her.
“Oh, yes, I do. Don’t worry.” Lisa gave me a reassuring smile.
“Then, yes, of course, thank you,” I agreed, deciding this wasn’t mere politeness.
Now that I was nearly certain I was about to eat, I felt faint with hunger and wondered how I’d been able to last this long without eating. Suddenly, the brown curtains merged into one, the walls collapsed, and I was traveling through a dark tunnel.
“Ivan, Ivan, wake up,” I heard. I found myself lying on the floor, in the very room with the wooden floor where Lisa taught yoga and meditation, a cold compress on my forehead.
“Ivan, thank God!” Lisa yelped as soon as I opened my eyes.
“Are you feeling well enough to stand up?” She leaned over me, and I caught a whiff of her perfume.
It was something sweet. I nodded and slowly sat up.
Black circles floated in front of my eyes.
Lisa held out her hand, and this time, I took it without hesitation.