#once an American said to me/my friend group ‘well Stockholm is a small city so we’ll probably run into each other again’

[linguenuvolose]

It’s almost impressive that me and my boyfriend didn’t meet earlier because first he joined a band where the guitarist is a guy who I went on a scout camp with 10 years ago and now yesterday I found out that the one girl I’ve been a bit more friendly with at salsa class was active in the same student union as him back when he studied here a few years back.

[nichtaufgewacht]

In a burning room, chapter 2.

They had arrived at the military base, that was about fifty kilometers away from the Syrian city of Damascus. It was one of the truce days that had been agreed on, so that the people would have enough peace to reorganize, and the various humanitarian missions would have had a chance to do what they could. It was a hot and windy day. Joakim was walking behind his friend, and military superior, Sergeant Pär Sundström. To him, he was just his long time friend, Pär.

Joakim had a pair of sunglasses on, very useful to shield his eyes from the dust rising from the ground. The blue helmet with the UN logo on it, the thick uniform of the Swedish army sticking to his body. All of them were armed, for praxis. They were a small group, walking behind the commander in chief of the camp. They went inside the biggest container of the camp, that served as a hall and as a reunion place for every military man camp. Once inside, Joakim took off his helmet, with a sigh. Still standing, he went to sit next to Pär, in the first row of chairs, in front of a tall, American man.

“You alright?” Pär got closer to Joakim’s ear. He had very deep blue eyes, as clear as his soul. Long hair, for the occasion pulled up in a low tail behind his head. He was the closest thing Joakim had to a brother, being the only son of a divorced mother.

“All good.” Joakim lifted up his thumb at him, after he had placed the AK 5 - verificare arma in dotazione ad esercito svedese ed Onu - next to his chair. The weapon stood there, menacing, it’s cane leaning onto Joakim’s right leg. “A bit nauseated by the flight, but I got a tough stomach.” Pär jokingly patted Joakim’s thigh. In a moment, the entire room was quiet. The tall American man friendly smiled at them.

“Colonel Rogers, head of UN operations here at Camp Damascus.” he introduced himself. He was in his forties, with strong facial features and a well groomed red beard framing his face. “I’d like to welcome back Sergeant Sündström, and an heartfelt welcome to those who are here for the first time. I see a few new faces, and that really gives me joy.” Rogers looked at Joakim, who sustained his gaze. “Within the month you’ll be staying with us, we honestly hope that we’ll manage to accomplish a lot.” Rogers continued speaking. He had the marines uniform, a metal tag hanging from his neck.

“I’ll keep this short and sweet. While you’ll be here, me and Sergeant Sündström will be your guide, teacher and commander. You’ll be assigned to various tasks, and you’ll join other members of the coalization.” Joakim listened, taking off his sunglasses. He felt dust in each of his pores. “There’s so much to do here, like bringing resources such as medicins and basic life supplies to the UN refugees camps in this areas. Looking after young children and new borns, for those of you who are familiar with it, so that mothers and fathers can work on the documents they need to ask for political asylum.” The wind outside the container kept on raging.

“The most difficult task, to which you’ll get assigned if you specifically ask for it, is the reason why this truce is so important. Small groups of us leave the camp everyday to visit the destroyed parts of Damascus, and  even go up to Aleppo, to seek for alive citizens that might still be hiding in the buildings.” Joakim glanced at Pär: that was what he had signed up for. The aim to which he hoped to dedicate himself to. “Seeking for dead citizens, will be a priority as well. So that we can take them back to the camp, and help their families to find them. It won’t be easy, remember this is a peace mission in a country that is living a civil war. And war is war, no matter how big or small it may be.”

Every soldier in the room lent their ears to the Colonel’s words. He had spoken as frankly as he could have done, to make things very clear. Being a very honest person himself, Joakim instantly felt a connection to the man. Still, an unpleasant shiver crossed his back, sweaty under the Swedish Army M90 desert uniform that was sticking to his skin. "Tonight you’ll be free to get to know the camp. Rest well, and tomorrow morning you’ll be assigned to the different teams. Hope I have been clear enough.” The colonel looked at all their faces. “If the sergeant has something to say?” Pär immediately stood up. There was a patch saying ‘fänrik’, on his arm. And the UN and Swedish Armed Forces patches were right under it. He shook hands with the colonel, that was taller than him of about fifteen centimeters. Pär didn’t seem to mind that at all.

“You already know everything you need to know.” Pär said, serious. “Listen, be careful, and when it’s possible try to think that you’re here because our country has decided to contribute to world peace.” Joakim watched his friend being the military officer he had chosen to become. That wasn’t like being in the security battalion; no stations or crowded streets, no part time jobs. For that month, things would have been definitely real. “Stockholm and Dalarna will be a far thought. When you’ll come back, you’ll be richer in the mind and in the heart. And as the Belgians say…” he opened his arms at his men, and waited for their answer.

“Resiste et mords!” the eight men under his command replied, in a single choir. Colonel Rogers felt like applauding, slightly amused. Joakim, with a smile, shook his head at his friend and commander.

“Resist and bite.” Pär explained to Rogers. “I am kind of an history nerd, colonel.” Rogers chuckled, and nodded.

“Dismiss, everyone.” The colonel said, after Pär had finished speaking.

A couple of hours later, after eating together with the others, Joakim was on his bed. He had taken off his combat boots, and was laying with a foot on the other, tapping on his smartphone. The bed wasn’t that bad at all, and the long room in which all of the members of his division would have lived had enough air for everybody. There was a small window between Joakim’s bed and the one next to is; it was open, and some air was desperately trying to get inside.

Pär had entered the room, and everyone had saluted him. He quickly dismissed them with a lazy hand gesture, and went sitting on the bed near the door, the one next to Joakim’s. The sergeant untied his hair, that for the best part of the day had been put up in a pony tail. He scratched the back of his head, satisfied; then, he sat down with a loud sigh.

“Long day?” Joakim asked to his friend. Pär nodded, his lips under the beard curling in a smile. “Long day.” he replied. Then, he adjusted himself to sit on the bed, to remove his boots. “Have you called her already?” Joakim felt surprised at the perfect timing. He had been caught in the exact moment in which he was about to push the “call” button.

“Right on time.” Joakim smiled, showing the phone to Pär. Pär chuckled, taking off his tags and his shirt, remaining only with a white tank. He wasn’t as big as Joakim, but his body was still defined.

“I still can’t believe how you went up to a girl just like that.” Pär said. “You’ve changed, after all.”

“Indeed.” Joakim took a deep breath. His long fingers slid down the contacts, until he found her. Claire. He glanced at Pär one last time, seeing how he let down his head on the pillow and closed his eyes, humming a song. Then, Joakim tapped on the small icon of a videocamera. He closed his eyes as he heard the phone ring.

 Claire was standing in front of the kitchen table, a knife in her hand as she chopped down carrots and other vegetables to make a salad. She had just arrived home after a tiring day of studying and researching at the University, and she just wanted to sit down to have a homemade meal.

On the other side of the open space kitchen, sitting on the couch, was her older brother, Chris. He was a medium height young man, with long brown hair that tended to be curly to its ends. He had brown eyes, just like Claire, and he had a dark beard framing his round face. His hands moved on the guitar frets of the classic Fender he was playing on, improvising.

The sound of him playing was filling the room. It wasn’t loud as usual; this time he had chosen to stay clean, almost as if he wanted to create an atmosphere.

“How come you’re playing on a Fender? You hate them.” Claire had noticed how her brother wasn’t using his more modern, habitual guitar. Chris’ fingers kept playing, as he shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t even know.” he replied. “Guess I just want to give this a chance. It’s not that bad, but it’s not my cup of tea.” Claire chuckled, taking a bamboo bowl from above the kitchen counter to place the salad in. Then, Chris stopped playing. He stood up, and walked barefoot towards Claire, holding something in his hand. Her phone, and it was ringing. The girl noticed, and furrowed her brows at him, looking up at this face.

“How did you hear it?” she asked, taking the smartphone in her small hand. Chris pointed to his ears.

“I’m a superhero. Never forget that.” he said, as he grabbed a couple of plates to lay the table.

Claire looked at her phone. A number she didn’t know, that was video calling her. She turned pale, and then her cheeks turned red. Holding her breath for a second, she accepted the call. She wouldn’t believe her eyes as Joakim’s face appeared on the screen. He was waving at her, with a joyful smile. Then, he burst out in a laugh, visibly amused.

“I’m glad that my face is so ridiculous to you.” Claire replied, brushing a hand through her hair. She couldn’t help but smile back at him. His laugh was contagious.

“It’s just…you should look at you. Your expression is priceless.” he said, speaking English in his familiar accent.

“Well, I see that you’re enjoying the taste of victory.” she said, one of her brows lifting up. In the meantime, Chris glanced at that scene. It hadn’t been a while since he had seen her sister be so shy with someone. Silently, he went on preparing dinner from where Claire had left it, pushing a tuft of hair behind his ear.

“Victory.” Joakim repeated, mocking her British accent. “I love how you say it. But yes, I am enjoying it very much.” Joakim tried to grasp every glance of her that he could. How she licked her lips from time to time, how her index finger played with one of her earrings.

“Then, how long until our first date, private Joakim?” Claire said, playfully. She took a look at his thick neck, at the curve of his deltoids covered by a white t-shirt.

“Thirty-two days.” he said, nodding. “Don’t hide it, I know you can’t wait.” Claire chuckled.

“Time will tell, I guess.” she said.

“I will call you every day.” Joakim said. Claire was surprised, and felt her cheeks blushing. “So that I can remind you how many days until that glorious evening.” he smirked, with a sweet expression on his features. He was taking courage in his hands once again, and felt like he could take on the world.

“You can, if you want to.” Claire agreed. She looked down at her feet for a moment, shyly. Joakim took the chance to eye her up, and to print her features in his mind. In the dimmed light of her kitchen, even through the screen, she seemed adorable to him.

“I think it’s time for me to go to sleep. I’ve had a full day.” Joakim said, definitely feeling sad about the call ending. “How was your day, by the way?” Claire looked at him again. She could see his eyes, again. They were green. Then they were hazel.

“Long.” she replied. “Thank you for asking, anyway.” Claire watched as Joakim slightly bowed his head.

“I’ll leave you to your civilian life then.” he said, after he had let out a yawn. “Have a good night, Claire.” Joakim smiled. Claire waved at him.

“Have a good night, private.” she replied, bringing her hand to her forehead to make the military salute. Joakim replied to it, making a serious face for a moment; then, he winked at her.

Claire closed the video call, tapping on her smartphone. She stared at it, for a second of trance. Then, she finally sat down at the table, where Chris was already eating, as he watched the news on the tv.

“Who was that?” he asked. He had tried to hold it in, but he was too curious.

“No one.” she replied. “Just a guy.” Chris nodded, understanding. He knew her too well, and was curious about it. Yet, he decided to let it go for the moment. He observed her features and noticed the content smile that had started to appear on her pink lips.