St. Petersburg, Russia [1]

Several men and women clapped their hands when the plane landed successfully at Pulkovo Airport St. Petersburg, Russia. She looked at the others in confusion. Maybe this is the custom among some Russians when a plane landed successfully, a kind of thanksgiving for surviving its destination, avoiding unwanted risks. Six-hour and a thirty-minute direct flight from Istanbul to St. Petersburg, Russia.

[I'm sorry Deniz, I have wasted the return ticket from Istanbul to Jakarta that you gave me, I also wasted your trust, I'm just not ready to accept the fact that we have to get married soon. I'm not the type you imagine me to be. The type that is far from ideal for a man as good as you. I'm not a woman who views marriage as the end goal, or like a fairy tale story that ends happily ever after.

Nor am I the type of woman who hunts the ideal partner, handsome and rich. Forgive also my cowardice that has never been able to tell you directly, Thank you for all the kindness you gave me while I was in Istanbul also with a very beautiful proposal, I know this is not easy, and you have sacrificed many things for me. I left the gift box in the room cupboard, as well as some Lira to compensate for the expenses you spent while I was there, as well as the expensive items that you had bought are all in the bedroom wardrobe.

Please check the left pants pocket, I put the engagement ring in it. I believe you have sown good things, and you will also reap sweet things. All the love that you give, will return to you in an equivalent form. God Bless you, my sweetest story. ]

Message sent.

I re-read my last message. I felt the clear beads of tears flowing down my cheeks, this is the first time a human has loved me unconditionally, without knowing my background, never knowing about my job, what I have, what education I have.

I arrived as a poor tourist, from a poor country that is far from your country's economic standards, my property is only a small suitcase that I carry around, in a way that does not show that I am financially stronger than you. I am clumsy, nervous, and sometimes not confident able to make you fall in love. Are you blind already? Can you tell me where you bought the lenses for your nearsighted eyes?

My cheeks are becoming wetter causing a few drops to land on my coat. I wash my face in the Pulkovo airport toilet sink. And fix my make-up again. I immediately took out my SIM card, I broke it in half and threw it into the nearest trash can, I replaced it with a new Russian SIM card that I bought at the airport store.

Reset WhatsApp and made sure there is no other way for Deniz to contact me. I walked quickly out to a taxi that would take me to the apartment. At 1600 in the evening Russia time. The day looks dark, equivalent to 1900 in Jakarta. Winter makes the night come earlier. I want to quickly clean up, order food, and rest. I need to calm myself down. I must be able to control all of my emotions before I fall into a deeper abyss. It hurts...

Yes...

[Welcome to 'The Venice of the North', Saint. Petersburg - one of the beautiful cities in Russia that has changed its name three times, initially the city was just named St. Because St.Petersburg sounds like a city in Germany. Five days after Lenin's death, 'Petrograd' changed its name to 'Leningrad'. And when Russia quit the communist state, "Leningrad" was changed back to "Saint Petersburg". This city was once the capital of the Russian state before it was transferred to Moscow. Because of its historical value, this city is in UNESCO's sovereignty as a world heritage site, the city is surrounded by canals, bridges and beautiful landscapes, renaissance-style buildings, witnesses to the great history of Russia, and was the home of the Tsars / Emperors of Russia in 1703.]

More or less like that the contents of the brochure given by the beautiful woman in the lobby of the apartment where I took the room key. I pushed aside the curtains on the window of the 5th-floor apartment, there was a bustling heart of St. Petersburg - Nevsky Prospect.

In another corner, I could clearly see the dome of St. cathedral. The golden-colored Issac, the tallest cathedral in Sts. Petersburg turned into a museum, is only six minutes from the apartment where I live.

I sighed with satisfaction with the apartment I chose in a hurry, without a plan, just by looking at pictures, ratings, and customer reviews. Beautiful scenery, there are many windows, being in a strategic place is enough to create a sense of security for solo travelers like me.

I plan to spend more time immersing myself in work that has been neglected for a long time, as well as visits to museums, historical sites of course. I tidied up my desk, pulled it beside the window, changed several positions of objects, made a comfortable workspace.

My body is still a little tired from the long journey, my heart is still so fragile. The whole thing that happened in Turkey had a physical effect on me, forgetting someone who was close is not easy, but to still force your way into a new life I didn't know exactly was crazier.

I checked the report files that were piling up in my email, it's been almost three weeks that I didn't pay attention to the details of my work. I left everything to the Director under me to handle it. I have a company that is engaged in exhibition construction, interior, and promotion. Even though it is still on a national scale, this company has had fairly rapid growth from year to year, I started three years ago and is able to handle quite large clients such as Mayora, Indofood, and Astra as my regular clients. My company employs approximately one hundred active employees, including management, designers, marketing, finance, admin, logistics, and warehouse.

It has its own warehouse in the West Jakarta area, workshops, printers, and several tracks for the needs of loading exhibition or exhibition goods. Even though it doesn't make me like a queen, it's a lot more than I need to survive. Also, my late father left some stocks and assets for me to manage. I was financially safe.

The night is coming so fast. I finished all my work and intended to go out around the apartment, to enjoy the night atmosphere in St. Petersburg around the Nevsky Prospect along the canal as well as have dinner. The apartment I stayed in was in the city center, close to several important landmarks in St. Petersburg, and within walking distance. I enjoyed my dinner slowly.

I ordered 'Borscht Soup' which is a typical Russian dish, especially in winter. Dominantly red soup made from beets and red cabbage served with bread, meat, and cheese. It's savory and sweet, served hot, really helps warm the body in winter, with a glass of beer.

Most of the restaurants in Russia, writing the menu in Cyrillic letters makes me a little confused, except for the Italian or French special restaurants there were also English menus. Down the canal in St. Petersburg Petersburg alone under the beautiful city lights and the cool night, it made me feel lonely.

This city is very beautiful, no wonder it is ranked as the most beautiful city in the world by travelers, there are many bridges connecting each canal and river, some bridges use an open and close system, at certain hours of the day, so that ships can enter and pass, that's why St. Petersburg is also a large port city, located on the banks of the River Neva and Finsky Bay.

The canals around the city are reminiscent of the canals in Amsterdam-Holland, for the architecture of the buildings reminded me of the architecture in the city of Vienna, Austria. River traffic, harbor reminiscent of Venice, Italy. To me, it seemed that the city was formed from a mixture of European masterpieces. The city was built by Peter the Great by adopting and being inspired by the big cities in Europe. Various ethnic groups live in Russia, because its territory is so large, and the long history of the world has led to a mixture of ethnicities and cultures.

I walked slowly down the canal and sat briefly on the rock by the canal for a moment to take pictures and moments that I keep neatly in my memory. I was shocked by the screams of a middle-aged mother who screamed as she started hitting me with her shopping bag. I'm confused as to what she meant, she doesn't even speak English.

The mother kept hitting me until I stood up and avoided her. "What the?" I muttered to myself. A man who passed me tried to explain to me what was going on in English because I was confused by the woman.

"This mother forbids you to sit on the rock." The man explained what happened. "Why? Did I break a rule." I replied with a face of protest.

"Not at all, but according to the belief of the Russian people, a woman should not sit on a rock, she will experience bad luck in her marriage, and it will be difficult for her to have offspring." He explained again.

I gasped to hear his explanation. Almost in disbelief... it turns out that in other parts of the world far from my own country, there are still many who believe in superstitions.

Hahahahaha. What a strange start to my new adventure.

🌬🌬🌬