Between Asia and Home

The journey had taken time. There was a lot of walking, but there was also some car rides, train rides, and one ride on an elephant. Charlie had fallen asleep on top of the elephant, his back against its neck as it swayed from side to side. He woke up with a start as he felt his body hurling forward. He grabbed onto the thick hair of the elephant's mane until he righted himself. His heart was beating fast, but he was smiling.

They were in Burma now, where Sina had spent time as a child with her grandmother in Taungthaman. She had been delighted when she saw him at the bus station and jumped into his arms. She was really tiny so when she jumped her feet barely touched the floor. He lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and squeezed him until they were both short of breath. Then they went to the hotel to check in and get some sleep.

The next day they wandered through the streets strolling past shops that sold mostly trinkets and souvenirs. Sina stopped in front of a small shop and gestured for him to go inside with her. There were all sorts of goods stacked on shelves and hanging from racks: dried fruit, bags of nuts, incense sticks, carved wooden animals, silk scarves, lighters carved out of stone or obsidian... She perused them all while Charlie wandered around looking at everything with interest. But what he liked most was the fragrance that permeated the place: it smelled like flowers. At first he thought it was incense that she hadn't noticed yet because she didn't have any, but then he realized it wasn't because it smelled like freshly cut flowers, which he knew meant there must be plants nearby. He started sniffing around until he found them tucked away behind a pile of boxes: a few pots containing orange orchids that gave off their wonderful aroma even though they didn't have any leaves or buds yet. They looked very healthy though; their long stems were strong and sturdy, not unlike Sina herself with her waist-length hair tied neatly in two ponytails behind her head.

"Can I buy these?" he asked quietly so as not to disturb anyone else browsing through their wares. The owner looked at him with surprise then nodded vigorously while smiling broadly at him.

"You are very kind," she said as she wrapped up the three pots in newspaper before handing them to him carefully so they wouldn't get broken by accident. "You are travelling together?" she asked casually while noting down their purchases on a form attached to her register by a string wound around it many times over. Her handwriting was neat and precise except for an occasional flourish here and there where she bent the tip of her pen back down on itself sharply to make a spike before continuing writing again without skipping a beat.

He turned to look at Sina who had moved over to another shelf full of items made from brass or copper - bracelets, earrings, rings - which he thought would make great gifts for everyone back at home: like Freda or Miriam; or Kimmie if it wasn't too much trouble; maybe even his mother who would love anything handmade especially if it was pretty...

Sina turned around after examining everything on display for about ten minutes before finally deciding on two pairs of earrings shaped like butterflies: one pair made out of brass wire twisted into a spiral pattern that looked almost like glass except shinier; the other pair slightly smaller but made out of copper wire twisted into spirals that flowed upwards so they looked like butterflies taking flight before landing gently on her ears just below where her hair ended above her shoulders...

They walked out onto the street carrying their purchases plus what they'd bought directly from people selling their wares along the way hand-to-hand as they'd walked past them one after another: baskets woven out of bamboo decorated with beads made out of flattened bottles (which Charlie couldn't stop staring at); wooden statues carved out by exotic-looking old men wearing long robes and turbans wound tightly about their heads; some cute wooden fox figurines carved by young women sitting cross-legged on mats laid out along the sidewalk under shady trees from which hung bright red or orange lanterns that glowed softly in the fading light... ...

Charlie never could decide whether Sina would be better described as smart or brilliant because sometimes she acted really stupidly but then other times - more often than not - she seemed incredibly intelligent and insightful even though Charlie sometimes thought that meant she was being wise beyond his understanding... The first time that happened was when they'd stopped over in Bali for lunch before catching an early afternoon flight back to Singapore where they'd spend another four days together before saying goodbye again forever more... It wasn't that simple because Sina lived in Germany and Charlie lived in Singapore so they weren't seeing each other every day (although sometimes they did) but still it felt strange not being able to talk every day anymore because they used to do that all the time... They'd been talking online while apart but often when they did there were pauses longer than usual between one question and another because neither ever wanted to say goodbye again if possible... But despite those moments when all communication between them seemed impossible there always came other moments when everything just felt perfect between them again... So this time actually felt good... And even though one part of Charlie wanted nothing more than for this time together never to end (because even if it lasted forever something bad would still happen eventually), another part felt good knowing how things would turn out later down the road anyway so everything worked out okay either way you looked at it (and besides thinking too much about things sometimes just made you crazy)... So instead Charlie decided he might try something new this time around, something different from what he usually did whenever things got too serious between them... Their relationship had been winding down slowly/gradually/steadily/inexorably/inevitably ever since last year when Sina suddenly decided that perhaps being friends with benefits only wasn't working for her anymore (even though Charlie still didn't see why because he loved all kinds of sex except vanilla sex which even without kinky stuff was still way better than his boring vanilla life)... So instead this time around Charlie decided maybe he should try doing something nice for someone else instead maybe just so there would be less pressure between them during this trip together (because sometimes everyone needs less pressure once in a while)... So while they walked back toward their hotel after lunch Charlie noticed how tired Sina seemed all of a sudden as if she'd just woken up despite having slept quite soundly last night... And how quiet too somehow different from how lively she normally seemed whenever they were together in person although maybe this is because being separated by distance tends to magnify people's quirks more than normal... So now instead of worrying about himself Charlie began wondering what he could do for Sina today because considering how little energy she seemed to have left right now perhaps doing something nice for someone else might be just what he needed right now especially since this whole trip had been quite expensive already so spending money on anything extra wasn't going to help matters much (not like Sina cared about money too much anyway...) although judging by how haggard she appeared today maybe if he could do something nice for her then maybe she might feel better (he hoped) because thinking about someone else's feelings had always helped him feel better whenever things got hard between them (especially if thinking about those feelings didn't involve sex or money)... And so Charlie started thinking about what might make Sina happy today... Thinking about those things made Charlie feel good too because it helped him know what kinds of things mattered most to him about himself personally (not like others could tell you properly anyway since being able to speak your own mind took practice first) which is why people kept secrets from each other hoping others would learn more quickly what mattered most instead (but usually no one bothered unless forced)... But whatever! Now instead of feeling sadder than normal Charlie felt excited knowing where exactly his thoughts might lead him today if allowed free rein within reason... Mostly towards flattering thoughts about himself sure enough but also towards ideas involving threesomes if possible considering certain fantasies long denied concerning both sexes equally regardless whether male or female involved occasionally during lonely moments spent masturbating alone into tissues kept safely hidden far away from prying eyes lest such shameful material fall into ungrateful hands leading inevitably towards misunderstandings unworthy of both parties involved including self-doubt unforeseen by either party absent proper preparation beforehand affecting future interactions negatively thus resulting in separation doomed to failure brought on unexpectedly by events both parties could very well have prevented otherwise unless perhaps brought forth deliberately by self-serving individuals bent on creating chaos where none previously existed pretending innocence while acting against personal interests lying through teeth blinding self-delusion hiding true motives beneath layers upon layers obfuscating truth buried beneath false promises broken promises misremembered conversations imagined conversations secret desires misremembering dreams shattered dreams concocted dreams aspirations unrealized desires long forgotten dreams lost dreams best kept secret forevermore...