Вадим Бабенко - The Place of Quarantine

What Nok didn’t tell Ivan about was her personal life, which had not been a very successful one. The problems began with her move to Bangkok – she’d felt like a provincial, with little in common with the local children. Her facial features betrayed the fact that she was not from the capital – and she was also taller than most Thai girls. Her light skin made things easier, but she was still uncertain about her appearance, which was compounded by her inexperience with the opposite sex, thanks to her father’s heavy-handed vigilance. Nok had been tormented with self-doubt right up until the end of school, and her confidence only picked up with her success in English. By the age of twenty, she’d had a Thai boyfriend: a student, like her. In accordance with tradition and the expectations of her family and girlfriends, she considered it only natural to marry him, have children and live with him for the rest of her life, but this was not to be. Two years into the relationship, the mother of the “groom” declared there would be no wedding because Nok was from the north, and everyone knew that northern girls were lazy.

This was considered a disaster by everyone, and especially her girlfriends. During this difficult time, Nok did a lot of thinking that would change her take on life. She decided she was no longer interested, first, in other people’s opinions and, second, in Thai boys her age or even Thai men in general, with their overbearing, overprotective mothers.

Later, she took two foreign lovers, one quickly after the other. Things were simpler with them – she didn’t have to pretend to be less intelligent than she actually was, constantly repeating, “Oh, I’m so stupid!” or “Oh, I’m so silly!” to please a partner’s male ego. Therefore, after spending only a couple of weeks with her first farang , Nok began to think he might be the “man of her dreams.” This notion wasn’t mutual, however: there were too many attractive girls around and his attention began to wander. A month later he broke up with her – once again, Nok took some time to get over the experience, but in the end, she did.

Later, she met another European; they dated for about a year but then he suddenly left Thailand and stopped answering her letters. Nok wasn’t even surprised, taking it as a matter of course. She now understood clearly: it was all down to karma. She was destined to be unlucky in love, and besides, there were so few suitable men in the world that it was highly unlikely she would ever meet the right one. The only thing to do was remain calm and not take any amorous misfortunes to heart.

Of course it was easier said than done, but Nok managed to convince her friends of the sincerity of her new “doctrine.” People began to pigeonhole her alongside Western women – progressive and independent, knowing what she wanted from men, and building her relationships with them on the basis of cold reason. Nok told herself and others that she had erected a wall around her heart, and only she would decide when to open a door in it and by how much. This sounded convincing enough – many believed and even envied her. The only problem was the rather lackluster way she implemented this progressive concept in practice: she hadn’t had a boyfriend for over a year now.

Nevertheless, Nok tried to remain optimistic. She was constantly underlining the advantages of her situation – for example, the wall encircling her heart allowed her to be relaxed and laidback when she socialized with men, which helped her business. And that’s how it was with Ivan – all the more so because as a woman she intuitively sensed the strength of his personality. Strong people put her at ease – they weren’t constantly looking to assert themselves. With them, you didn’t have to pretend, which is what Nok valued above all else…

They returned to Bangkok late in the evening, and Ivan, slightly hesitantly, invited her for a coffee. “Of course I’ll come,” Nok joked, “how could I refuse? After all, your time isn’t up yet!” For some reason, Ivan felt flustered and clumsily tried to explain himself, which, in turn, embarrassed Nok. They ascended to the bar on the roof of his hotel, with a fabulous view of the city. It was already getting dark, and the lighting was on. The setting was suitably romantic, but Ivan didn’t know how to take things further. As a result, he simply accompanied Nok back to her car and went to dinner alone, irritated at his own awkwardness.

The next day, they went to Ayutthaya, the ancient capital of Siam, which had been razed by the Burmese. Nok came in a different outfit and had done something with her hair that made her look unfamiliar. Ivan didn’t immediately recognize her and was met with an ironic joke as if they had been old friends – she was already relaxed and used to him. On the way, acting as his guide, she regaled him with a barrage of historical facts, but Ivan was only halfheartedly listening, turning toward her to get a better view of her from the side. Nok’s profile was much more interesting to him – it seemed to hint at her own fascinating history that weaved a solid, seemingly impenetrable shell around her. This impenetrability greatly annoyed Brevich; he ruminated over it almost the entire journey.

At the parking lot, Nok bought a fresh coconut and stuck two straws into it. “I’m a coconut milk addict,” she confessed to Ivan, inviting him to share it with her. Then, with the coconut in their hands, they entered the gates of the old city and wandered for a long time among the stones and ruins, the statues of the Buddha and the dilapidated temples.

As they approached the moat that surrounded the fortress wall, Nok said, “The Burmese laid siege to Ayutthaya for six months, but it didn’t fall until someone betrayed a secret entrance through the city’s sluices.”

“Yes, yes,” Ivan nodded absentmindedly, wondering to himself who would help him find the hidden way into Nok’s soul. Sadly, it wasn’t available on any map. He, naturally, suspected she might also like him but had no idea what was really going on in her head.

Then they returned to the hotel’s rooftop bar. Again, for some reason, he failed to invite her to dinner, merely escorting her back to her car, but on the way, Nok brushed against his hand several times, and, as they said farewell, she pretended to stumble and held onto his shoulder for a brief moment.

“Wow,” she said, “you are electrified; it seems sparks are flying between us!”

Her words and the sensation of her smooth skin excited Ivan to fever pitch. He set off to roam the streets, took a wrong turn and spent a whole hour wandering around in the dark, tormented by the humidity. Once back at the hotel, he hurriedly changed, went back to the bar, sat down at the same table and took a long time over his gin and tonic while pondering the day’s events.

The events seemed strange, weird, unfamiliar. He was a grown man and had always known what he wanted, whether it could be achieved and how to make it happen, but now he wasn’t so sure. He was immensely attracted to Nok – despite all Lothar’s warnings and his own past life, including his experience as a Russian businessman who had been through a lot. He firmly believed: if something looks too good to be true, then it certainly is. Then it must be a trick played by this city of fakes – but what this trick might be and where it might be concealed, Brevich didn’t understand and didn’t want to guess. He desired only one thing – to see this girl who was more charming than any other he had ever known as soon as possible. To once again feel the incredible pleasure of being with her, watching her and talking to her. Unlike other women, she was so natural in everything she did! At the same time, she was intelligent and, yes, she was sexy – in a special, exotic way. It was just a pity he couldn’t work out how to take things to the next level…