Chapter 16: Our journey through Europe

It was a long and exhausting flight. After 12 hours we landed in Amsterdam without any problems. Daryna was taken straight to the transit area for her onward flight. Her luggage was checked through to Moscow. Luckily, our luggage was undamaged and had a sticker on it that probably said: checked and x-rayed. Drug-sniffing dogs sniffed my hand luggage to no avail. I had my three bags of diamonds on my body and they went unnoticed. This was the most difficult hurdle of my trip, getting the valuables through customs unnoticed. Done it!

First, I dealt with a hire car while Sarah put her sleeping daughter on a bench. It was now 6 a.m. Zarina had found the phone number of Heidy’s family online. Was it all right to call so early? Of course, it was about her daughter. My call had not been very successful. Heidy’s mother acknowledged that her daughter was doing well, considering the circumstances, and did not even ask where she was. She was completely uninterested. I shouted at her excitedly, “Heidy is such a valuable person, but you are a terrible mother. Sorry for bothering you!”

The woman complained into the phone about her daughter being an ungrateful brat and a bastard as a child, so I hung up, but first I said, “The money for selling your daughter should be stuck in your throat.” Somehow, I couldn’t believe what kind parents there were. No wonder, Heidy was so selfish at first, using her physical advantages over the other children. She hadn’t known anything different from home.

In the rental car on the way to my hometown of Antwerp, Sarah was talking to her husband Mario on the phone. He saw no possibility of seeing us before we left for Larnaca, as he was working in Brussels that day. Of course, I wanted to meet my brother-in-law. Sarah checked if Zarina and I could fly from Brussels to Cyprus that evening, but it was the next day with Ryanair, with a stopover in Prague. Sarah booked the flight for Zarina and me and reserved a double room at ‘The Hotel Brussels’ right in the city centre. Hopefully, there would be no problems at the hotel, a forty-five year old with a girl of only sixteen in the same room.

When I stopped at a petrol station, I was even able to cancel my Amsterdam-Larnaca flight, pay for the newly booked flight, add our luggage and choose our seats for a fee.

In Antwerp I took Sarah and Jenny home. Zarina preferred to come into town with me rather than wait for me in Sarah’s flat. We had arranged to meet Sarah at 2 p.m. to visit my mother in the nursing home. I quickly drove to ‘Beurs Voor’, the well-known diamond dealer in Antwerp. The reception was strictly regulated. We were not as elegantly dressed as the men in the shop and two other customers, so we were initially ignored.

But when a security guard asked me to leave, I lost my temper. Zarina looked at me in shock as I first insulted the man in Dutch, then loudly asked in English if there was anyone here responsible for interested customers, then grabbed my companion’s hand to leave the shop in a supposedly demonstrative manner. A nice lady asked me what I wanted. I showed her one of my bags with the beautiful diamonds. A short time later we were sitting in a special room, being served fruit, coffee, and juices, and enjoying the interest of two buyers.

However, when I received the ‘outstandingly unique offer’ of 760,000 euros, I pulled out my cell phone. “Andrès, I didn’t want to disturb you. This is Michael Berthier. Your gentlemen here want to buy diamonds worth more than a million from me for a maximum of 75%.”

He just asked, “You, Michael, really? Aren’t you missing?”

“No, I’m in the flesh and blood in your Green Cabinet.”

My school friend came straight from his office. As I had read on the Internet, he was now the second managing director. When he hugged me happily, the buyers turned pale. Andrés looked at the diamonds, then at the staff, then at me. They went to the measuring table, then came the new offer: “Because it’s you, Michael, 965,000 euros. The value today would only be a little over a million, we have to earn something, too”. We sealed the deal with a handshake.

We chatted a little while the formalities were done. My school friend only had eyes for Zarina. “Is this your pearl, Michael? Bloody young, isn’t it?”

“You know, it’s not a pearl, it’s a tiara. I’ll tell you my story next year.”

“Why tiara? What does it mean?”

“Are you the gem expert, or am I?”

I immediately regretted my words, terrible, boastful like a 12th grader, but it was too late. Andrés looked at me questioningly, then understood. “Really?”

I could only nod. “I’ll tell you next year. Today I’m in a hurry; I have to go to my sick mother, then to Brussels, then to Cyprus. But one more question: how many of these bags could I sell at once?”

He looked at me wide-eyed. I carefully showed him the other two bags.

“Do you have proof of ownership, Michael? Even the first deal is borderline legal.”

Of course, I had the receipts that had been in each bag as proof of purchase.

“Oh, so, from Botswana. Have you been there yourself?”

“No, a good friend. But it’s my reward for five years of work in complete isolation in South America.”

“It was worth it, my dear. Let’s buy it. Same price?”

Perfect. The money would soon be in my account in Belgium. Then I would be a millionaire in Europe too, a strange feeling.

Andrès looked at his watch. “Let me know when you’re back in the country next year. I’d like to introduce my wife to a millionaire school friend.”

“Three more bags next year?”

He nodded and laughed. We hugged again. I got the purchase receipts and a copy of the money transfer that had already been initiated. Both sides were satisfied.

It was only 11 a.m. when we got back to our car. We had been told on the phone that we could return the car to Brussels airport instead of Amsterdam. Now all we needed was done. I was delighted to show Zarina my city. She snuggled up to me at every opportunity. It was like a delayed honeymoon for her. She was hungry for love. I could tell from Fahsai’s smile what Zarina was after, but to be so open and demonstrative was unthinkable for my dear young Chinese woman, the mother of two of my children. She was always a bit reserved towards strangers, but in the anonymity of a big city she lost all her shyness.

But I cared. Every now and then, I looked around uncertainly, but on a bench in the beautiful park outside our castle ‘Cleydael Castle’, she finally got my blood boiling. We were both looking forward to a hot night. She assured me that, thanks to Dr Liebknecht, she was well protected against pregnancy. And the two children were enough for her. She took the opportunity to tell me how her desire for a relationship with Alvaro had failed after they had flirted on the beach in Huanchaco, when she had casually told him in the car about her two daughters. That had given her pause for thought, but her dear children were more important to her than a possibly unfaithful man. With me, she knew what she had - unfortunately far too little - but also what she would hopefully get in the future, she said with a smile.

The afternoon flew by. At first, my mother didn’t recognise me - we hadn’t seen each other for over four years - but then she gave me a quick hug and I kissed her on the forehead. My mother was very ill. The doctor on duty advised us against moving her to South America and said we would be lucky if she lived to see her next birthday in nine months. There was little hope.

Sarah pointed out to me that our mum used to be in a triple room, but thanks to my support she now has this lovely single room. Talking was exhausting for the seriously ill woman. Nevertheless, I told her how lucky I was to have a lovely doctor from Germany as my partner and showed her pictures of Bruno and Martin. My mother blossomed, stroked my hand and said, “I am especially happy for you. I thought you would be alone forever.”

Sarah and I laughed knowingly at each other. “No, Mom, I’m not exactly lonely. But it’s nice the way it is.”

Sarah confirmed my words. “Michael is a really nice dad. I was with him in South America with Jenny. It was like paradise.”

While we were still talking, my mother fell asleep. We quietly retreated. Jenny joined us, beaming. “Zarina is really sweet. We even sang and danced in Spanish.”

Sarah had to put her daughter to bed. She hadn’t had her nap yet. At my sister’s I had a cup of coffee and Zarina a cup of tea. I quickly looked through a small suitcase of my personal belongings from my empty flat; nothing important, just Zarina was laughing at my childhood and youth photos.

You could tell from the flat that my sister’s family were not doing particularly well, but she was proud of what they had achieved and refused a small donation of $2,000, of which I had taken five small parcels from my office as security for the trip. Unfortunately, you were not allowed to take more than $10,000 abroad. Zarina had eight thousand dollars in her luggage. We had deposited it in my bank. I had to get rid of some of the black money, but I would spend that money on my credit card in Peru for our group.

Sarah thanked me again and again for this wonderful experience, calling it ‘your paradise in the Andes’. She almost didn’t let go of me when she hugged me; my sister wanted to show me her new-found sibling love. Before I left, I left the $2,000 in the fridge. Sarah would be the first to find it.

I went with Zarina to our hotel in Brussels to meet my brother-in-law, Mario. Of course I was caught speeding, but I didn’t mind too much, especially as the ticket would probably be difficult to deliver. I left my travelling companion in the car in the underground garage, checked in, and was able to ride from the basement to the twelfth floor with my room card without any annoying questions about Zarina’s age. From the balcony of our comfortable room, we had a fantastic view of Brussels. Zarina immediately positioned herself between my body and the window, hoping for my gentle hands. She knew exactly how my fingers would find nice places on her to play. In the middle of our caresses, my mobile phone rang. Mario was waiting for us in the lobby. I left Zarina on the first floor. She was to come to us by the stairs so that the underage girl wouldn’t attract the attention of the reception. From the hotel entrance, I watched my dear partner dance slightly towards me, an attractive figure who, fortunately, had not attracted the attention of the staff.

The greeting with Mario was a little reserved, partly because he had his eyes almost exclusively on Zarina, staring intently at her breasts, and partly because we hardly knew each other. I had been somewhere in the world for his wedding and had only sent congratulations and a cash gift from afar, but Sarah had asked me several times today to make it a point to meet her husband. Maybe I could persuade him to move the whole family to Peru. At least, that was my dear sister’s hope.

Egmont Park was just behind the hotel. We sat outside the orangery in the shade of the large trees. The restaurant was only open until 6 p.m., but the kitchen offered us a good meal from the lunch menu. While Zarina enjoyed her meal, I tried to get Mario to tell us about himself, his family, and his plans. After a brief exchange, he asked me about my companion. I knew then that I would never be able to get him excited about life in the Andes. He was a trained joiner and carpenter, but had worked for years in shop-fitting, so he had exactly the skills we needed, but he loved his hometown and the variety of work here in Belgium.

“How old is your little one?” he asked me in our language.

“So old that we have two children together. But please, if you can, we should speak English, she wants to be included.”

It was clear to me that he wouldn’t believe me about the children. “Just ask her. Zarina will definitely have photos with her, too.”

My darling proudly presented several photos of our two daughters. Mario scrolled through them one by one. Soon the valley appeared, then Fahsai’s and Mayari’s children. I remembered that I had several video clips of Jenny on my tablet. He was amazed to see his normally shy daughter singing and dancing “Veo, veo” with the other children.

“It was a wonderful time with Sarah and Jenny. They would probably like to join us fully. Visit us at least next year. Our team will pay for the flight and accommodation.”

Mario looked at me in disbelief but shook his head. “No, that’s too far for me and everything is so uncertain, even unsafe.”

“The invitation stands. You can come whenever you want.”

Mario said goodbye more nicely than when he greeted me, but we hadn’t won his heart. My sister’s dream would remain a dream. I smoked a cigarette and let Zarina entertain me. She chatted casually about the day’s events and how nice it would be for her to have me all to herself. Then she said, “Did I understand the value correctly today? Each of the little bags of stones was worth almost a million euros?” When I confirmed this, she just blurted out, “Unbelievable. Humanity is crazy”.

Gradually, she began to urge us to leave. She obviously had a lot planned. We used the side entrance to the car park and road back up to the 12th floor. I hadn’t even locked the door to the room or closed the connecting door before she was clinging to me like a burr, hard to shake off. We fell onto the bed together and the kisses grew hotter and hotter. I don’t remember how we got undressed. Only after my wild orgasm I really came to my senses. Zarina wanted more, but I rolled over next to her and considered the situation. A hand cupped my chest, plucked some of my not so well developed hair, whispered a few kind words.

“You know, Mitch, I have longed to feel you inside me again. Almost all your wives do, even the cold looking Lenya. The six of us have been discussing how it should happen in the future. We all want to have you to ourselves for a few days. Since my second child is old enough, I was the first to ask you to come along. So, you probably know who is going to ask you next, right?”

“Mayari?”

“Sure. And the other five of us will take care of her three children.”

I was amazed. What was going on in the girls’ heads?

Still half wet, she pulled out her tablet. “Listen, this is the result of our discussion. Each of us was pleased with the words we found, it is the confession of each of us.”

Kiss me as I desire.

Show me how you feel for me.

Do it with me until I can only feel you.

Breathe in my soul, I need you.

Use my weakness to give me strength.

Pamper my womb, which bore you children.

Guard me and be my love forever.

Maybe it doesn’t sound so melodious, but the words touched me. A declaration of love from six women, for Zarina had read out their names: Zarina, Mayari, Priya, Ananda, Esther, and Lenya, the names of the six young women who have already given me two or even three children. Unbelievable. Ever since we could open our valley, it has been my aim to find partners for the young women as quickly as possible. But the kind words made it sound as if it was not in their interest.

Lying on the bed and caressing each other, Zarina confessed, “I want someone like you for myself, but even Antonio is not as kind to his Amira as you were and are to us. We are all afraid of being tied down too quickly and in the wrong way. Where can we find nice men? We have all read and discussed several books, so-called love stories. In the books there were almost always arguments, often fights between the couples. I don’t want that, none of us do.”

Yes, finding a partner was difficult for the young women. Ananda may have found her dream man, my partner told me. She was e-mailing an Indian actor. This was new to me, but I liked it. Maybe that was the way to go?

When I heard the word email, I suddenly thought of home. Was there any mail? How was Cara? She was due to give birth to her second child next week. Relaxed, I opened my email account. But what was it? “Your mailbox is full. You have eight hundred new emails.”

I had never seen such an automatically generated message before. The first ten emails were related to the article about Babette, most of them in Romanian. How was I going to sort through all this? Zarina helped me. We printed out each unclear email as a PDF, saved it and deleted the message. As soon as we deleted one, a new one appeared. We were literally bombarded. I was afraid of missing a message from Babette’s siblings or her aunt. So, Zarina logged into my email account with her tablet, diligently printing and deleting while I checked the senders. Unfortunately, to no avail. Then Zarina called me. She had found the signature ‘Georghe – Adam’ under one of the emails. Of course, the boys had written in their mother tongue. Luckily, there were online translation services.

It was a long email. The boys lived in an orphanage, their mother had died, their aunt was very ill and their sister had no room for them in her small flat. The boys were delighted with their Babette, could hardly believe that she could fight with a bazooka and machine gun, and asked how she was, if she could walk again. I was somehow touched. The boys did not complain, but even after the simple translation I could feel their suffering. I immediately dialled the phone number Georghe had written at the bottom of the email. The manager answered in Romanian. Luckily, he found a woman who spoke English quite well. The man had taken the boys. The little one was sobbing loudly. The older brother spoke a little English, but then had to hand the phone back to the woman. Otherwise, we would not have made any progress.

“Please tell the children: Babette is well again. Her leg is fine. She misses her brothers very much but cannot travel because she is expecting a baby. If the boys could get passports by December, Babette would warmly invite them to Peru and send them tickets. The woman translated. Zarina had to wipe away a few tears. We were overcome with emotion. Of course, the boys wanted to come for Christmas. The woman told me that passports would take time and cost a lot but promised to email me the orphanage’s bank details. I immediately agreed to transfer a thousand euros. Whatever was not needed for the passports and the necessary travel costs would be a donation to the orphanage. I also asked for the address of the children’s centre in Constanta. We might be able to get there in person during our trip, but I did not tell the woman so as not to give the children false hopes.

In the background, I heard the two boys sobbing. It must have been a big deal to receive an invitation to go to South America for Christmas to see their dear sister. Zarina forwarded the email to our doctor. Mrs Liebknecht was only to inform Babette, not write back or call. Her brothers would be visiting Babette soon.

We printed for another half hour and then deleted the emails. But they didn’t go away. But when I read a very nasty message in English, I wanted to stop reading, but I looked at the message more closely.

A group of Ukrainians in Romania insulted Babette and threatened her with death. I soon found more such ‘messages’. I forwarded them to the Telegraf editorial office, printed them and put them in a special file. In the search for English messages, we also found e-mails from Odessa and other places in Ukraine. The viciousness of the texts was becoming more and more insane. The article spoke only of an ‘attack by a foreign gang’, not a word about their country of origin. But some Ukrainians must know who organised the attack in Peru and how shameful it was for the attackers. Zarina simply said that in these new circumstances it would certainly make sense to secure our access road better, even to guard it if possible. Smiling gratefully, I agreed.

I was still reeling from the news when we tried to make love on the bed. Zarina soon gave up trying to seduce me. We cuddled under the covers and discussed the situation, although we were tired from the long flight. Zarina came up with ideas that I would never have thought of, clever and profound, I thought. Smiling, she said, “You must take more time for yourself. I read English novels or stories almost every day and they give you completely new ideas.”

She was right. I hadn’t read a novel for a long time. Many other things were more important to me, but I thought it was right. We had to make a living and improve our living conditions all the time, so reading books was a waste of time, I thought at that time. Maybe things would calm down in the next few months, and then Zarina could recommend some books to me.

Eventually, I fell asleep. The long flight had worn me out. Early in the morning, Zarina did everything she wanted to me before she went to sleep. She came out of the shower at 6 a.m., kissed me promisingly, and demonstratively lay down on the bed. After a quick shower, I was soon with her, letting her show me what she was particularly interested in. Her hands guided my head, or rather my mouth, to various parts of her body and then held me to the object of her desire. I was happy to fulfil her wishes. It didn’t take long for her to show me how excited she was. I enjoyed the way she was coming towards me, the way her body was literally convulsing. Her breasts bouncing like two balls on the ocean waves from her heavy breathing, she was panting as she pressed loving words into the room. So, I crawled up and closed my lips on her hot mouth, which could barely find enough air. It was no great feat to give her two powerful climaxes in quick succession before my body surrendered to her charms.

There wasn’t much time to enjoy us. Zarina took the luggage to the car; I checked out and paid in cash. I was able to use a Russian credit card at a cash machine outside the hotel without any problems. I was curious to see how long this would last, but I had to be careful, as the card would be confiscated at some point. But I had enough money and was also able to use the Caymans and Panama cards to pay and withdraw money.

At the airport we dropped off the car, checked in for the flight, had a few snacks for a second breakfast, and waited for the flight to Prague. We had a stopover there of almost five hours, but we were able to check in our two small suitcases because I wanted to show Zarina one of the most beautiful cities in the world. A sightseeing car was waiting outside the airport for its booked guests. The top of the convertible was open, like an American road cruiser. ‘This car or nothing’ was my first thought. The driver said he could get a colleague with almost the same car and he would be there in twenty minutes. “100 dollars extra for you. Call your colleague. He can take your guests.”

As we sat down, two couples from Austria came over excitedly. “My colleague is on his way, he’ll be right here.” And then we were off. Zarina snuggled up to me on the long way to the centre. The driver kept looking at us through the mirror, but my goddess didn’t mind, maybe just the opposite. The driver was in his early twenties, a more appropriate age, but Zarina showed me her love.

It may have been autumn, but the sun transformed Prague’s Old Town into a fairytale world. We got out of the car several times, walked hand in hand across the beautiful square to the world-famous Astronomical Clock and were even lucky enough to enjoy the chimes. The driver took us to Charles Bridge and waited for us on the other side of the Vltava. It was a dream to enjoy this city with a totally interested companion. But we had to be careful about kissing. It would arouse resentment. Finally, the driver gave us a glimpse of Hradcany, the castle overlooking the city. Unfortunately, there was little time to look inside St Vitus’ Cathedral, this impressive building in the secure government quarter of the city. I hadn’t realised it was so big.

Tour groups and other visitors strolled around the clean places. Suddenly, Zarina spoke to two women in Mandarin. An interesting conversation ensued. The women seemed to want to know a lot about my companion, but we didn’t have much time. Zarina gave me a light kiss in front of everyone. “Thanks Mitch, that was great. Just think, I can still speak Chinese.”

We hurried to our cars. We only got to the check-in desk an hour before take-off, but everything went well. On the plane, we showed each other the photos on our tablets and mobile phones. Our happiness was evident in every photo.

I spent the flight trying to sleep while Zarina made full use of her window seat. Her tablet kept clicking. Her memory card was probably exhausted from all the photos, but she was a teenager with an insatiable curiosity. I jumped up several times because she had discovered something interesting or had a question. Nevertheless, I was happy to see how much my ‘Zarah’ was enjoying the trip together. I decided that as many of my partners as possible should have a similar experience next year. All my loved ones more than deserved it after such a long time in isolation.

It was really summer in Larnaca, 28 degrees in the shade, even though it was almost 7 in the evening. A taxi took us to the Alion Hotel, right on the beach. According to the booking page on the Internet, it was the only exclusive hotel with its own beach not far from the airport. Unfortunately, there was the expected problem when checking into the hotel. I was not allowed to share the luxury room I had booked with a sixteen-year-old. So, I had to book a single room for Zarina on the second floor for a whopping 120 euros. The receptionist insisted that this was necessary because of the authorities, but the hotel does not check who sleeps in which room. He demonstratively held up his hand, but the information was worth no more than 5 euros to me.

We were shown to our rooms separately. My room was a dream, with two huge panoramic windows on two sides. From my bed I could see the Mediterranean. I really needed to rest, but Zarina should enjoy the view with me.

Room 214 was also a nice room with a balcony and sea view, but nothing like mine. We left her suitcase and clothes in the room and packed Zarina’s swimsuit. She accompanied me to my room and enjoyed the beautiful view while I got ready for the beach. I made a phone reservation for the ‘best table for couples with sea view’ at ‘The Deck Terrace Restaurant’ for 9 p.m.

A few minutes later, we plunged into the wonderfully warm water. After a refreshing swim, a lifeguard moved the sun beds so we could watch the sunset. He brought us two cocktails and was particularly friendly after finding out my room number. It was one of the most expensive rooms in the hotel; so, he thought we were noble guests. But he was also interested in my dream partner. Her two-tone bikini adorned her beautiful body. No one here could tell her age. Maybe it was just the clothes that made her look like a teenager, but for this short time it wasn’t worth it to dress her more maturely. I liked her just the way she was.

Nevertheless, we got ready for the restaurant. As I picked up Zarina, I noticed that she was looking very young again. A blouse, shorts, and trainers were not the best outfit for my young wife on this special evening. I had a dress made for her in a nearby shop, more a dream of a dress, with a push-up bra, and sandals, dark green like her dress, with medium heels. She was now dressed as if she was walking down the red carpet. It was a pleasure to see how everyone admired the woman at my side and looked at her partner, me, the old man, with some disdain. Zarina was a little apprehensive at first, but it only took a few words for her to enjoy the interested looks. Right in front of our hotel she gave me a big kiss. I gave in to her urging, allowed her to triumph over my concerns, closed my eyes for a moment, and then looked at the passers-by. At least we had been noticed.

The evening was like a dream. Two young waiters looked after us and kept glancing at the inviting cleavage of the beautiful woman at my table. I can’t remember what we ate, but it suited the evening; it was a real treat. After dinner and a glass of wine, Zarina got cocky and ordered a waltz just for us, and soon we were gliding across the small dance floor. It was something special for me to be the centre of attention like that, but my green-clad fairy was over the moon. Her eyes told me that she wanted to do more physical exercises with me right away; she was slightly drunk, but also more emotional than ever. Her longing for love was written all over her face.

In my room, Zarina wanted to show me her wishes straight away, but I wanted to take a bath first to relax and prepare for the night. I didn’t get a chance to relax. My Zarah climbed up to me, squatted on my thighs, kissed me and her fingers showed me what she wanted. I didn’t feel like being in the small bath, so we ended up on the king-size bed. I let my love have its way and she took advantage of it. When I finally gave in, she was drenched in sweat, her body adorned with wonderful ornaments of pleasure and her heart pounding against my chest. I was no longer able to cope with this youth, or perhaps I missed the Coca tea. Although Zarina tried to give me more, she told me in the morning how quickly I had fallen asleep, much too quickly, she said, smiling deeply but kissing me like a loving woman.