Before the professor and I could finish our conversation, the bus arrived, and I loaded my trunk on the roof rack as the peasants stood around and commented. I climbed on the bus that still stinks of sweat and hay, and as I spotted a seat, a bear-like man reeking of rakija came stammering through, shouting his entitlement. As he swung around the squealing piglet with a similarly aggressive attitude held on his shoulders, kicked, hitting me in the forehead. I collapsed in the seat and, for a moment, saw chaos, then darkness, then slumped into unconsciousness.
I don’t know how long I drifted or how far we had travelled, but as first light unfolded, my eyes dimly perceived a moon shrouded in fog. As my focus recovered, I saw that it was, in fact, a subdued silver-like circle. There was an encircled orb in the center, peering out. The orb was radiated by seven embedded patinated indentations with crosswise lines. These rays separated engraved ancient runes: “Come unto me ye wretched of the earth.” Actually, my runic knowledge being rusty, it might have said, “Have a nice day.”
As my focus widened, I saw that this small circle of pewter rested on the curve of an ear, which jolted from time to time with bumps in the road. Around the ear was a carefully organized wave of shimmering dark hair with occasional gray strands. The neck, smooth with occasional creases, descended to a thin band collar with embroidered plant stems and flower petals. The fabric was of faded but formerly intense dark green, and assertive with a detailed design. With my close view, I sensed the coarseness of linen, but also a softness, a smoothness that comes with time and wear. An arm lay close to me. The lower ends of the not-quite-wrist-length sleeves were embroidered with my grandmother’s red, pink, and coral peonies blowing in the wind.
As the bus shook from a deep rut in the road, the face turned towards me. A stern face, but with a hint of a smile, she looked at me. After inspecting me for some time, she spoke,
“I am Isolde Vuković, and I am travelling on business. If not inconvenient, can you tell me what tricks you know?”