The Mysterious Man

"No matter what struggles I come across, I will keep going, because I have the will and strength to overcome it all. All my greatest accomplishments, I once thought I would never achieve, but I keep on succeeding in every challenge that faces. No matter what is beyond my control, nothing will ever make me less than a woman. I am and will always be a powerful woman."

- Victoria Enriquez.

*-*

Either asleep or unconscious, Nadja lay down for about two hours. As soon as she woke up, she shivered. Fever began to attack her. Nadja sat down with difficulty. The train was still moving, and she was among the cargo to be sent to the destination city.

Her nose smelled whiskey. With a fever and slightly blurry eyes, Nadja looked for the source of the smell and found a wooden box full of whiskey bottles. Her hand painstakingly pried open the box and unsealed the nails. Her finger was cut by wood chips and her fingernail was broken, but she couldn't feel it.

She needed the drink to reduce pain and clean the bullet wound that might now be infected. After successfully unpacking, Nadja grabbed a bottle and opened the wound, which was now feeling hot.

Her hand splashed the wound on her stomach as well as the shoulder with whiskey. Then look for a fairly clean cloth and wrap it again. The cargo hold holds some pretty lucrative items. While drinking whiskey, Nadja ate apples and peaches voraciously, enough to fill her hungry stomach. Nadja lay back down while enjoying a drink of alcohol. Her mind began to think of a plan.

***

"Hey, wake up!" Someone tapped her on the shoulder.

Nadja woke up and her hand grabbed a gun and pointed it at the black man.

"Calm down young girl!" exclaimed the middle-aged man. From his dialect, Nadja knew that the man was not from this area. Nadja was still on alert and pointed a gun at him.

"I didn't mean to hurt you. I could have done it while you were asleep," said the man with his hands still above his head but smiling kindly.

Nadja examined the man's tattered clothes and cheap boots with peeling leather. Finally, she lowered the gun and put it back.

"I don't know what your goals and duties are, but as a fellow stowaway, I can only offer you this." The man in black handed her a cheese sandwich. Nadja looked at him suspiciously.

"You could have it; I still have one bigger bun. By the way, I'm Bruno," said the black man who mentioned his name with a big smile.

Nadja did not ask again and immediately ate the bread greedily. Bruno sat back down against one of the crates. His hand drags the backpack and rests his hands on it.

"We'll be there in four hours. You have a fever. From the bloodstains, it looks like you need antibiotics. Drink this as first aid." Bruno then handed her an antibiotic tablet and aspirin to reduce the fever.

"Do you have any other clothes? I need to change my shirt," Nadja asked back.

Bruno raised his finger as a sign to wait and his hand started to open the bag. The man then handed Nadja a t-shirt and jeans shirt. Without hesitation, Nadja changed clothes quickly. Bruno threw Nadja's old clothes out the window.

"A little too big but not bad," said Bruno.

Nadja kept silent with a flat face. Her stomach was filled and the medicine she was taking started to work. It was enough to reduce the inflammation that had been tormenting her and the body temperature began to cool down. Bruno hummed a song that Nadja couldn't understand because it was just a mumble.

"I don't know what you're going through, but if you need a place to dock temporarily, stop by at my house. I would love to welcome you," said Bruno with a warm smile. Nadja did not answer. She was getting sleepy. A few seconds later, the woman fell asleep again.

**

Nadja was awakened by Bruno's gentle shaking. The man said it was time to change trains to Austria.

"We arrived in Croatia. Luckily, we are stowaway. We don't have to go through the immigration line," joked Bruno with a crisp laugh.

Nadja followed Bruno's footsteps as he patiently kept pace with her limping self. The cut in her stomach was very painful and Nadja had to walk half bent. That afternoon the two of them settled down and managed to change carriages.

Bruno was looking for a very ideal hiding place. They are in a haystack that turns out to be side by side with imported fruit and food. Nadja still didn't understand how Bruno could choose a path to avoid all investigations and not be caught by the officers. The old man seemed to understand the situation well.

Nadja moaned softly as she leaned back in the haystack. Her stomach felt pulled and she tried not to scream or whine, Nadja, lay down on her side.

"Turn over, I'll see your wound," Bruno pleaded.

Because of the increasing pain, Nadja gave up and followed his request. Bruno took off Nadja's clothes. Just above the navel, the tear gaped. Scratches that are deep enough to start red are inflamed.

"Drink this, while I'll stitch your wound," said Ben, who apparently kept the whiskey bottle from the previous train. Nadja grabbed and drank quickly. From inside the bag, Bruno took out a sewing kit.

"Not a luxury treatment and according to health protocol, but enough to prevent your wound from tearing wider and getting infected."

Bruno's hands stitched up Nadja's five-inch wound. She can withstand all the pain and sharp needles that pierce the skin. The tortures used to be far more gruesome, including having all the fingernails removed from her right hand when she failed to master how to assemble a bomb and nearly injure the entire group.

"Your life has been hard and cruel," said Bruno when he saw another scar on Nadja's arm. The girl did cover it with a tattoo. But Bruno's eyes were quite observant.

"Sometimes God gives us heavy beatings to prepare us to accept bigger responsibilities," said Bruno.

Nadia closed her eyes. Bruno kept talking and didn't care even though Nadja never replied.

Deep in her heart, Nadja denied the concept of God that Bruno had conveyed. She never received any religious lessons and for her, God did not exist. Humans present God as a figure they can use as a reinforcement in the face of trials and consider it as a control to continue to do good. The success they get from hard work, they assume, is a blessing from God.

'God is so lucky!' Nadja thought sarcastically.

After he finished stitching the wound, Bruno looked at Nadja intently.

"You should try to get to know more about the figure of God that I told you about earlier. He is the All-Knowing One who best understands your true identity. He provides a home wherever I need it."

Nadja was quite surprised. Her retina enlarged momentarily, and Bruno chuckled. How did he know what Nadja was thinking?

"He wasn't there when I was raped when I was ten. He never helped when I was brutally tortured to the point of death. He also never appeared when I was forced to kill babies who were considered geniuses for the trivial interests of other humans. Sorry, Bruno, for me God is abstract!" said Nadja sarcastically and furiously. Bruno took a deep breath.

"He's always looking at you. If you don't experience all of that, you will never be able to become His chosen ones," denied Bruno sadly. Nadja stopped blinking and glared at Bruno.

"What do you mean?" asked Nadja, not understanding. Bruno kept his sewing kit back.

"Forget it. Just stupid old sayings. Go to sleep." Bruno touched Nadja's forehead.

Suddenly the girl fell into a very deep sleep. With teary eyes, Bruno looked at Nadja.

"Sorry, but He also cried with you. You never know that." He whispered and kissed Nadja's forehead gently.

Beads of clear water dripped down his old cheeks. The wounds on Nadja's stomach and shoulders gradually healed miraculously and quickly. The train continued on its way to Austria. They will go through a long journey. May it be a point of complete Nadja Romanoff's freedom!