The European Enigma (LSD, #9)

4. The Belarusian Bride

The Belarusian Bride

"You look lovely, dear."

"Oh, Mum. Stop saying that."

"Why? Today, my only daughter is getting married. I'm excited, and you do look lovely. That dress must have cost at least a thousand euros."

"25.000 euros, Mum. It's a handmade Secret of Victoria wedding dress."

The bride looked in the mirror. Her mother was right: she did look lovely. The strict diet of bread and water had made her lose twenty-three kilos, two boxes of make-up had hidden the black-blue bags below her eyes, the make-up artist had even painted some healthy colour on her pale cheeks, the hairdresser had done miracles with what was left of her hair after the rats ate from it...

"You do look lovely, dear. You'll see: everything will work out fine; today will be the finest day of your life and the first day of your new life."

"Oh, stop being so optimistic, Mum. You know I didn't have a choice. It was this, or death. You know I don't love him and I don't think he loves me. How can you think it will work out fine? It's going to be hell."

Mum was not designed to lose her optimistic mood: "Love is such an overestimated sentiment. There are more important things in marriage than love. When a man has a nice job and a stable income, that's worth something too. He's a decent man, he doesn't drink, he only smokes an occasional cigar, he's always well-shaved and well-dressed, he's educated, he's healthy and in a good shape, and he always has nice conversations at the dinner table. There are lots of men who are not capable of producing such an outstanding curriculum, you know. This includes your father, my ex-husband, who was always drunk and fighting. I don't care if the General loves you or not; he will take good care of you. If he ever hurts you, break those chains that bind you and go your separate ways. You know I'll always love you. You'll never walk alone."

The bride fought her tears. She knew her mother was right. All this was nobody's fault but her own. She had fucked up big time. A month ago, she saw only one way out of the gutter: down the drain. When her gaming custom turned from an obsession into a 24/7 addiction, she lost more than control: she lost her job and her income, the local pizza delivery stopped supplying her when the bills reached the level of the national high score, she didn't sleep, she didn't move, she even stopped going to the bathroom. There was absolutely no chance she'd celebrate her twenty-seventh birthday if she kept going on like that; something had to change, but she herself was not capable of making it happen.

Then the odds turned into evens. Someone tipped the General: the one who held the online world record of Zombie Killer VI lived in his own country, Belarus, even in his hometown. Suddenly, the General was interested in meeting her. He didn't know she was a woman, and he didn't know how to contact her, but someone else made the connections, and that was the first step. She remembered the day when they found her, the torture and unbearable pain, how she cried for seven days and seven nights after they had turned off the electricity and she was offline for the first time in over thirteen years. The therapy was hard, with lots of exercise, lots of vitamins, group sessions with other ex-gameaholics, and an entire week of long, long hours on the doctor's couch.

Then the General came in. She remembered the moment like it was yesterday. It was, in fact, yesterday. He said: "If someone like you would fall into the hands of the enemy, our country would lose the war. If you were a man, I would make you a Captain of our army, so I could send you on the most dangerous missions. That would solve my problem. But we are still a macho country. We don't allow women or gays to serve in the military, only expendables and former criminals. So I give you a choice: marry me, or you will be shot."

The bride had chosen the wedding ring.

"I should have chosen the bullet."

Her mother rearranged the front of her dress and wove the remark away: "Nonsense. Marriage is not the end. It's a new beginning. The General is quite a handsome man. He has a strong and athletic body. I bet he's a good dancer too."