Lyviv 2005

At the Lyviv train station, I spent a greevna to sit in the waiting room.

Ukrainians were stretched out as comfortably as they could in the punishing, upright lounge chairs.  not worth paying for, if only 20 cents, but better to avoid the beggars.

I sat next to a beautiful, young woman who seemed sad or angry, maybe both. She had a distant stare that told everybody to stay away.  My only goal was to rest so there would be no trouble from me. 

3 middle aged men alternately slept and talked on their cels.  Cel phones are the status symbol here for those that can't afford a car.

To my right was a young man, again, tired or angry, stretched back with an "I don't give a damn." expression for everybody to clearly see. I guessed he was probably returning from a ski trip. 

Shortly, a girl appeared to my left, bounding across the room, beaming as she carried and showed off 2 bananas. Her eyes led back to the young man. 

I followed her as she excitedly displayed her new find. On a layover in Lyviv, finding fresh fruit isn't easy.

But the young man didn't react and was as bored and angry as before.

The girl was almost skipping as she moved towards him.  She was bubbling with excitement over her find. 

He didn't react.

Eventually my attention was drawn elsewhere.  I watched the floor sweeper pass over the muddy surface in triplicate sweeps, pushing by people and rhythmically following the same pattern over and over.

The woman next to me asked if I would watch her bags for a while.  I agreed and then she launched into a long speech that seemed very important and to have something to do with her stern expression. 

I gave her my well practiced reaction "I only understand a little Russian.", a very good end conversations I can't follow.

Her bags were to my right so keeping an eye on them meant turning my gaze back to the couple.  The girl had lost her earlier enthusiasm.  No, she had become sad. The young man hadn't changed his bored appearance but she was now with her head bowed and her eyes darting down and around.  She seemed to be having a frantic and worried conversation with herself. 

The young man stirred, mumbled something and leaned his head on her shoulder.

She perked up and opened her purse and began digging around for something. It was clear that she was in an awkward position now, being careful not to move and disturb him. It was as if she dared not shift her position for fear that he would be annoyed and move away.

She never found what she was looking for but managed to keep shoulder absolutely still the entire time.

It was time to catch my train.  My neighbor had retrieved her bags and left.  I wondered if she was on my train.

As I walked away, I glanced at the young girl again to see her head still bowed and eyes shifting about as before, purse still opened. 

Of course I will never know what was going on with them but I have my guesses.