Page 21 of Mysterious Teacher : Arrival
“Regardless,” April said as she stood. “I need to remedy the situation. I’ll find something to substitute the roast.”
“Please, don’t go to any trouble on my account, April. The mashed potatoes and string beans will do just fine.”
Sonya noticed how the two men were equally impressed with the young woman who held her head high, regal in her posture. She had a way about her that was far beyond her tender age.
“Well,” April said as she took a step away from the table. “Nonetheless, I’ll go see about preparing some tea.” She looked pointedly at the two men. “You do drink tea, don’t you?”
The men, seemingly gobsmacked by April’s confident control of the room, nodded. But as April made her way to the door, Boris stood up and reached out to stop her.Igor grunted and, with a simple jut of his chin, had Boris sitting back down again.
“Please, gentlemen, finish your meal,” April said. “I’ll be right back.”
The moment April left the room, all four eyes turned to Sonya, scrutinizing her in the most uncomfortable manner. For a brief moment, she fought the urge to fidget in her seat. But as her determintation to hold her own took over, she fought the urge to crack her neck and show them what she was really made of.
“You one of those Japanese?”Igor said with a hint of disgust. He resumed eating, concerns of poison behind him.
“Actually, I’m Chinese,” Sonya said with a sad undertone. “Unfortunately, the China that I once knew is no more.”
“That’s right,” Igor said, barely containing a contented grin. “The last great Emperor of China was put in prison, right?”
“Along with his lovely wife,” Boris added with a chuckle. He reached across the table to pick up April’s plate, set it over his empty plate and proceeded to eat April’s dinner. “Hang on. Didn’t the empress die in prison?”
Sonya nodded sadly.
“And now China is in ruins,” Igor said. He speared Sonya’s slice of the roast and set it on his plate. Cutting it in two, he quickly ate it.
“Well,” Sonya said. “It appears that the world was in ruins. But then it seems that’s to be expected in times of war. Nothing good ever comes of it, just destruction and death.Thank God, it is over, and now the world is rebuilding.”
“Wars are not always bad,” Igor said as he set his fork down and leaned back in his chair. “A lot of good can come from a war.”
“Good?”Sonya said, holding back from gagging on her disgust. “What ‘good’ do you speak of?”
“Victory,” Igor said. “Victory is sweet. But, I see your point when you look at China...” He let out a grunt. “Gone are the dynasties and empires. Gone are the emperors. Ha. And Japan. Damn, did they get it good. Look at what that bomb did to them. But...it wasn’t enough. No, they dropped another bomb on them and laid them flat.”
He looked pointedly at Sonya, a crooked and condescending grin on his lips. She stared him down, unwilling to let him win this insignificant battle.
After a long moment, he grunted through a broad grin. “So, what do you think of your Asia now? Not so high and mighty, are you?”
“The Chinese are a very strong and determined people; hard-working and devoted.The culture is beautiful.One must not confuse the people with the ones who govern them.From my experience, one Emperor may be better or worse than the other.”
“So?”he said with a cock of his arrogant brow.
“So,” Sonya said, leaning forward to set her elbows on the table, her gaze hard and steady. “The people, like all people on Earth, just want to have a safe and secured community, food in their bellies, a government governed by just and fairness.I left China shortly after the war.It was in ruins with Civil Wars.Now, I am in America, an American, where I have finally found freedom.When I came over and first saw the Statue of Liberty, I felt an immense weight lift, a sense of pride.I prefer living in a Republic.Here in America, people can elect their leaders, and if they work hard, they are all equal to be able to become wealthy, to make something of themselves.There is no limit to your creativity, no limit to success.The women here have more freedoms.Women can go to college, women can have a career, become actors, writers, leaders, mothers with careers, and even President.Before...I lived in a cage, like a songbird, in a beautiful golden cage.But now, I am free, able to be what I want to be, go where I want to go, speak what I want to say, read what I want to read, and live the way I want to live.”
“Ha!”Igor and Boris let out at the same time.
“Freedom?”Igor said. “What does common people, a mere woman like you know what you want to do? It is better for someone else to make those decisions for you.It is better for everyone to have everything the same.Let the State decide your profession, decide for you and your family how many children you can have, decide how much you can have, and whatever you make, have it distributed to everyone equally.No one gets more or less.”
Boris coughed, “Except a few of those more equal than the rest.”
“Sounds like a contradiction,” Sonya said. “You have a leader?You have a hierarchy?Is there order?If not, who decide who gets what and how much?”Sonya looked from Boris to Igor.
“We have one man, no woman, to tell the rest of the state what to do,” Boris said.
“You may be acting like Nazis from WW2 Germany, and your ideology is similar in that you have a dictator with no branches of government, no election from the people,” said Sonya.”But you’re not really from Germany, aren’t you?Not really what you seem.”
The men’s expression of annoyance and dismay told Sonya she was right, but before anyone can act, April burst into the room.
