Chapter 7 - Another Surprise (1/2)

Finland was amazed when she entered the restaurant. There were no other guests in it, and at the very end of the table, overlooking the beautiful garden full of lights, she saw Caspar. Upon seeing her, he immediately stood up and walked toward her with a huge smile.

”Welcome.” His face changed slightly when he saw Finland's face trying to hide sadness. ”What is wrong?”

”Uhmm ... it's okay. Thank you for inviting me to dinner. This place is very beautiful.”

Finland tried to smile and opened her eyes wider, desperately trying to hide a tear that almost fell.

Caspar opened the seat for Finland and gestured her to sit. He then approached the waiter and asked something quietly. The waiter answered quietly too. Caspar then shook his head with a murderous face.

”Finland, were there people being mean to you outside? Who are they?” He asked Finland. The girl shook her head with a forced smile.

”Oh, those are just my high school friends. They used to bully me at school because of my weird name...”

”Weird?! You have such a beautiful name. You know, in Finland, the sun doesn't set for 9 weeks in the summer. That's the only place in the world where you can have midnight sun.” Caspar smiled softly, ”I really want to take you there sometime and show it to you myself.”

Finland shook her head, ”Thank you, but I'm not used to accepting free things from people. I am saving to go to Finland myself, and I will go there with my own money. I know Finland is a beautiful country. Actually, they bully me not only because of my name, but also because I have no father and no last name. It is a bad stigma in Indonesia. Don't worry about it, Caspar, I am used to this already. It is not the first time they bully me, and it surely won't be the last.”

Caspar looked at Finland for a long time. He then sighed. ”Alright, let's just order food. I don't want you to think about them for too long.”

He made a sign to the waiter to bring the menu. While Finland was studying the menu and trying to think about what to order, Caspar whispered some instructions to the same waiter.

Finland did not know what to order, the menu was in French. Finally, she took pictures of the main course section and sent it to Jean to ask for recommendations.

”Other people usually take pictures of the food, why would you take pictures of the menu?” Caspar asked in surprise. Finland was shocked when Caspar caught her taking pictures of the menu.

”Ah ... uhm, I... I can't speak French. So, to avoid ordering something weird, I asked Jean to help me out...” Finland stuttered. ”Jean is half French and he speaks French ...”

”Why don't you ask me?” Caspar seemed unhappy because in every meeting with Finland, Jean's name was always brought up. ”Don't you have any other friends besides Jean?”

”You can speak French?” Finland asked, ”Are you French?”

”German. But I can speak French. I can also speak Russian, Japanese, Mandarin, Arabic, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Indian and more. I speak a lot of languages.”

Finland's eyes widened, ”How can you speak so many languages? Are you a really talented polyglot or ...?”

”I've lived in various countries for a long time. I told you I travel a lot,” Caspar answered casually.

”Come on, where's the menu? I can translate for you.”

He then started reading the menu in English. He kept on translating until the girl found the dishes she liked. The atmosphere during dinner was very pleasant and it felt like the best night in Finland's life.

Click!

Finland looked up when she heard the shutter sound from Caspar's camera. The guy smiled and took out the polaroid photo from his camera. He shook the paper until the picture was visible. His smile widened when he saw the result, then showed it to Finland.

”You look happier.”

The angle of shot and the romantic light of the room made Finland look surreal in the photo. Like a fairy in a dream. Very beautiful.

”Thank you... ”

Finland then remembered the question she wanted to ask since she entered the restaurant.

”Uhm... why are there no other guests at this restaurant?”

”Oh, I asked the restaurant to be closed tonight so we can enjoy our dinner in peace.” Caspar answered. ”I don't like crowds.”

”Oh...” Finland could not imagine how much money Caspar spent to book the most expensive restaurant in Singapore all to themselves. ”This seems a bit too much, no?”

”You don't like it?” Caspar asked.

”Eh, no... I've never had dinner like this with anyone else before. It's not like what I imagined.”