Paved with Gold

The first three days on the Amerika Steamship seemed to go by relatively quickly. People kept to themselves, minus the children who couldn't keep still. There were people from several different countries on board, which made communicating difficult. There were a lot of Germans, obviously, and János could get by with a few words here and there. However, there were many other languages that he couldn't recognize, and he had yet to hear Hungarian.
The boat set sail about an hour after he boarded. It took off slow and he could feel the back and forth of the choppy waves. It didn't bother him at first, but he definitely got tired of it quick.
People began getting seasick within hours of sailing. There were designated buckets in corners and people used them often. After the first night János realized how common it was to hear loud retching and gagging noises at any given time.

The vomit and other bodily fluids allowed for a musty odor to arise quickly. János spent most of his time during the day out on the deck. He was amazed at the sight of the ocean that seemed to sprawl out for eternity. He couldn't believe that one day they would actually reach land, that the world could really be that big.

On the third day around noon, János was back up on the deck with his elbows resting on the rails. It was rather peaceful, if you could ignore the hundreds of other people and the workers running back and forth from downstairs. His mind wandered to his his village and to his family. The day probably started as all other days do: everyone waking up at daybreak, having a quick breakfast of old bread, and heading out for the day. His mother made her cleaning rounds and nagyapa walked to a field alone to pick all day before heading home. János hoped his grandfather had found someone to work with. God forbid something happen to him on the way to work. János prayed his family didn't worry about him too much, even though he knew that's all they thought about. He wished there was a way he could have written to them before he left.

His mind then wandered to Évike and he wondered how she was coping. It was undeniably obvious that she was in love with him too, especially after she ran out into the streets crying for him. Her voice replayed in his head over and over again, the agony in her voice ripping at him. If only he would have turned around on that street and ran to her, scooped her up and buried his face in her blonde curls.

He pushed the thoughts away and let his head drop between his rested elbows. He closed his eyes and let the frigid sea air whip across his face. The water was steady today, and they glided effortlessly through the ripples.

"Szia! Hello!" A singsongy voice called out behind him. János perked up at the noise and furrowed his brows once he realized this person was Hungarian too.
He looked behind him and saw a short man only a few years older than him standing there with a huge smile on his face. He had short brown hair and a thin mustache. His clothes were rattier than János' clothes and his boots had holes in them.
János couldn't think of a response fast enough.

"Aren't you cold up here?" The man asked, folding his arms up tight against himself.

"I am cold," János responded looking back out at the water, "but it's better than being down there."
The man joined János in putting his arms on the railing, but he struggled a bit more.
"What's your name?" He asked curiously, smiling at János again.
"János Fodor." János responded, not feeling near as amused as this person.
"Örvendek. Nice to meet you." He put out his hand, and János took it. "I'm Sandor Nagy."
They shook hands and stood in an awkward silence for a few minutes.
"I was beginning to think I was the only Hungarian on this boat." János chuckled finally.
"Same here." Sandor laughed back. "I heard you say thank you to the woman serving food last night and knew I should come talk to you at some point. I was looking around downstairs for a while before I decided to come up here."

"I just need some air." János sighed, looking out at the water.
"It's nice to think up here. About what I left behind and what I'm heading towards."
Sandor looked at him with pity.
"I didn't leave much of anything." Sandor said quickly, putting his hands between under his arms for warmth.
"I was an orphan from 5 years old to when I became an adult. I don't have a family or a house or a real job. I just worked my way around and collected enough money to finally do this." Sandor explained all of this as if it wasn't a sad story.
"I'm sorry you had to live like that." János said as he patted Sandor on the back.
"Don't be. I didn't know any different. That's why I'm heading to America. What about you?" Sandor asked cautiously.
"I have a wonderfully loving family who saved up the money from a years work to give me this gift. I didn't see it as a gift at first but now I realize just how incredible it is." János explained, trying not to sound like he was rubbing it in Sandor's face. "So I left a girl I always loved and a family willing to give me the world to leave for a country I know nothing about."

Sandor watched him speak and let the last sentence linger in the air.
"You know they say the streets are paved with gold." Sandor exclaimed. János paused to take in the preposterous idea.
"What?" He chuckled, hoping he was joking.
"Paved with gold. The streets are-"
"Paved with gold?" János cut him off, laughing. Sandor laughed back.

"That would be a nice reality, wouldn't it?" János laughed again and patted Sandor on the back and they made their way back into the steerage room.