Repairing Our Relationship

28

(Flashback chapters will be in Italic)

The sky was a dark gray. Any trace of blue had been sucked into the gray void, never to be seen for a while. Rain pounded on everything and everyone who was outside. It seemed endless. Big droplets slid down windows and buildings, and soaked anyone who wasn't wise enough to bring an umbrella.

Sweden walked alone down the damp sidewalk. He had a feeling it would rain that day, so he brought an umbrella, just in case. It's a good thing he did, cause he would've been soaked and freezing.

Barely anyone was outside. Those who were were running quickly to make it home. Their quick footsteps would cause puddles they stepped in to splash up onto them, and some tripped and fell, getting mud all over themselves.

Sweden was in his own little world. He couldn't wait to get home, take his clothes off and play Minecraft until his siblings forced him to go to bed.

Sweden eventually turned his attention to the world and sounds around him. Rain pattered onto his umbrella and slid off it onto the ground. Most shops had their lights out, the rain was too rough for their workers to come safely. His boots made soft thuds each time they made contact with the ground.

He saw someone walking ahead of him. They were a fair distance away, and they weren't holding an umbrella.

Worry for the stranger overcame Sweden. He knew how hard it was raining, that person or country was definitely soaked.

He started to speed walk. As he got closer he saw that they were shivering, most likely from the cold. "Hello?" He asked when he caught up.

The person looked at him. It was a country. Their flag was divided into four quarters. The bottom left was blue, while the top white was red. The remaining two quarters were white with stars in them, both were colored. Above the blue was a blue star, while underneath the red was a red star.

"H-Hi..." The country responded.

Sweden moved so they both were underneath his umbrella. The country sighed. "G-Gracias..."

"I'm sorry, but what language is that?" Sweden asked.

"S-Spanish... Gracias is Spanish for thank you..."

Sweden nodded. "You're welcome. What were you doing out here without an umbrella?"

"I-I didn't know it would rain this hard... Let alone at all..." The country looked at the shiny street as rain pounded on it continuously.

Sweden sighed. "Here, let me walk you home."

"Thank you..."

They both started walking. "So," Sweden started, "what's your name?"

"P-Panama. Republic of Panama." Panama shivered.

"Panama..." Sweden let the name wander his mind. "I've never heard of you before."

"That's alright. What's your name?" Panama looked up at Sweden.

Sweden smiled. "Sweden. Kingdom of Sweden."

"I've heard of you before." Panama chuckled. "You're the country that's obsessed with Minecraft, right?"

Sweden nodded. "It's a masterpiece, what can I say?"

They laughed. "It's great to meet you, Panama." Sweden said.

"It's great to meet you too, Sweden. And gracias for walking me home, I swear, the rain was trying to force me into the sidewalk." Panama chuckled.

"You going to be okay?" Sweden asked.

"Si. I'll probably catch a cold but that should be it."

"What were you doing out here?" Sweden wanted to keep the conversation going.

"Visiting a friend. The most direct route to and from their house is through town." Panama responded. "You?"

"Norway asked me to buy him some new ear buds. He accidently broke his old ones."

"Who's Norway?"

"One of my younger brothers."

Panama nodded. "Who are the others?"

"My other brothers are Finland, Denmark, Iceland, and Greenland. My sisters are Faroe and Åland Islands."

"That's a big family."

"Not as big as Russia's."

Panama laughed. "True, true."

"Do you have any siblings?"

Panama sighed. "Nope, I'm an only child."

"Must be nice."

"Not really. You don't have anybody to spend time with when your parents and friends are busy."

Sweden nodded thoughtfully. "Never thought of it that way."

Panama shrugged. "Nobody with siblings do. But I guess it's the opposite for everyone. People with siblings want to be only child's while only child's want siblings."

"Where's your house, exactly?" Sweden asked. They had come to a neighborhood.

"I live in the Central American neighborhood. Shouldn't be far from here." Panama began walking again as Sweden strolled next to him.

Panama was correct, it wasn't far from where they were. "Here we are. Follow me, I can already see my house from here."

Sweden shrugged and obliged. He kept up with the Panaman until he stopped and looked at a house. "Here's my house." Panama smiled at Sweden.

Disappointment filled Sweden. He didn't want to say goodbye just yet. Panama noticed and took out a slip of paper. He wrote on it with a pencil from his pocket and gave it to Sweden. "Here's my number so we can talk again." The smaller country smiled.

"Thanks." Sweden tucked the slip into his pocket. "Can I have a hug goodbye?" He asked.

Panama nodded and promptly hugged Sweden. "It was great meeting you, gracias for walking me home."

Sweden chuckled. "No problem, it was great meeting you, too."

Panama pulled away and walked to his front door, unlocking it and going inside. Sweden turned and started walking away. Now it was his turn to go home.