1. Stuck at the border
Melissa and Arbek arrive in Grabesh. But there is a problem.
"We are next," Melissa nervously pointed out. Her boyfriend Arbek was obviously aware of their position in the queue but he understood that she was nervous.
Everything had gone so quickly. Tensions in England had been building over the last few weeks but recently the situation seemed to be deteriorating rapidly. Wherever Melissa went she either saw riots or an unstable mass of people seemingly about to riot. The sounds of house alarms and police sirens in the background had recently become an unwelcome fixture of her daily life.
With a recent surge in violence they had decided to get out.
Melissa had wanted to go back to Germany but flights there had been sold out for the foreseeable future as had been any other reasonable place. It appeared that they would not be able to get a flight anywhere but then Arbek discovered that there were seats left on a flight to his home country Grabesh. So they spontaneously decided to go there.
The official at the passport control motioned them to approach.
Arbek and Melissa handed him their passports. The official returned Arbek's passport but held on to Melissa's. "Where is your visa?" he asked.
Melissa's gut clenched. This was the moment she had been afraid of. Grabesh had no visa free agreements with Germany. And she didn't have one. Arbek had told her he would handle this. "She is with me," he said and made his heart warming smile to the official.
"That doesn't matter. Rules are rules," was the stern reply.
"It was an emergency and we didn't have time. Could you not make an exception?"
The official stared unmoved at the two.
"I can make it worth your while. Arbek finally said and pulled out a few banknotes.
Beads of sweat were forming on Melissa's forehead. "Please, please, please take the money" she thought. "Let this uncertainty be over."
Upon seeing a sufficiently large amount of cash on the table the official's face relaxed and he smiled. "Well I guess I can make an exception here." He reached for the cash and smiled. "You are a beautiful couple and nothing should separate true love." He winked at Melissa.
"What is going on here?" A stern voice came from behind the booth. Unnoticed by the group another uniformed man had approached. By the timid look of the border guard this was likely his supervisor, Melissa surmised.
"Nothing," the startled border guard replied. His hand that had been reaching for the money abruptly pulled back. "The lady here has insufficient documentation to permit entry."
The supervisor, looking at his minion, then the banknotes on the counter and finally Melissa clearly knew what he had walked in on. He could sense these shenanigans from miles away and he was tired of them. He took Melissa's passport from the border guard and thumbed through the pages. "Miss Maurer, please follow me," he finally told Melissa.
2. A plan is made
Arbek comes up with a plan to solve their predicament.
Arbek joined the group and the three entered an office through a sturdy door. The supervisor settled behind a desk while Melissa and Arbek sat opposite. The door clicked shut metallically behind them, revealing no handle on the inside, only a knob, suggesting they were locked in. Melissa's anxiety spiked, her forehead beading with sweat.
"I'll keep this brief," the supervisor started, his gaze fixed on Melissa. "Without a valid visa, you can't enter Grabesh. You'll be on the next flight back to England. Until then, you'll be held in immigration detention."
Melissa's eyes brimmed with tears. "But England is unsafe for me now. Please, I can't go back," she implored, meeting a stony expression.
"There are no flights heading to England right now; they've all been canceled because of the unrest," Arbek interjected. "Just allow her to stay with me. She's my girlfriend, and I'll take full responsibility for her. She won't cause any issues. I vouch for her."
"Illegal migrants must be sent back. We can't simply accept people based on mere assurances," the official stated firmly. "Miss Maurer will remain detained until her deportation. She'll board the next available flight. Typically, there's a weekly service to London, but with those flights suspended, she'll remain in custody until service resumes, however long that takes."
Melissa was in disbelief, the situation far grimmer than she had feared. She had never ventured outside Europe, where her German passport had always sufficed without the need for a visa. She had thought she could sort out the paperwork upon arrival, especially under emergency circumstances. She'd never had a run-in with the law, and now she was facing detention in what felt like an airport jail. Tears began to fill her eyes.
Arbek saw her, feeling a pang of sorrow. He wished desperately for a way to stop the way this was going...
The official rose to his feet and instructed, "Stand against the wall and place your hands behind your back." Melissa, feeling detached, numbly complied. Behind her, there was the sound of clinking chains, followed by the cold touch of handcuffs snapping shut around her wrists, each click echoing her entrapment. He then opened a different door, not the entrance they used, but one leading to a corridor. Upon opening it, a guard in uniform was revealed, standing ready. "Please follow the sergeant," the official directed, gently steering her toward the door by her arm.
