Bank of Love

***

DING-DONG!

“She’s here!”

On the morning of 22nd July, Ravel dashes downstairs, his mother warning him to slow down so he doesn’t fall down.

Opening the door, he finds Fantasia, clad in a new elegant summer dress of cream color. She wears her late mother's blue silk scarf tied gently around her neck, and her ballerina shoes match the same shade of blue. Her long blonde hair, usually tied in twin-tails, cascades down her back.

Ravel’s jaw drops. “Who the hell are you?!”

“You sound like my father! Is that how you greet a girl??” Fantasia’s slightly annoyed by his reaction.

“Y-you… you’re absolutely breathtaking!”

“Well, you did tell me to wear something special. I got this dress and shoes from my dad as a birthday gift! Honestly… that’s the first time he bought me something this girly. I was not used to wearing such clothes but… I feel comfortable now!”

“Your father did an amazing job!” Ravel can’t take his eyes off his girlfriend.

“So… can I come in or will you just stare at me like a hungry puppy?”

“I’ll just stare, thank you. Woof!”

“Move it~!” She ‘aggressively’ pushes him out of her way as she heads inside to greet his parents.

“Look at this beautiful young lady! Happy Birthday, Fantasia!” Ravel’s father congratulates her.

“Every time you come to our home, you shine brighter and brighter! I wish you Happy Birthday, too. Please, accept this, just a small thing from both of us.”

Ravel’s mother hands her a carefully wrapped gift.

“Woah~, you didn’t have to!!” Fantasia’s eyes light up. “Can I open it??”

“Well, if you want, of cou- She already did!”

Mr. Unique is astonished by her quick unwrapping skills.

“That’s the latest edition of plumbing tips!! How’d you know I wanted this?!!” Fantasia joyfully dances around with the book she received.

“We asked Ravel what young girls were into these days~,” Mother explains.

Don’t make it sound like all young girls would appreciate such a gift, Ravel opposes in mind.

“You can leave the book here for now and come for it later, you don’t want to carry it around on your trip, right?” Ravel’s father suggests.

“Yeah, that’s a good idea! And we should go already or we’ll miss the train to Banska Stiavnica!”

Ravel puts on his white shoes that complement his white short-sleeved shirt. He’s bound to feel hot in those black trousers he chose, but he wanted to look as classy as a high school teenager could.

***

After more than four hours of riding a train from Bratislava, they finally arrived in Banska Stiavnica, a historic city famous for its metal mining.

The couple walks through the narrow city center streets, as Fantasia wonders where they’re going.

“Where else would we go…? This city has the most unique romantic attraction in the whole world!”

Nestled in the heart of a quaint town, there stands a charming establishment, exuding an aura of warmth and tenderness, ready to accept all kinds of tourists that seek deeper connection to their loved ones.

“Fantasia. Welcome to the Bank of Love.”

“Are we getting a mortgage or something?” Fantasia tilts her head to a side, her brow furrows in confusion.

“No, silly. This isn’t an ordinary bank with financial transactions, but rather a repository of heartfelt emotions and cherished memories!”

“I still don’t get it…”

“Do you remember Andrej Sladkovic?”

“Uhmmm…. Sure~…” Fantasia averts her eyes, attempting to hide her lack of knowledge.

“My god, he was one of the most famous poets in Slovakia!”

“Oooh…”

“You really don’t know? It’s taught at every school.”

“I was too preoccupied by my plumbing training, I guess, hehe…” She chuckles embarrassingly.

Ravel sighs.

“Well, in that case, your experience’s gonna be much more impactful! Let’s go, we’ve a reservation at 01:00 p.m.”

Fantasia and Ravel step into the Love Bank, their eyes widening in awe as they take in the enchanting interior.

Soft, golden light baths the space, casting a warm glow upon the walls adorned with photographs of loving couples.

“May I help you?” The receptionist asks.

“Yes, my name’s Ravel Unique and I have a reservation for a tour at 1 without a guide.”

The receptionist checks the system to confirm and lets them pass, handing them a map of the house.

“There are usually around 20 people in a group with a guide. I booked it without one, so that we can be alone. Hope you don’t mind?”

“If you’re gonna act as my guide, then I don’t, hehe.”

The whole establishment is divided into multiple sections, each offering a unique attraction.

Ravel and Fantasia enter an old-fashioned room from 19th century, exuding the charm of a bygone era with its antique furniture. The walls are adorned with an array of four portraits. These are no ordinary paintings; the people captured on them are actors, skillfully embodying the characters and retelling a captivating story of young Andrej Sladkovic and his love for Marina Pischlova, moving and talking, just like from the wizard world of Parry Hotter.

“No way, so Marina lived in this very house??” Fantasia watches the whole story, absorbed by every gesture and word performed by the actors.

“Yes, she’s not only lived here, but also secretly kept safe a certain manuscript.”

“What kind of a manuscript?”

“Follow me, princess.”

As they walk through the wooden door, the young couple finds themselves in the center of Sladkovic’s library. The room is filled with old, yellowed papers, some of them folded or fallen outside of books, bearing Sladkovic's handwriting.

“What you’re seeing here is a facsimile of the original manuscript of the poem ‘Marina’, which is over 170 years old.” Ravel assumes the guide role properly.

“A poem… named ‘Marina’?”

“Yes, this very house is the epicenter of the greatest declaration of love that the world has ever seen. Andrej Sladkovic has written officially the world’s longest love poem, dedicated to his one and only Marina. He has spent almost 2 years writing ‘Marina’ which consists of 291 stanzas and 2,900 verses.”

“2,900?! He had so much to say to his love??”

“The word ‘love’ appears 168 times in the poem, while he celebrated the name of his beloved Marina exactly 37 times.”

“That’s so romantic~!! Can I read it?”

“Just wait a minute with that.”

Inside of their next stop, which is a souvenir shop, there’s a real Post Office for those in love. Visitors can choose from House’s original postcards, write a meaningful message and the staff will send it to whomever the visitors wish.

“Wanna write your own love letter?”

“I do!!”

Fantasia enthusiastically takes a seat in front of a red backdrop, evoking an image of a post office from the past. She begins writing a letter, while Ravel patiently waits and watches her engrossed in her task. After a few minutes, she finishes and puts the letter inside an envelope along with a love-themed postcard.

“Who did you write to?”

“To my dad, of course!!”

I’m not even surprised, heh.

After the letter is sent, they eagerly enter another door, with Fantasia wondering what could be next.

Inside the room, there’s a huge golden wheel of fortune reminiscent of a clock, with multiple verses from the ‘Marina’ poem written instead of the numbers stating the time.

“Ooh, what’s that?!” Fantasia can’t contain her excitement.

“It’s called LOVE-O-METER. It measures the love of couples, or families. It expresses its strength in a splendid verse from the poem. Wanna try where we’re standing?”

With Ravel barely finishing the sentence, Fantasia already takes hold of one of the golden handles and steps eagerly from one foot to another.

“Come on~, don’t be a slowpoke!”

Ravel takes the other one of the handles and they pull them at the same time.

As the LOVE-O-METER span, it ended up showing the 402. verse, which is “It is impossible for me not to love you.”

“Wow, that’s the most famous verse from the whole poem!” Ravel is genuinely delighted.

“That’s how I feel towards you, too!” Fantasia takes his hand and looks him in the eyes.

“I can’t even remember how I felt without my eternal love for you.”

“Awww, hehe, are you trying to be a poet, too?”

“Maybe.”

“So mysterious~.”

“Shall we go explore the main attraction?”

“Yes!! I wonder what it is! So far, it’s been thrilling!”

The last part of the house that remained to be explored was deep underground.

“Brace yourself. What you’re about to witness is something you’ve never seen before. It’s called LOVE VAULT.”

Ravel opens the door and Fantasia’s eyes turn into sparkling stars. The basement is structured like a tunnel. The ‘walls’ of the LOVE VAULT have been created from the 2,900 verses of the poem ‘Marina’. Each verse consists of Love Boxes representing a letter from the verse’s words. They can be used for storing a symbol of one’s love, or desire for love.

As they walk through the vault, Fantasia runs her fingers along the verses, feeling the weight of the poet's words and the depth of his love. She is captivated by the atmosphere of the place, feeling as though she is immersed in a world of pure emotion and passion.

Surrounded by the words of Andrej Sladkovic's love poem, Ravel feels a surge of gratitude and adoration for the incredible woman he is lucky enough to call his own.

Ravel takes one Love Box from the wall.

“Fantasia, I’ve bought this Love Box for you to use. There’s somebody else you’ve desperately wanted to express your love for, right?”

CHAPTER 44: END