A Normal Day in Takasia

[tak]

The Johanssons were some of the earlierst inhabitants of northwest Takasia, where winters are harsh and summers are mild. It is their family tradition to fish for a living. It is an early summer morning. The sky never turns dark any more these days. Out at the open sea between Tagirstan and Takasia, cruises can be seen at a distance off the Takasian coast. This is the tourist season of Takasia - many people come over, take the cruises, and admire the beauty of the fjords along the coast, and the midnight sun further up north. These tourists are one of the factors have raised the standard of living in the north significantly. The sea is actually quite busy in summer. Not only are fishermen like the Johanssons busy catching the year's incomes, merchants and container ships are using the Channel and the polar shipping routes to cut costs. This is a stark different with the quiet, gloomy and frozen winter days. They have to hurry back to the port before 6pm today. Another curise ferry is scheduled to arrive at 6.30pm and they have to get their stall ready for the tourists. They always love the fresh catch from the local fishermen, and have nearby restaurants to prepare some of the best seafood dishes in Taijitu. And of course, almost every tourist will take some famous Takasian Caviar home. Life as fishermen in Takasia, though not the most exciting, is stable and good. But is such life going to last?

[tak]

This was the second day the Delfian air hostesses got stranded in St. Takasburg. They have planned to do some shopping with some extra cash (significantly more than their normal salary) in the tax-free shopping paradise. To their dismay, the city was almost deserted. Out of curiosity, one of the them called a local friend of hers. to her surprise, all of them were invited to the midsummer party held in his summer cottage by the beach.

This was a day where most Takasian spend their day out of the cities. When the air hostesses got to the summer cottage after two hours of bus ride, the first thing that caught their eyes was the bonfire. All the guests were dressed in traditional costumes (due to the cosmopolitan nature of Takasia, this means a whole array of different costumes), and were dancing around the bonfire. They all had great time with all the food, drinks and drugs in the party. Soon afterwards, everyone stripped their beautiful clothing off and jumped into the sea and swam.

The sun never fell on this midsummer day. The Delfian girls never thought they could enjoyed so much when they were actually stranded in the country. Being stuck in a foreign country is not necessarily a bad thing after all.

[tak]

It seems like everything is back to normal. The government has abandoned its plan to make the nation "globally influential"; the country no longer meddle with "international issues" except trade; the riots are now literally unheard of; no more terrorism warnings for quite some time; and the economy is back on track.

People still reading the international news, like wars in Easteros and other places. All they care now, just like in the "distant" past, are the business opportunities and risks. They no longer want their government to do anything as stupid as hosting a peace talk or sending peacekeeping forces. Of course, they never heard of the government sponsorship of Saletsian weapons.

Delfians, still required to register with their implanted RFID tags, now blend perfectly with other Takasians. They have proven themselves just as competent as any other Takasians, and have lived reasonably comfortably in this expensive kingdom. Anyway, it is the impoverished immigrants who do the lowest paid jobs.

The main casualty of the current conflicts in Easteros are perhaps those who work for Canal Barga. With the embargo imposed by Saletsia, the business there has plummeted. Many expatriates came back to Takasia, though some ended up in Anchorage of Canada for the port redevelopment project. Those who missed the tropic helped the Chinese Loyalists in building their state-of-art international airport.

Takasians has rebuilt thanks to their indifference to the outside world and lust for money. Once again a paradise for the adventurous, regardless of race and religion. They probably can live in this little world merrily erver after, after all.