"Honeymooning in Central Europe" by Johannes Springenseiss

Even though the music was loud in the gym I could hear her clearly; she was talking about the honeymoon and mentioned going to Lichtenstein.   

“Lichtenstein?” I asked. “You’re always full of surprises. Still I was not ready for this one. Lichtenstein, of all places. Are you serious?”

“Lichtenstein!” she replied. “I didn’t say anything about Lichtenstein. What’s Lichtenstein?”   

“It’s a feudal mini-state wedged between Switzerland and Austria. That’s pretty much all I know.”

“Really? Lichtenstein sounds like a hero soldier’s name from the Thirty Years’ War.”   

I followed it up with research on Lichtenstein but nothing I found made sense. Worse yet, apparently there’s no soldier hero named Lichtenstein mentioned anywhere in the chronicles of the Thirty Years’ War.   

Soon we drifted apart. 

The truth is, there can be no going back after the bond of trust, Lichtenstein in this particular case, is broken.

Johannes Springenseiss is a world citizen and raconteur. He mostly writes speculative fiction and creative essays, which he has published in various literary magazines.