Flashback Friday

For Flashback Friday, I decided to post this illustration I did for a class assignment a few years ago. The story, "European Night Journey" was published in The New Yorker. In the story Zdena, who is traveling from Bratislava to Venice for her daughter's wedding, meets a man on the bus whom she has no intention of speaking with. She is annoyed at first when he tries to start a conversation. The man, whose name is Tomas, senses a deep sadness in her. Eventually, they talk and she reveals that her daughter is HIV positive, something she has not shared with her closest friends.

In the second scene, Zdena has woken up to find that the bus has made a stop in Trieste and Tomas has stopped at a bakery. The bus is ready to leave without him, but Zdena convinces the driver to wait for Tomas to return. Tomas runs back with some pastries that he shares with Zdena.