It all started late in the afternoon when the police showed up at Maya's door demanding information about the two Americans living with her and Sasha. Somehow, the passport police caught wind of the fact that we were in town and that our visas were not in order. Maya said that we were not living in her apartment, but she was frightened and when pressed, told the police where they could find us. Apparently, the police then came looking for us at Tanya's place, but left when they found nobody there.
By the time Lisa and I strolled home, Maya and Sasha were waiting for us on the stairs above our apartment. They explained what happened and told us that the police would likely return soon. Sasha seemed the more nervous of the two, and suggested we start packing our bags. But the question was where to go? The only thing that came to mind was the offer from Tony, one of the missionaries. We had just seen them walking on the street and were planning to drop in on their gathering to take some photographs.
We threw everything into our bags -- including my wet pants, which were soaking in the bathtub -- and within five minutes were racing off in Sasha's car. Lisa hurridly scribbled two notes: one each to Maya and Tanya saying we had left and thanking them for their hospitality. They could show these to the authorities if they returned. The sleepy streets of Birobidzhan took on a whole new perspectives as we imagined the police combing the city for us. We stopped to call Tony and Pat, but the Russian woman who answered said that Tony was busy could not come to the phone. This left us no choice but to show up with our bags in hand. We were counting on the fact that being missionaries, they couldn't send us back out on the street. Even heathens -- and now fugitives -- like us.
Lisa went up first and tested the waters with Pat while I waited below with our bags. She came back with the thumbs-up sign but said Pat was a bit concerned about where we would sleep, as we aren't married. When we got upstairs, there must have been about thirty Russians divided into two rooms. In one room the adults gathered around a big table studying the Bible with Tony, while the younger crowd was in another room with Rachel and Shelly.
Later we gave Tony and Pat a sort of Readers Digest version of our story, leaving out the part about the police looking for us. We didn't want to scare them.
Personally, I found the whole adventure amusing and a bit of a cheap thrill. I
just felt sorry for Maya and Sasha, who were both genuinely worried. I may be
less amused when we try to leave town on Sunday. I have this vision of a wanted
poster with both of our mugs plastered on it, hanging behind the ticket counter
of the train station.