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Ukraine was walking on a park sidewalk, listening to music and enjoying the food he had gotten from a street vendor a few blocks down. He hummed to the song, not really thinking about much.
Honk!
He looked down, startled. A goose with brown and black feathers looked up at him. If Ukraine had to guess, the goose wanted food. The goose honked again.
Ukraine looked at his pork skewer. Would it be bad for geese to eat pork? He also remembered hearing something that said you shouldn't feed geese because they might get aggressive. With that in mind, Ukraine gave an uncertain smile to the goose, then turned around and walked away.
He completely forgot about the goose.
His thoughts floated around randomly, from yesterday's dinner to the time he broke his washing machine. That washing machine experience was absolutely crazy. You meet your soulmate through the weirdest experience of your life, so Ukraine legitimately thought that the Polish plumber who came to fix the washing machine was his soulmate. He was pretty cute as well. Poland already had a soulmate, though.
Ukraine's mind drifted away from soulmates towards the song that was playing on his phone right now. It was that marmalade song by Katya Lel, the one that had been trending for a while now. It was a great song and all, but - did those American TikTok influencers know what the lyrics meant?
To be fair, they probably don't. It doesn't sound like a weird song if you don't know Russian. And-
HONK!!
Ukraine stopped walking, pulled out an earbud, turned around, and slowly bit another piece of meat off of his pork skewer. A gaggle of about ten geese were grouped behind him, staring at him with dark, beady eyes. Ukraine's chewing slowed down considerably as he fell into a staring contest with one of the birds. Were those the same geese that had been bothering him earlier for food?
Stare.
Chew.
Stare.
Swallow.
HOOONNNNKKKK!!!!!!
All of the geese charged at Ukraine, some running, some flying. Ukraine screamed and bolted away, nearly choking on his recently swallowed pork.
The noise of feet hitting the pavement, flippers slapping on stones, indignant goose honking, put together with Ukraine's unmanly screams of terror made people look up. What a passerby saw wouldn't have been less bewildering. Ukraine was sprinting away from the geese, hands over his head, somehow still holding his pork skewer. His earbud and his bag were flying behind him, and some of the geese were pecking at the bag. Some were nipping at his clothes and hair. One goose randomly defecated somewhere along the way.
Ukraine didn't realize he was running towards the stairs to the park until he tripped on one of the steps.
His feet weren't on solid ground anymore.
FUUUCCKKKK-
The ground was hurtling towards him, dark gray stairs zooming by at an incredible speed, and a red and white blur-
Ukraine's body slammed into something warm and soft. Two arms wrapped around his waist. Then the person who caught Ukraine fell, presumably losing balance due to Ukraine's weight - or maybe they were attacked by the rabid geese- but anyway, the two of them tumbled down the rest of the stairs, Ukraine clinging on to the stranger for dear life.
When they finally hit the bottom, Ukraine slowly opened his eyes, allowing himself a second to recuperate and take in the looks of his savior. The person, who was already getting to his knees, appeared to be a man about Ukraine's age wearing a flannel and a brown beanie. Freckles dotted his red and white face, and his eyes were a warm hazel.
He looked at Ukraine. "Are you alright?"
"Mmmmghhfff... sore, but I'll be fine." Ukraine looped his arm around the other man's neck, allowing him to help the blue and yellow country to his feet. "...Thank you."
"Oh, really, you don't need to tha-"
Honk!
Ukraine screamed again, jumping into the stranger's arms out of pure instinct. The stranger stumbled a little, but he was already supporting Ukraine under the shoulder, so he managed to slip an arm under Ukraine's knees without falling over. They stared, wide-eyed, at the geese that had gathered around their feet, honking.
"Nice geese. Friendly geese." The stranger backed away slowly, voice wavering. Ukraine was trembling, too scared to talk.
The geese were still approaching them. Some of them hissed. Others leaned their necks forward. A few honks were heard.
Ukraine's hand was still trembling. He dropped his pork skewer.
The heads of the geese dropped, staring at the pork on the floor. Feathers fluffing down, they approached the meat, sniffing it and beginning to eat it.
One goose looked up from the pork, staring at them with its tiny black eyes. It honked contemptuously and went back to its feast.
The man holding Ukraine continued to back away slowly, until they were safely out of sight from the geese.
Finally, both of them sighed in relief, and the stranger put Ukraine down. He patted the dust off of Ukraine's shoulders, smiling at him. Ukraine's breathing was still fast and erratic, but he calmed down after a few minutes.
"Again, thank you so much." Ukraine grinned after he caught his breath. "Seriously... that was fucking terrifying."
"Absolutely a jumpscare for me, too." The stranger replied, wiping sweat from his brow. "I was just walking by, reading something on my phone, and-"
"Then you heard screaming and goose honking." Ukraine finished the sentence for him.
Both of them burst out laughing.
"Are you alright, though? No broken bones or scrapes or anything?" Ukraine asked.
The taller man shook his head. "I've had worse falls before."
"I... am not going to question that." Ukraine decided.
The other man snorted.
A few minutes of awkward silence ensued as the same possibility dawned on both of them.
"Um..." Ukraine chuckled nervously, raking his fingers through your hair. "This might sound crazy, but, uh... have you heard of soulmates before?"
He immediately cringed. Everybody heard about soulmates. What was he thinking, making that his opening line?
Luckily, though, the red and white man seemed to understand him. "Yeah. You find your soulmate through the craziest experience of your life, right?"
Ukraine let out his breath, anxiety wearing off. "Geese are pretty crazy."
"Geese are pretty crazy." The other agreed.
An unspoken understanding passed between them.
"I suppose you want my phone number now?" The stranger chuckled, already pulling his phone out from his pocket.
Ukraine smiled, pulling his phone from his bag as well. "Yeah, that would be great. On top of that, would I be able to learn your name as well? 'The person who saved me from a flock of geese' is a cool contact name, but not one I necessarily want to have for my soulmate."
Ukraine's soulmate laughed. "Yeah. It's Canada. You?"
Ukraine grinned. "Ukraine."
Many years, many dates, many kisses and one newly unbreakable bond built later, if you asked Ukraine whether it was worth it to fall down the stairs, nearly break his neck, and be chased by a gaggle of psychotic geese to meet Canada, the answer would've been an immediate yes.