The Festive Season
The morning sun in winter time is hardly any.
I felt lucky to be up so early.
After a night of restlessness.
Wearing my acid washed jeans, emerald green rolled-neck shirt, under my long sheepskin fur coat.
I have braided my soft silver hair and covered it with my floral head scarf with fur.
Lastly, my favorite blue sneakers on.
That's perfect for me.
I am always thankful that Leonid is very generous of me.
He always bring me gifts from his business trips.
Leonid Levidev is a famous merchant and small scale manufacturer of guns and ammunition.
He never failed Nana and our needs.
In our decades of concealment, he used his vast contacts of friends and people.
He may not that powerful but truely a kind, loving and respectable.
Nana had miscarriages due to stressful travels and change of locations every now and then.
They are my precious stones in my darkness.
Irina and Leonid are my Angels who saved me from death.
Looking at the mirror...
Yes, I am ready.
Today is the day that we have been waiting, the Music Festival.
We will be with Lada, the only and truest friend that I have since we moved to Myshkin from Belarus.
She's the same age of me.
We have been friends for two years now.
She is also an orphan, living with her Aunt Galina, who's been a friend and confidant of Nana.
We are both excited.
We will be going to Moscow, for the festival.
It's a bit long travel by boat through the river Volga.
Yet, we are so lucky, Leonid makes reservation of his merchant friends yacht, named "Freedom".
"Amelia!?!" I heard a voice calling from outside of our two-storey cabin house.
I opened the doors of our balcony from my room.
And I waved my hands to signal her to come in.
Yes, you heard it right!
People call me "Amelia" in every places we go.
That's the name Nana and Leonid had given me when we first escaped from the time of Revolution and up until now.
I went down to the dining area to meet Lada.
While Nana is preparing breakfast of bacon and eggs.
We chatted while I am helping Nana with the table.
And invited Lada for breakfast.
We treated her like family.
"Do you like some tea?" I asked Lada.
She nodded and say "Thanks Amelia!".
We are like sisters, we share the same passion and hobbies.
She continued "Have you heard that there are some rumor that armed men been around lately?"
I am startled and choked while drinking my tea.
Nana's eyes shown fears and anxieties.
Then, I asked "Why is that so?"
"Aunt Galina said, that one of them asked her, if we knew about the last Heiress of Oblonsky".
"Really?!? Did Aunt Galina mentioned, where are they from?". I asked.
"I think they are from Oblonsky." Lada responds eagerly.
Then she added " How could a Princess lives in this small village? Myshkin is a very small remote place. Nothing much to be enjoyable in."
Flashbacks of my past trauma is haunting me again.
Nana excused herself and started calling Leonid on the telephone.
"Amelia? Are you ok?" Lada asked.
"Yes, I'm fine. Just I remembered something. I forgot to bring my Journal with me. Can I leave you just a minute? I'll be right back".
She nodded in response while drinking her cup of tea.