A Rude Awakening

Chapter 9

September 12, 2022

Pulkovo International Airport, St. Petersburg, Russia

On the outskirts of Pulkovo International Airport, the four former Grand Duchesses rode their airport shuttle across the asphalt fields of the runways. Not far away, their escorts rode their own shuttle buses. Above, a few Boeing passenger jets roared high into the night sky with lights blinking like stars. Almost everywhere to the four sisters, there was a marvel of the modern world flashing, rolling along, or soaring.

Even to Olga, who had embraced modern life with much enthusiasm, the sights seemed alien. It was a comfortable future, but still not all familiar. She had grown up in a time when modern aviation was in its earliest stages, and now, she looked up into the nighttime skies with awe at how far civilization had gone... Even if it was a temporal thing, fragile and temporary in the grand scale of time.

Everything began to seem daunting. A vast, modern world with mighty machines and broken people. And only five risen women came to attempt fixing it all.

Olga knew Tatiana worried about herself and her sisters... They had never gotten the chance to see America before. She glanced at her once reserved and more authoritative sister, gazing again at the faraway lights of St. Petersburg. Her closest sister yawned before leaning limp onto her.

"Tatya, we are about to reach our plane. Hang in there, sister."

"It is so late at night..." Tatiana murmured, sighing as she straightened up on her seat.

"You'll be able to sleep on the plane. We'll be fine."

Olga then glanced at her two younger sisters, once dubbed the Little Pair. Well, they had been nicknamed that again thanks to the name of their shared "YouTube channel". To see them live carefree and eager for life- It made her feel at peace. It felt like the former life they had, but with a wonderful new twist.

"Mashka, what are you doing on your phone?"

"I'm just letting Guard Ivan know how I'm doing."

"Are you friends?"

"Totally, he is not bad at all. He took me out to have breakfast with him at an internet cafe, and we ended up taking plenty of selfies... I think I like him."

"Ivan... Sounds like the name of that guard who sent you a birthday cake."

"Nastya... I've never told you this before, but... My friend is actually the old Ivan's great-grandson."

"Really?"

"Yeah, he showed me his great-grandfather's Soviet hat and nametag."

"Wow! So what do you think of him?"

"I don't know. It feels funny, liking the great-grandson of my last crush before my first death."

Anastasia snorted, earning her a frown from Maria. Realizing her insensitive reaction, she went quiet. "Oh... my bad."

"No worries. It sounds weird, but in a funny manner," Maria whispered, smiling at a post on her iPhone.

"Yeah, totally... I just realized that this will be our first flight on a plane!"

"Oh, I never realized that!"

Olga and Tatiana had been listening to their younger sisters' whispers. They knew that this would be a wonderful start for Maria. She had been yearning for love like her eldest sister... Now she had a chance to find what she never truly had before. All of them were thankful to God. Life was a gift, and they would certainly use their new lives much better!