M.E Is Not Me

Goodbye Russia

“England?!” the two girls exclaimed at the preposterous idea. “Grandpa.. What on Earth are you talking about?” Alissia asked. It made no sense to her, Egor had raised her from being a baby, he’d cared for her, making sure she was protected in this unsafe area and she had never seen or heard anything about her mother or any other relatives for that matter in her whole life. She always asked questions but they were always awkwardly avoided by him. “My dear girl..” he started as tears began to form in his eyes “It’s not that I want you to live so far away..” “Then don’t let her go Mr Alexandrov!” Katrina interrupted “A’s never even heard anything about her mother and yet you want her to live with her?” She turned to Alissia “Hey I didn’t know your mother was British” “She’s not” Egor retorted slightly, “Your mother is Russian just like you, here let me show you her picture”. He led the two girls to the loft hatch on the upstairs floor and pulled down the creaking door, climbing up steadily. He brought down a fairly large canvas smothered in a layer of dust. He pulled back the filth to reveal a ballet dancer stood in fifth position; she was not much older than Alissia. “This was painted.. A while ago” He mumbled “She’ll be thirty two now”. He handed the canvas to his granddaughter and went into the other room, the two girls started blankly at the painting for a while “I don’t get it Katrina, this is all so random- why is he sending me away I don't even know her”. They continued to study the canvas. “Do you think we look alike?” Katrina moved her fringe from her eyes so she could have a good look “Kinda yeah, you’ve both got dark hair but hers is straight and yours is curly, the only major thing is you have the same eyes” She was right they did, Alissia stared back into the piercing green eyes which matched her own “I don’t even know her name..” “Arianna” Egor whispered as if it was almost holy, he cleared his throat and carried on “Her name is Arianna, I hear she is a very successful dancer turned teacher living at the Royal Academy of Dance in London, you shall go and live with her there. She’s even got you a scholarship so you can attend dancer lessons!” He sounded excited to Alissia’s disgusted “Grandpa this makes absolutely no sense! When have I ever expressed any kind of love of dance?! I love art and I want to paint like you do, not prance around on stage like an idiot” “There is nothing idiotic about dance my child, Arianna has become a household name over in London, or so I hear anyway” “This is all just totally out of the blue Mr Alexandrov” Katrina piped in “Can’t you see why A would be so upset over this, I mean what if we never see each other again?” the old man sighed and reflected on Katrina’s statement, he sat down in an old leather chair perched on the landing. “Yes.. I understand why Alissia would be upset over this.. I didn’t want it to come to this, but asking questions now is just going to make it all the more confusing, all I’ve ever wanted is the best for her, and I don’t care how much of a hypocrite I look sending her away yet saying how much she means to me. I know long term England will be a fresh start- hopefully full of wealth and fortune, something I know I could never give her” he slumped down in the chair disgusted in himself “Grandpa” Alissia spoke softly “You know I’ve never cared about that sort of thing, I mean I know I’ve been ill a lot lately but.. Do I really have to go?” “Yes” he said regrettably with a lump in his throat “We leave in the morning, hear pack your stuff in this” He pulled out an old suitcase which he had gone to find after showing the girls the canvas “It was mine many years ago, don’t ask any more than that” He paced to his bedroom, a tear trailing down his face as he did so. The two girls stood sadly on the old wooden landing contemplating what tomorrow had in store.

Morning rose in Russia, the winter sun streamed through the bay window in Alissia’s room. She pulled back the blankets from her bed and started sadly at the view of the city she could see distantly in the skyline. She gazed at the clouds, the sky, and the trees and wondered when she would return here. The unknown hung over her like a dark shadow as she forced herself to get dressed. Again this was odd, once again she had woken up tired despite sleeping for a long time (as Egor had been in no mood to talk last night) and it seemed almost exhausting doing the most basic things and again she ignored these symptoms which fazed her because she had to focus her mind on the rest of today. She began packing, throwing things into the trunk like suitcase her Grandpa had given her.

He knocked and entered the room sadly- it was obvious he had been crying. Words were not needed for this moment as they knew what was going to happen and how they each felt about it. Instead the moment was broken by a long hug as the two relatives prepared to say goodbye, a sudden rush of emotion came over Alissia as tears ran down her pale face. The hug was broken as Egor carried the suitcase out of the house to the old pickup truck (it was oneof the few cars in the area that he had borrowed for the journey). His granddaughter followed him feeling scared and confused “I got you a present” he said as one of them finally spoke, he handed her a faux fur coat (yet another rarity in the clothes donated to the village) and a pair of baby blue gloves “It’s winter in England too so I thought you needed something to keep warm so you don’t get ill again, I don’t really know how cold it is but I’ve heard it’s pretty bad y’know and-“ “I love it!!” She beamed trying on the coat that fitted perfectly. Suddenly pounding footsteps could be heard “A!!!” Katrina came sprinting over despite snow and ice covering the roads she skidded as she stopped just as she reached them both “Sup.. Couldn’t leave without.. saying goodbye” She panted as Alissia laughed at her, the two girls gave each other a massive ‘bro hug’ as they called it, Katrina handed her a piece of paper “Hey write to me whilst your living the posh life in England! I wanna hear all about it” they bro fisted to hide there sadness and the two relatives climbed into the battered old truck, the engine roared as they set off. They waved to each other until completely out of site as the car headed for Domodedovo airport.

The truck grinded to a hold as the Alexandrov suitcase was checked into the airport, Alissia felt utterly drained by this point, but she still had a long way to travel.“Now when you get there a taxi will pick you up from the airport and take you to the Royal Academy” he instructed, she hugged him one final time “I’m gonna miss you” she said quietly “Me too” he was holding back his sadness, they clung to each other for a moment “Love you lots” he kissed her forehead and then exited the airport resisting the temptation to break down crying. Alissia too exited quickly feeling overwhelmed by the spacious airport as fellow travellers rushed by her. The airport was caotic as passengers pushed and shoved their way through angrily. It was going to be a long journey.

“Ladies and Gentlemen the British Airways flight will now land at Heathrow Airport at approximately 4pm, the weather today is very cold at just three degrees Celsius and we thank you for flying with British Airways and hope to see you again soon” “Fat chance of that” thought Alissia as she removed the free sleep mask from her eyes, she felt a little more refreshed now, she was glad that weird tired spell had gone. She de-boarded the plane and saw a large man stood near a taxi holding a sign with her name on “Erm yes hello I’m Alissia” English wasn’t a problem for her as she had learnt to speak it in school “Oh hello my love!” he boomed in a strong cockney accent “You’re the little girl all the way from Russia right?” “Haha yes I am” She laughed “Well let’s get you home then, to the Royal Academy of Dance right?” “Yeahh.. How did you-““Your mother rang us up and told us where to find you.. Bit of an harsh women that Ms Alexandrov but she is a ballet teacher” he laughed “Anyway! Let’s go! Have you ever been to this marvellous city before?” “No never” she confessed “Well then let me show you some of its wonderful sights!” he joked opening the cab door for her.

He drove around London for a while, passing all the famous landmarks. She was amazed, she’d never been outside of Moscow in her life but England really was something. The buildings were exactly like they were in the movies even though she had seen few. The whole city was grand and majestic as towering landmarks lay before her eyes “And here we ‘ave Big Ben” said the taxi driver acting as a tour guide “Only handy if you ever lose your watch” he laughed they drove a little further “And this is where your mum lives” he gestured to a beautiful mansion with big iron gates outside, two soldiers marched in time with each other protecting its doors, it was a breath taking sight “Wow! This is really where I’m going to live?” “Nooo that’s bloody Buckingham Palace- the Queen lives there!” He roared with laughter as the car rolled on, she was going to have to get used to the British sense of humour. Finally they pulled up at the building which had a flag flying outside adding a patriotic touch- This was home from now on.