Alexei and the American Dream

Alexei's father had often told him about 'the American dream'. As a little boy, Alexei would sit spellbound, his eyes wide and filled to the brim with wonder and childish curiosity, as he listened to his father's stories about that far away land, a place which his father had once visited.

Little Alexei himself had never been out of his native country, Russia, but he loved to hear his father's stories of his adventures in far away places.

"It's actually not all as bad as some may tell you, Alyosha." his father said one evening, as he and his son sat in the living room. Young Alexei was in the process of making a drawing of a woodpecker come to live. It had been evident to Alexei's family almost right from the start, that the little boy was exceptionally bright. The boy had taught himself to read at the age of two, and by the age of six, he was already making his way through 'War and Peace' (whether this was appropriate reading material for a six year old, can perhaps be discussed). The boy had a great passion for animals, birds seeming to be his absolute favorite kind of animal. Alyosha's (as his mother, father and grandparents liked to call him) obsession with these feathery creatures had at some point become so great and all consuming, that his mother had considered taking him to the doctor.

"It is not normal, is it? It is not right, is it? A boy his age should not be talking about birds all the time, should he? It is not healthy? All he wants to do is read about birds, talk about birds." his mother had said to her husband one day when their son's unsual (or so it seemed to them!) fascination had become too much for her.

It was true, though. That very same afternoon, the little boy had nearly broken his neck, when he had climbed dangerously high up in a tree, spreading his arms wide apart, cuckooing like a bird and jumped down from the tree, believing that he could fly. Luckily, he only received a few scratches.

"Our little son must have a guardian angel." the father had said afterwards. The mother had agreed.

"It's perfectly normal for children to have interests, dear." the father said.

As Alexei got older, his attention turned more and more towards science and engineering. When he was ten years old he announced to his father that he wanted to be an inventor when he grew up.

"That sounds like an excellent idea, son. The art of invention is a noble pursuit." his father had said.

Alexei had another passion; America. The land where dreams come true.

When Alexei had reached the age of twelve, he told his father that he wanted to go to America one day.

"All my dreams will come true there." the boy had said.

His father had only nodded his head and said: "If that is what you believe, my dear Alyosha, then I believe that's exactly what is going to happen. But you be careful, okay, my son? The world is a big, big place. There are many dangers."

More than fifteen years had elapsed, before Alexei, still young, but not quite a boy anymore, was granted the opportunity to go to America. He had been offered work as a mechanic. He was to build a machine. Exactly what kind of a machine it was, he had not yet been told. But he had faith in himself. He was going to make all of his dreams come true. Nobody else could do it for him; not his father, not his mother, not God, not his guardian angel - no; Alexei knew in his heart that no one but himself could make his dreams come true. He was on his way now. He pushed his large glasses in place, falling alseep on the plane, dreaming of cartoons and fast food and of dreams that ceased to be only dreams.