𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑹𝒆𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑹𝒐𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒗

Chapter 6 - No Use In Crying Over Spilled Perfume

The train reached Rostov-On-Don six hours later. The sun was just beginning to rise, and the pair wandered around the abandoned platform.

"There's a train departing for Ekaterinodar soon; we should catch that." Andrei spotted the map.

They both walked over to the empty ticket booth, left ten rubles on the counter, and walked to the other side of the track. They watched the sunrise appear over the horizon, and as they did, an older man limped over to the two. His short hair was matted and his clothes were ripped. He had dirt all over him.

"Please madam, can you spare a ruble? Only a few, for my family. My son has died in the war and I have a wife and another child. Please."

Anastasia gazed at him sadly. She remembered the hundreds of soldiers in the hospitals in Tsarskoe Selo. Her mother and two older sisters were nurses. She and Maria had visited the soldiers and even made friends with a few of them. But of course, not all wounded survived.

Anastasia couldn't even imagine how the man felt losing someone to war. The cruel, cruel war that's destroyed the country her father once ruled. Without hesitation, she took the bag of rubles from her suitcase, took ten, and gave it to the man.

His eyes filled with tears of joy. "May God bless your good heart!"

Once he walked away, Anastasia looked at Andrei then gazed down at her shoes. "I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have given the rubles to him."

"It's alright. It was a nice thing to do."

Soon enough, at noon, the train arrived. Anastasia and Andrei found themselves once again in an empty car. The mountains whirled by as the train zoomed on the track. Anastasia fiddled with Dasia's necklace, trying to keep herself amused.

"That was my older sister's necklace." Andrei gazed solemnly at the jewelry.

"It was? Do you want it back?"

Andrei turned the offer away, "She would have wanted you to have it."

For the rest of the trip, they both sat in silence. They arrived in Ekaterinodar at half-past four. They wandered the town until they found a public bus that would take them to the Taman peninsula on Russia's coast.

"In Taman, there's a ferry taking people to Crimea. Should we wait until tomorrow or catch the bus now?"

Anastasia, who was anxious to see her Grandmama, wanted to take the bus. They made their way to the stop and boarded a full bus. It was impossible to find a seat, so they ended up sitting on the ground in the back.

It was about an hour into the trip when the bus pulled over to the side of the road. Three officials boarded and stood at the front.

"Everyone off!" one of them announced. Questions arose. People crowded around the officials. Other people began to yell. As expected, a fight broke out.

Two gunshots were then suddenly fired and the bus went silent. Anastasia yelped at the sound.

It brought back so many memories.

"I said everyone out!" one of the officials barked.

As everyone left, the bus driver's seat was covered with a tarp. All the people gathered outside to watch officials carry tarps from the bus to their car's trunk. A few minutes later, the car drove away. The bus was also driven away, leaving the people stranded on a dirt road in the middle of the woods. Andrei and Anastasia were stuck. They didn't know where to go. Anastasia cradled her suitcase to her chest, still shocked at these events.

As people disappeared, Andrei eyed a young couple with bags on the other side of the road.

"Excuse me, would you mind pointing us in the direction of Taman? We must catch the ferry." Andrei asked the couple. The young woman turned to him. Her short brown curly hair bounced as she turned.