by Terri Dixon
I stood in the terminal of Anchorage International Airport. It had been seven and a half years since I’d seen Tania, and I couldn’t wait to tell her everything that had happened to me. She was going to be surprised.
Tania and I had kept in touch since our adventure in Russia, but we hadn’t gotten together. I came to Alaska to study my ancestor’s while she pursued her studies in New York City. At times I’d envied her, but I loved Alaska. It had become home to me.
Tania kept me up on her life. She’d become a teacher of Russian History and was working on her PhD so that she could become a professor at New York University. The trip and everything that happened to us had put her on a path. Before we’d traveled to Russia and discovered that I was the heir to the Russian Throne, she hadn’t known what she wanted to do with her life. Once we’d returned, she'd quickly gotten herself together and become a scholar. I was proud of her.
I knew that she worried about me. She was upset when I decided to move to Alaska and pursue my immersion version of learning about Russian culture. I’d had no other real avenue to pursue. I couldn’t go back to Russia, so I did the next best thing. I moved to Ninilchik, Alaska. There was an involved Russian history in that town. Everything that I wanted to learn about the culture, I could learn there. For the seven years that I have lived there, I have learned. The things that I couldn’t learn firsthand, I’ve learned while I’ve gotten my masters in Russian studies at the University of Alaska.
The problem that I had as I stood in the terminal, waiting for Tania, was where to start. There were so many things that I hadn't told her, because I didn’t want her to worry. Now that she was coming to my home, she would have to know all about what had happened to me over the last several years.
As I watched her plane land, I could feel my palms sweat. I couldn’t wait to see her. She was my best friend, and she was like a sister to me. I’d waited for seven years to see her again. It had been an endless string of e-mails and chats on Facebook. Finally, I was going to see my best friend. I was going to see one of the few people who understood all about who I was and what I dealt with in my life.
I hadn’t told anyone in Alaska that I had any connection with the royal family of Russia. I didn’t want anyone to know about my legacy. I wanted to be this anonymous little woman who was fascinated with Russia and its culture. Considering the fact that I didn’t trust the government in Russia, I didn’t want anyone to know much at all about me.
Tania was the first person to enter the terminal from the plane. She hadn’t changed a bit. She still had that fiery red hair and bright blue eyes. She still looked young and full of energy. Her whole face lit up when she saw me. She ran toward me, grabbed me, and hugged me like she hadn’t seen me in decades.
“I can’t believe I’m finally seeing you!” she screeched as she strangled me.
I choked and laughed at the same time. “I’ve missed you.”
After a long time, she let go of my neck, stepped back, and looked at me. “Look at you, northern woman.” She flipped the hood on my parka as it hung down my back. She pointed at my fur boots. “When did you turn into an Eskimo?”
I laughed. “Well, when in Rome you know.”
“Really?”
“Yes. It’s still cold here this time of year. It’s best to come prepared. Besides, I love fur boots. You have no idea how warm and comfy these things are.”
“You’ll have to show me where to get a pair.” She stood and took a good look around the terminal. “This is really different. I’ve never seen an airport with a moose head in it. Where do we go to get my bags?”
I took Tania to the baggage carousel. “You can’t get lost in this place,” she said. “In New York, it’s difficult to get through the airports without getting lost. Man, I feel like that doctor guy in that old show ‘Northern Exposure.’”
I knew exactly what she was talking about. We’d discussed the show online. I’d actually ordered a couple of seasons of the show so I could see what she was talking about. It was a great fish out of water story. “Well, Dr. Fleischman, welcome to Alaska.”
After we got her bags, she turned to me. “Okay, I’m all set. How to we get to that little village of yours? I saw a train, or did you drive?”
I giggled. This was one of the many surprises that lay ahead for Tania. “I drove." I motioned for her to follow me. “Right this way.”
I led Tania to the hangar where I’d parked my Cessna Skyhawk. “Here’s my ride,”
Tania stopped dead in her tracks at the door of that hangar. “What the hell are you talking about?”
This was what I’d been looking forward to and dreading. We’d talked about a lot of things over the years, but there were several things that I hadn’t mentioned. “This is my ride. Surprise! I know I should have told you, but I learned how to fly. This is my plane. I also run a taxi service with it. It’s my job when I’m not teaching or at school.”
Tania dropped her bags on the ground and walked over to the plane. I watched her as she walked around the plane and took a good look at it. She didn’t say a word for a very long time. “Not bad. I can’t believe you know how to fly! What else haven’t you told me?”
About the Author
Photo by Jared A. Dixon
Terri Dixon is the well traveled internet writer, blogger, and photographer known as Nina Kindred. She has written over 12 stories on Fictionpress since 2004. The Ring of the Queen is her first self published full length novel. She has been writing her weekly travel blog, "Adventures for Anyone" on Blogger for five years. She has been showing and selling her photography on Cafepress, Zazzle, and Pixels for several years. When she is not traveling, writing, working, or taking photos, she is spending time with her husband and son in the Northwest Hills of Connecticut where she lives.