Chapter 11

As I relaxed in my hanging chair, I studied the activity on the pond. It was a warm spring day and I had the good fortune of experiencing a gentle breeze from the north. The fact that we could finally be assured of the arrival of warm weather brought a sense of refreshment and encouragement to my soul.

I watched the numerous points of activity, caused by tiny insects, as they briefly arose on the surface of the water. It reminded me of the scattered twinkles of fireflies on a warm summer night. Occasionally, I would see a V-shaped wake makes its way across the top of the pond. The V would then turn and head in a different directions. I recalled similar scenes when viewing tiny boats on the ocean from the window of a high flying jet.

At times there would be a bigger eruption, as some fish terminated the existence of one of those small specks.

I coined my own phrase;

"One small gulp for the fish and one step closer to a nice meal for the fisherman."

I thought about Anna, but couldn't help enjoying the world around me. It's amazing how a cool breeze can remind you of the joy of just being alive.

The water reflected the blue sky above. Robins, chickadees, and catbirds sang in the trees. I saw a large section of cattail moving across the water. I knew that a muskrat was just a few inches behind.

Time had dimmed the pain of not seeing Ana, but I still dreamed about her at night and sometimes during the day. I knew that my life would not be complete until I could ... once again ... hold her in my arms.

I continued my daily runs. I was very fortunate in that there was a wonderful trail system near my house. I could travel over creeks, through woods, and past several large lakes.

I would arise early in the morning in order to complete the exercise before work. I would often pass a lovely lady as she ran the opposite way. We would nod at each other as we passed.

Eventually our nods turned to greetings, then short phrases. I figured that one day, we might even talk, but I would leave that step up to her.

However, I noticed that her t-shirt turned into a sport bra and her shorts became a little shorter. From what I could see, she looked very fine. Our meetings began to become the highlight of my day. What can I say? I am ... after all ... still a man.

One of the other highlights occurred when I crossed the footbridge. I always made it a point to pause for a moment, just to see how the local fishermen were doing. I would scan the water to see what fish, duck, or other critter might be lurking below. I was often rewarded with some unusual sighting that would keep me occupied for the next few miles.

My visa finally came through. I would need this to be able to travel to Russia. I also received my passport. Arrangements for my flight were made with one of the travel agents our business worked with. I also learned I would need a driver while I was in the country. Plans were beginning to shape up nicely.

I worked hard to get caught up with all my duties at work. My boss was very impressed with what I had accomplished and informed me that I would leave him in good shape.

The date and time was set. I talked to some of my friends who had gone on trips to Russia for the purpose of helping in orphanages. From them, I learned that it was not unusual for items to disappear from the mail. I began to believe that is why I had not heard from Anna. Someone had discovered the money inside and had thrown away the letter.

I never received a phone call, despite the fact that I checked the messages daily. Once, I did hear the phone ring in the middle of the night. Because of the time difference, I thought it might be Anna. When I picked up the phone, there was nobody there. The display gave me no indication as to who the call was from. I lay back in bed for another hour before I was finally able to return to sleep. It would have been so wonderful to hear her voice, but that hope continued to fade as days turned into weeks.

I took some community classes to learn the Russian language and also bought a program for my computer. Every time I would repeat a word, the program would buzz, announcing that my pronunciation was off. I tried my hardest to repeat the phrases correctly, but the graph would always show that my inflections just weren't good enough.

The alphabet is different, the sounds are different, and none of the words are familiar. At least in the French language, it's possible to recognize some of the words that are common in our everyday use. In Russian, the only word I could recognize was gas, probably because they have adopted an English word.

The day before I left for Russia, I had a dream.

In the past, I had discovered that if I want to remember a dream, I need to write it down immediately. For that reason, I always place a pen and paper pad next to my bed. If I don't write dreams down, it's almost assured that I will forget them.

In the dream, I'm walking through a thick stand of birch trees. I'm sure you have seen the photos of birch trunk after birch trunk, with the white and mottled surface prominently displayed. Sometimes the pictures will contain an animal that is well camouflaged in the background. Doolittle is one of the artists that used this type of setting in some of her paintings

I'm walking down the trail and stop to look up toward the sky. It's a beautiful shade of blue. The green leaves are bright and full of color. I hear a soft sound in the distance. I see markings of a narrow trail through the trees. Very slowly, I make my way toward the sound.

As I get closer, I began to realize that the sound is a woman softly singing. The sound is almost surreal. I continue to move forward, being careful not to step on any twigs. I can now make out a few words.

Shule ... shule ... shule-a-roo

Shule - a rack - shack

Shule – a – baba - coo

It was a mesmerizing sound and it was made all the more beautiful by the majesty of the surroundings.

I am finally able to distinguish the outline of a woman. She is sitting on a rock near a pool of crystal clear water. A fawn with a golden stripped coat is lying at her feet. She is busy weaving a circle of wildflowers for her hair.

I watch in amazement. It is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I wait, not wanting to disturb the scene before me. The fawn lifts its head. It must have caught my scent.

The woman looks at the fawn, and then turns her head in my direction.

I stand as still as I can. I strain my eyes to see the face of this incredible woman. Her head is almost in a position where I can begin to make out a few features.

And then I wake up.

I write my dream down and try to get back to the point where she is turning. It doesn't work. The dream is lost forever. I finally had to go over to the computer and bring up some pictures of Anna. After spending considerable time recalling my trip, I was finally able to get back to sleep. I hoped that the dream would return, but it never did.

The day finally arrived when I was going to begin my quest to reunite with the lady that I loved. My friend dropped me off at the airport and I began my trip. I would fly into Moscow on Aeroflot Russian Airlines. I would need to change planes in Washington D.C. I would be picked up by a driver at the airport and be taken to my motel. I would have as much time to visit Moscow as I needed before heading to the supplier who was located several hundred miles out in the country. I already knew that my stay in Moscow would be short.

The flight to Washington was uneventful. I marveled at the large expanses of forested area as we approached the airport. I sure would have liked to have had an opportunity to kayak on the Potomac River, I thought, as looked out the window.

We exited the plane, passed through customs, then switched to the airline that would takes us to Russia. Each step brought me closer to my goal of finding Anna.

After a short delay, the plane finally took off. I settled down for my long flight across the ocean. I had purchased a novel on Russian history and hoped to gather some additional knowledge on the country that had suddenly become so important to me.

I sat next to a Russian traveler who was returning home after visiting with relatives. He told me that he was vaguely familiar with the area that I queried him about. Fortunately, he was able to give me some helpful tips on how to interact with the local people.

I learned that I would need to be the aggressor if I wanted to purchase an item in a store. If I didn't call for a clerk, they would usually just ignore me. If I was too passive at the checkout counter, someone else would be sure to move in front of me. I also tried some of my newly acquired Russia words on him. He would shake his head and make me repeat them. I began to sense that he was getting very frustrated with me.