Chapter 20
Takeoff
The following morning, Lisa and I got ready to pick up Harry at the stables. The sun was just rising on the horizon, the birds were chirping, and I was full of hope. No matter what happened with the Firebird, life was great.
“I’m so happy you’re coming to the Seven Birches,” Lisa said. She was about to pick up her backpack, but I reached for it first.
“Let me, please,” I said, hoisting it on my right shoulder while adjusting my own on my left. “Me, too! I’m glad I can stay here for a bit longer.”
“I packed the egg, you know. I was thinking maybe we can try to get the Ring of True Love out of the Fabergé egg when we’re over at the Seven Birches.”
“You did?” My eyes lit up. Was this a sign that Lisa and I could become the deserving couple whose love was pure? That idea was so lovely, so incredible.
“Yes, I think I need to really explore my magical abilities. I just feel like I’m only getting in touch with some of them now. It’s just that with my name, I think there’s more I could do. Maybe I truly am a fairy-tale Vasilisa?” Lisa gave me a shy smile.
“Have you ever had long hair?” I asked her. A ray of sun was just behind her, and her face looked like it was glowing. I adjusted the straps of the two bags.
“Oh, yes, all my life, actually,” Lisa said. “I only cut it when I was going through the divorce.”
“Quinn?” I asked, clenching my fists. “Did he make you do it?”
“Well, not exactly…” Lisa’s voice trailed off. “But it’s true what they say: Hair does have energy. So when I was ready to let go of my marriage, I had to cut my hair to cleanse myself. It’s hard to explain, but a lot of women do it.”
“Not in Zorya. All the women have long hair, and they usually braid it. Well, actually, I don’t know about the married women—they cover their hair with a scarf.”
“That makes a lot of sense. Since you’ve got the traditional roles there,” Lisa said, scanning my face for a reaction. She must have noticed my confusion, for immediately she added, “I mean, women stay at home, take care of the children, and men go out and work. Right?”
“We’ve got plenty of women who work. In my village, Yassy, we’ve got the matchmaker, and she’s one of the wealthiest residents. Ms. Rosa. My two brothers are going to meet with her soon.”
I remembered the most recent conversation Papa had had with Ilya and Peter and the decision that my two older brothers would soon look for brides.
The only thing holding this up was the payment to the matchmaker.
The amount we’d saved had been enough for one brother, but not nearly enough for both of them.
Maybe I can use the feather to help my brothers get the money to pay for the matchmaker so they can get married, I thought, patting my pocket to check for the feather.
“Really? That’s very interesting. You always think of traditional societies as backward,” Lisa said, then corrected herself. “I mean, some of the things we hear. How women are mistreated and suppressed. I didn’t realize you had wealthy women.”
“Yes, of course. And the blacksmith’s daughters, once they get married, will be quite wealthy. That’s who my brothers want to marry. There are two sisters and their husbands will inherit the smithy and will be quite well-off.”
“I see.” Lisa bit her lip. “And what about you? Are you going to get married?”
“Me?” I felt my face flush crimson red. “We never really talked about it.”
“Why not?”
“My two older brothers have to get married first.” I was stumped. What could I say to Lisa? That in my village, no one would consider me as a prospect because of my nickname? To avoid answering the question, I changed the subject. “So, do you think you’ll grow your hair out again?”
“I was thinking about it,” she started to say, but at that moment we saw Harry. He’d walked out of the stables and approached us.
“Good morning,” he said, turning first to Lisa, then to me. “I was waiting for the two of you to come and get me, and then I gave up and had to leave the stables on my own. Some of the horses started to ask me questions, and I had to come up with an excuse.”
“Sorry, Harry, we were just talking and got carried away.”
“I see. Well, are the two of you ready?”
“Yes!” Lisa and I both said.
“Lisa even packed the Fabergé egg!” I added, placing Lisa’s backpack on the ground.
“I hope you took something else out to make sure the bag isn’t too heavy.”
“It’s just fine, Harry, don’t worry,” I said, noticing a guilty look Lisa was giving the horse. “Lisa wants to explore her magical abilities, you know.”
“Is that so?” Harry neighed. Just as he said this, we noticed one of the stable attendants walk out of the building, and Harry muttered, “Let’s hurry up, I heard they wanted me to fill in for the pony rides this afternoon.”
I picked up the backpacks, and the three of us started walking away from the stables, toward the secluded corner of the resort.
“But isn’t camp over?” Lisa asked Harry after we’d put some distance between us at the stables.
“It is, but they’re trying to introduce something for homeschooled kids,” Harry whispered, trotting purposefully.
“Oh yes, of course. I heard about that,” Lisa said. “Come on, let’s hurry.”
The three of us quickened our pace, and within minutes, we arrived at our destination.
“I’m actually afraid of heights,” Lisa said after I’d placed the two bags on the ground, and Harry stood ready for her to mount him.
“You tell us now.” Harry neighed indignantly. “Why did we even decide to fly there together?”
“Because I’m trying to live my life to the fullest,” Lisa announced proudly. “But I’m really scared.”
“Don’t worry, Lisa,” I said. “Here, you sit between the two humps, it’s safer there. And I’ll take care of your bag.” I hoisted Lisa’s bag on my shoulders and put my own backpack on my chest.
“Thank you,” Lisa responded.
“Here, lean on me.” As I helped her get on Harry’s back, I noticed her hands were trembling. The pony grunted, but I suspected it was just for show. Lisa sat between Harry’s two humps, and I got on in the back. With the two bags, I felt wobbly, and I grabbed tightly onto his second hump.
“Careful there!” Harry yelled, then shuffled his hooves. He moved unsteadily, but still managed to lift us off into the air.
“Oh! We’re flying!” Lisa yelled.
“Close your eyes, Lisa!” I screamed and heard her giggle in response. Harry moved his hooves fast, and we rose higher and higher. After a few minutes, we had almost reached our usual altitude and were flying above the treetops.
“It’s past the Seminole Mill, and then behind the mountain, in the valley,” Lisa said to Harry.
Underneath, the valleys and the fields were moving. Harry was breathing heavily, and I started to doubt the humpbacked horse would be able to make it all the way to the Seven Birches.
“Hang in there, Harry,” I cried out, hoping he could hear me, and tapped his back gently, trying to reassure him.
Harry faltered in the air, and I nearly dropped my bag as I struggled to hang onto the hump. Lisa whimpered and I leaned close, encouraging her.
“Don’t open your eyes. Just pretend you’re in a dream, we’ll be fine,” I said. She nodded in response, and I assumed I’d managed to reassure her. The skin on her arms was covered with goose bumps, and I maneuvered my hoodie out of my backpack to cover her shoulders.
“Thank you,” I heard her say, and the next moment Harry dipped low while trying to avoid a pine tree that appeared out of nowhere.
“Harry! What are you doing?” I yelled.
“It’s hard, Ivan, I don’t know if I can take this for much more.”
“Lisa, how much farther do we have to go?” I screamed into Lisa’s ear.
“I have my eyes closed,” Lisa squealed. “Oh, this is too scary.”
I fought the desire to order Harry to drop to the ground right there and then, but if he did, there was no guarantee he’d be able to get back up in the air.
There was only one solution: Lisa needed to give us directions.
Deep down, I cursed myself for not preparing better, for not at least doing a trial flight with Harry to the Seven Birches, but it was too late. And then I remembered.
“Lisa, use your magical powers. You’re Vasilisa. Didn’t you just tell me you were going to explore that side of you?” Right away I noticed her back straightening up slightly. “Yes, that’s it! That’s it, keep going.”
“Oh, Ivan!” she cried out, and I’d almost given up hope, thinking she couldn’t do it, but then her shoulders moved back and I knew she’d managed to open her eyes.
“All right, here I go! Harry, hang to the left. We’re not far, another few miles.
Follow the direction of that road and then you’ll make a left, and we’ll be right there. ”
“You got it,” Harry bleated. His voice sounded hoarse. He was struggling to keep us in the air, I could tell.
“Just a little more,” Lisa said. She was sitting up, no longer clasping Harry’s hump for dear life.
And then, an incredible thing happened. Lisa turned around and looked at me. She was smiling!
“Ivan, I did it!” she said. Her expression was exhilarated, her eyes sparkling. In that moment, Lisa looked just like a magical princess. No, she didn’t have the long flowing hair, she was wearing yoga pants and a hoodie, but she didn’t have to. I knew she was the one.
Vasilisa.
That was the moment I’d fallen in love with her.
I don’t remember how we landed. All I could think of was Lisa, Vasilisa.
The beautiful, magical woman sitting on the humpbacked horse in front of me.
I dreamed of the two of us in a palace, surrounded by luxury.
Vasilisa and I were sitting by the window, looking out onto lush green fields.
The color of the sky was a bright shade of blue, so I knew we were in Zorya.
Harry was with us, crunching on his favorite carrot.
I don’t know where the image came from, but it was so serene and so wonderful, I was fully transported there.
“Ivan, you’ve gotta get down, please,” Harry groaned, and I’d come back to reality. We had landed in a clearing next to a thick forest. A dirt road led into the woods. A few feet away from us stood a circular wooden structure.
“Here we are. We made it. Welcome to the Seven Birches,” Lisa announced, dismounting. “Oh, this hurts.” She rubbed her leg and stretched.
“It was a rough ride, wasn’t it?” I asked, looking at her face, and could barely turn away from it. She was an incredible beauty. Her large almond-shaped eyes, her gorgeous nose. Lisa’s full lips. How had I not seen her as the gorgeous Vasilisa before?
“Oh, yes. But so worth it! Are you all right, Ivan? Harry?” Lisa turned to the horse, completely oblivious to what was going on inside me.
“I’m fine, don’t worry,” Harry answered Lisa, then raised his eyebrows in a silent question directed at me. I shrugged in response, my feelings for Lisa too fresh and too new to share.
“Harry, you’re incredible,” I told him instead.
“You’re the best, Harry,” Lisa agreed, then turned to the wooden structure, examining it. “Let me show you around,” she offered.
“Sure.” Harry nodded. “I’m just going to catch my breath for a moment.”
“The Seven Birches has a central building, and that’s the one where I teach yoga classes.” Lisa pointed at the circular structure. “And next to it is the communal space with the kitchen and the dining room. There’s also an office. It’s that building over there.”
“And all of that is yours?”
“Now it is, thanks to you.” Lisa winked at me, and my heart leaped. “And we have the sleeping quarters over there, by the wooded area.” She pointed, and I noticed a few one- and two-story houses that looked similar to the izbas in my village in Zorya.
“This reminds me of home,” I said. “And where are the birches? Aren’t there supposed to be seven of them?”
“Oh yes, let’s go there first. They are a bit to the side, toward the river.” Lisa led us along an overgrown path. “That’s where an energetic field is.”
I was about to ask Lisa what she meant, but Harry interrupted us.
“You guys go along, and I’ll stay here. I’m too exhausted to follow. And the grass here looks delicious.”
“Of course, Harry,” Lisa said.
Does she know? Can she tell how I feel about her?
She extended her hand to me, and I took it into mine. A current ran through my body as she led me down to the wooded area through an overgrown path. We came to a small structure made out of boulders arranged as a pyramid, and a little farther down I saw seven birch trees growing in a half circle.
“Those are the trees. I planted them when I first got this place. It’s been”—Lisa furrowed her brow—“almost ten years. And now they’ve matured. I was always drawn to birches for some reason.”
“We have a lot of birches in Zorya. Our women think of it as the feminine tree, a protector of women.”
“You do?” Lisa’s mouth hung open. “But that’s incredible. I only wanted birches, no other tree. I guess I must have channeled the full potential of my name, huh?”
“You are the magical Vasilisa,” I said quietly, looking straight at her. “You really are.”
My doubts had disappeared. Nothing mattered.
Not that I was the youngest son, not that my two older brothers were far superior to me.
Not that I first had to capture the Firebird.
That I had to go back to Zorya to fulfill Baba Yaga’s orders.
Not even that Lisa and I lived in two different universes.
I knew we were meant to be together. She was my Vasilisa. The one and only.
“Ivan.” Lisa exhaled my name. It felt like a promise.
I reached for her, my lips brushing against her cheek. The sound of an engine revving filled the space around us. Lisa jerked back.
“What’s happening?” She stared at me in fear.
“I’ll go check, stay right here.”
I let go of my love and bolted to where we had left Harry.