The taxi driver helped me with my suitcases as we arrived at Sheremetyevo International Airport in Moscow. I dragged my luggage behind me, panting with effort. The suitcase with my PC seemed like I stacked rocks in it.

I checked in first, looking around in awe since this was my first time flying anywhere. I only hoped I won’t lose myself in the process, or my precious suitcases. I did take precautions and saved my hard drive in my handbag, just in case something happened.

I could order a new computer in Alaska but I bet it won’t come cheap. It would have had to be transported with a cargo plane from Fairbanks or Anchorage.

I had to wait for an hour before I could finally board. I was positioned next to the older man with reading glasses, entirely concentrated on his book. His wide frame was almost comically stuffed in the small seat, so every few minutes he shifted to accommodate himself. Silver strands adorned the sides of his otherwise voluptuous, dark curly mane and somehow softened his looks.

He lifted his head and politely smiled at me before he returned back to his reading material.

I quietly chuckled as I pulled the exact same book out of my purse, positioning it in my lap.

“Dostoyevsky’s Crime and Punishment? You too?” He said with interest.

“It was my father’s favorite.” I lovingly caressed the book’s cover.

“Aren’t you a bit young for such a heavy read?” He smiled.

I laughed, explaining “Not even close, I am twenty-six. And this isn’t a heavy read, this is a piece of cake. I grew up with those; Dostoyevsky, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Gogol.”

“Nothing better than classic Russian literature, isn’t that so?”

“Indeed.” I nodded. Suddenly the plane started to move with increased speed. I gripped my seat as tight as I could when we slowly started taking off. “O Bozhe! Oh God.” I mumbled.

“You first time on a plane?” The man turned to me, his eyes sparkling with amusement as he watched my pale face.

“I am Anatoly by the way.” I released my clenched fists long enough for him to shake my hand.

“Faina, nice to meet you. To answer your question, yes, I’ve never been outside Moscow before.” My response was barely understandable, as I tried to talk and draw deep, steady breaths at the same time.

“Really? Would it be too nosy for me to ask why are you flying to the US?”

“I am moving to Alaska. Personal reasons.” I added as I saw his curious stare. He let it go and just nodded.

“That’s quite a distance from Moscow.”

“I will spend approximately thirty-two hours on a plane just to get to Fairbanks.” I sighed, already hating this mean of transportation. My first stop will be Los Angeles, then Anchorage and Fairbanks.

He slowly whistled through his teeth “Quite a journey. My stop is in Los Angeles. I have a family there and my business. Every once in a while, I fly to Moscow to visit my sister and my little niece.”

“What do you do?”

“I have a private practice. I work as a chiropractic and my wife is a nurse. What about you?” He turned in his seat to look at me.

“I am a designer and a novelist.” I smiled at the flight attendant, gratefully accepting a water bottle.

“A busy person I see, but it’s very important to find the time out of work. It’s healthy.” He unpacked his snack, munching on a sandwich. For the life of me, I couldn’t understand how he could muster the appetite when the plane shook every so often, leaving me nauseous.

“My work is my life. There is nothing outside of that.” What else could be more important? Friends I never had? Or the family that despised me? Staring at empty and cold walls of my apartment? No. My work filled the emptiness inside of me and created a whole different world I could live in, where everything was perfect.

“I don’t believe that. A nice person like yourself surely has friends, family or a boyfriend.”

“I don’t get along with people.” I admitted “It’s not that I don’t want to. I just like to spend time by myself.”

“I was like you once.” He said with a faraway look on his face “But then I met the person that soon became my life, my wife Abby. And then being alone became lonely and suffocating. I needed her.” His eyes were soft as he spoke about her “You will find people you will feel comfortable enough to be around someday.”

“I hope you are right.” I looked out of the window, still not used of the altitude of 33.000 feet.

I did want friends, but honestly, I was afraid the reality would be much different than my books portrayed it to be. I was afraid I would be disappointed and hurt if I let anyone too close to me.

After an hour of talking with this kind doctor, I was ready to relax, at least enough to get some rest. I stirred a few times and partly woke when the plane shook, otherwise I slept through it all. I couldn’t believe how tired and stressed I really was. Deep inside I was dreading this move and that explained the fact I haven’t slept for two days now.

I only awoke when Anatoly gently shook my shoulder so I barely heard the end of the announcement, saying we’ve arrived in Los Angeles.

“Are you all right? You seem exhausted.” His thick bushy brows furrowed with worry.

“Thank you so much! I would’ve slept through it all hadn’t you woken me up.” I fixed my messy ponytail and rubbed my sleepy eyes “And thank you, yes I am all right.”

The most tedious part was just about to start. I had to wait for ten hours for my plane to Anchorage. I will probably kiss the ground when I finally arrive at my new home.

We exited a jet bridge and I was already dreading how to find my suitcases in this crowded spacious airport.

I wanted to cry out with sheer happiness when I spotted my two huge suitcases circulating on a baggage carousel. I loudly exhaled as I lifted them off, feeling one of them was still heavy as a rock.

“So.” I turned back to my traveling companion “I wish you good luck with your family and business, Sir. I genuinely hope we meet again someday.”

He shook my hand, smiling widely “You too. Settle well in Alaska and I hope you’ll find everything you’re searching for. The world is small, Faina, we will meet again someday.”

I waved at him until I saw him disappear out of my sight. Having so much spare time, I decided to spend at least two hours in a small restaurant called Cantina Laredo. I ended up ordering only a turkey sandwich and bottled juice, not really feeling hungry.

After three hours of agonizing boredom, I moved my achy bottom and went for a little walk to stretch my sleepy legs. It was kind of tiresome to drag the suitcases around, but I was too paranoid to ask if I could leave them somewhere.

After two hours I probably walked around the whole airport and visited every gift shop they had. I bought myself a bottled water, small fluffy keychain, and a Batman comic book.

I had more than enough time to find the 6th terminal and not get lost in the process, so I decided to wait in the Alaska Airlines boardroom and order myself a nice warm cup of coffee. I buried myself in my new comic book and after that, the book my father had given me. Before I knew it was a time to check myself in again.

When I boarded the plane to Anchorage I wasn’t as lucky as the last time. This time around right behind me sat a young family with two hyperactive children.

I thanked the God this flight will be almost half shorter than the previous one since I knew there was no way I would be sleeping through this noise.

I gritted my teeth every time one of the children kicked my seat and turned around to give him a death glare. Apparently, he didn’t mind disturbing me, in fact, I deeply believed he actually enjoyed torturing me.

I truly wanted to beat him with my empty water bottle when he started to whine loudly, yet I did nothing and suffered through the whole six-hour long journey.