Nightswan

NaNo - Day 19

- Vasilisa - 

They'd traveled to Philadelphia. It had been Liliana's idea. She said there was so much history in the city, and she wanted to show all of it to Karisa. Minor detail that the child wouldn't remember any of it, but it was a good enough reason to Uncle Thaddeus for them to take the Amtrak train from Penn Station. Vasilisa had never been on a train. It only took them an hour and a half to arrive, and they had spent the last few days going to every historic site possible. Vasi was exhausted—and Uncle Thaddeus seemed to be getting there, too—but Lily was a never-ending supply of energy. It was good, seeing her so happy. From what Uncle Thaddeus had told Vasi of his wife's life, it had been filled with despair and abuse. It wasn't fair. She was so joyful, though, despite the pain of her history, and that inspired Vasilisa to look for the positive in every scenario.

Like being away from Alessio meant she wasn't as afraid of getting shot at, or worse, killed. She was able to relax. Independence Hall was intriguing, and the Liberty Bell! She never would've known how big it actually was! If Alessio had never been to Philly, they'd need to come back. Did the Flight hold the same type of power in Philly as it did in New York City? New York seemed to be its headquarters. She supposed it made sense; there were areas of the city not even the police dared to visit.

"What does this say?" Liliana asked, running her hand along the edges of a sign while she propped Karisa up on her opposite hip. "They really need to put Braille on these things."

Uncle Thaddeus walked up beside her, kissed her temple, and read the sign aloud. Before Liliana, he had been a very cold man. He cared about his family, but he never visited, and he only focused on his career. Nothing else mattered. Now, with his wife and daughter tucked into his side, he was completely different. Relaxed. At ease. He smiled and laughed more than she'd seen in her entire life.

Had Alessio had a similar impact on her life? Was she any different because of him? Those were questions she'd been asking herself more. Especially now that she was in Philly with her uncle and his family. This allowed her to better observe him. Vasilisa had never quite felt good enough for her grandparents. Simply earning an A was worth nothing; if her grade hadn't been a 100, then it didn't matter. When she'd graduated salutatorian, there were no "congratulations" from anyone but Uncle Thaddeus and Liliana. Her grandparents had only asked her why she hadn't pushed harder be first in her class. If she didn't make the perfect dinner, she'd be criticized. This side didn't have enough pepper. She didn't fry the bacon right for the salad. And why did she pair this vegetable with this protein? Didn't she know it simply wasn't done?

They were all she knew, so she tried so hard to please them, but her struggles were always inadequate until she'd married Alessio. He never criticized her. He encouraged her. He saw their marriage as a partnership. She didn't have to give, give, give, and exhaust herself with him. Instead, he completed tasks himself that her grandparents said she had to do. He'd pick up dinner. He'd even make dinner—although he wasn't very good at it. Thanks to him, Vasi was learning to love who she was. She wasn't perfect, but she was perfect enough, and that was what mattered most. Alessio treated her like a princess, but not a fairytale one, exactly. She didn't need to be saved from anyone but perhaps herself. Her doubt and self-deprecation. There were times he grew tired of her. She could see that, but he never became angry with her. Irritated, sure, although he tried to hide it.

"Did you hear that, Karisa?" Lily kissed her daughter's cheek.

"You do realize she's not going to remember any of this." Uncle Thaddeus raised a brow.

"So? We're making memories. We'll just have to come back when she's older. Maybe every few years so we can have a progression of pictures of her as she grows up. Like we did at the beach."