Asher ✓

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MARCH 1, 2009 / DELROV HOUSEHOLD

Plane tickets to another country were not what Asher was expecting for his thirteenth birthday.

Plane tickets to the USA - a country that Ekaterina was equally disgusted with and intrigued by - were even less anticipated.

On the first day of March, Asher awoke to a homemade banquet and Vasily Delrov 2.0. Happier, healthier and stronger.

He presented Asher with an envelope.

"You're kidding me," was the reaction.

Seconds later, when Asher read the genuine emotion (happiness, excitement) in Vasily's eyes, he couldn't help but wonder, "Why?"

Vasily's happiness began to slip, when he saw his son's hesitation. Asher was his only preoccupation; if he didn't want to leave, they wouldn't.

"America is a big country, Asher. We could have a better life there."

Adolescent Asher was more curious than ever, but instead of going home and researching his wonder, he voiced them aloud with newfound outspokenness. The boy pointed out, "Russia is bigger, and we already have a good life here."

Vasily's plan emerged as a result of three things.

The first was that economies around the world were turning down, and in Russia, the middle classes were hit especially hard. Some would say that moving to the epicenter of the Global Financial Crisis was idiotic, but Vasily had been smart. He had pulled his investments out of the markets before the recession took a turn for the catastrophic, and had successfully applied for employment as part of a skilled immigrants programme.

The second was that Vasily wanted to remove Asher from an unstable political situation. Some speculated that Russia's foreign investment markets had been debilitated as punishment for their interference in international affairs. He was not a political man. If there was instability threatening his family, he wanted to relocate to more solid ground.

The third was concern for Asher's future. If he were to have more serious injuries later in life, if he were to go deaf, or need extensive care, Vasily wanted nothing but the best medical care. And the best medical care was in the US.

"Aria went to university there," Vasily referred to Asher's cousin, who lived in a neighbouring town. "She loved it. The schools are good, and you'll have more opportunities to get into a scientific career."

Hearing the prospect of a career in science sounded odd, discordant.

Asher never thought he'd go into a scientific career. He realised that it must have looked that way to Vasily Delrov, seeing a son who excelled in science tests, and researched medicine for fun to satiate his incurable curiosity. But Asher, like most thirteen-year-olds, didn't have any idea what to do with his life - other than keep safe and keep alive.

Science was interesting and he was good at it. It was a big love of his, but waking up and doing it everyday wasn't in his future. Asher imagined it like being in love with the sky. Something he could stare at and obsess, but ultimately, not meant for him.

Asher knew this because science wasn't what he turned to when he was overwhelmed with the unfairness of life, and had to stay home on the day his schoolmates would be doing something threatening to his health.