A new home

An explosion part 1

Everyone knows time moves to fast and for me it moved all too fast. We suddenly found ourselves in the February of 1920. Aleksei was 7 months old now and was looking more and more like his father. Dark clouds of brown hair covered his head and calm grey eyes looked up at me from the pram.

Girls in short dresses ran by giggling as they entered the ice cream parlor. It surprised me how short the dresses were but unlike other women I wasn't horrified by them. Maybe it was because I was still so young. They seemed exciting in a way and to me signified independence.

The day was cold and cloudy but I didn't mind. I walked down the road happily marveling at the store windows. I was going to bring Aleksei to visit Andrey at his break time. As we got closer it a loud sound exploded through the air. Women nearby screamed shielding their young children and I spun the pram around and quickly ran Aleksei into the nearest store and faced a fear stricken shop owner.

"What was that?" I asked my voice shaking. There wasn't any fire on the streets only the sound of fire bells going off.

"That my dear is the flour mill. Poor men...an explosion is so easy in those places...I must get some supplies in case anyone is hurt." She quickly left me and disappeared inside a small room at the back of the store.

My mind finally grasped everything. The flour mill..the flour mill..."Andrey!" I gasped out my knees feeling suddenly weak. Then I saw Bridget. She was near a dress rack looking as scared as me. It was strange she was there that day. Sometimes I said it was a miracle sometimes it was pure luck whatever it was I didn't care at that moment.

"Bridget! Here please take Aleksei I will be back as soon as possible!" Without thinking I left her the pram with a now crying infant.

"Annika! Annika you silly girl come back!" I didn't care though I just ran as fast as my legs could carry me. I felt something grab my arm and came to an abrupt stop.

"What are you doing!" I screamed at the mans face.

"Listen young lady you can't go down there. The flour mill had an explosion and the whole buildings on fire now its a miracle it hasn't spread to the other buildings...Hey Miss!"

I didn't listen though I broke away and ran down the street and stopped in the middle of a crowd. The large fire mill not far away was all red with fire. Men lay on cots some in such bad shape I could never describe it.

I searched the crowd for any sign of Andrey with no hope. I moved forward more and got closer to the burning building. The flames were nearly gone and men just kept pulling more men out of the building some just limping some completely unconscious.

"Andrey! Andrey!" I didn't realize I was shouting in Russian it seemed like I couldn't even speak English at the moment. My brain had blocked out everything.

"Miss stay back please go find your family. You can't come here were are trying to save these men you have to stay back for your own safety." A man I recognized as a police man  talked to me softly as I looked at the no longer burning building. It was all black and charred and looked like death itself.

"Please my husband is in there I have to find him! Please we have a baby and two girls I just have to find him!" I was still speaking in Russian tears falling down my face the cold air nipping at me.

"Miss I don't understand. Please stand over here."

I said it again this time in English my mind racing horribly.

"You say your husband works here?" He let out a large sigh and drew me over to a group of other sobbing women.

"What's your husbands name Miss?"

"Andrey. Andrey Antonov."

"Well Mrs. Antonov as soon as we are sure we have everyone out of the building you all can come find your husbands."

Some men unhurt or only slightly hurt came to retrieve their wives or went back inside to help find more men.

Then I saw him.

Hey everyone! I apologize greatly for the chapter being A SO short and B for being SO late!!! I've been super busy lately and am trying my best to keep up and still write a good chapter. I am uploading what I have written so far and I hope you like it. I hope to have the rest uploaded soon!

Thank you so much for reading!

Giselle