Любовь между двух городов - Love Between Two Cities

TVERSKAYA STREET, MOSCOW; FEBRUARY 3, 2015 - A healthy dose of snow fell from the heavens and blanketed the city. Business carried on as usual. The sound of traffic can be heard in the distance toward the city square. It really wasn't good weather to be walking in. But amidst the cold winter fog came a dark figure heading towards the center of town. She kept her head down the entire time as to go against the cold winds and her hands lodged deep in her pockets. Her feet were cold with every step as she began to pick up the pace. Catching sight of a phone booth in the distance, she headed towards it and swung open the door and sealed the door shut. Inside she panted a great breath. It felt so much more comfortable inside the booth than on the outside. Reaching into her pockets, she found a few coins and a crumpled piece of paper. A phone number was written on it. With a satisfying clink, she dropped the coins in the slot and pushed the buttons for the numbers. The dial tone could be heard faintly as she took a nervous breath and proceeded to hold the phone to her ear.

"Hello? Can you pick up?"

The line lay silent for a little while until a familiar voice picks up and breaks the silence.

"Karen, is that you? How are you doing?"

Trying her best to contain her composure, she continued to listen to the comforting voice at the end of the line. She placed the phone closer to her ear as she seemed eager to hear what he has to say.

"I didn't think you'd be on at this time; knowing you, you're usually one to call later... is there anything wrong?"
She replied, "No nothing's wrong, just that I'm off from work early is all... so how was your flight?"
"Good, because I just arrived about an hour ago and the sun hasn't come up yet. Such a long flight and I hadn't had a meal in hours... I don't think any of the food courts are open this early. I feel like having a coffee or a donut; maybe if any of the vending machines are working I can make do of those. So many people are here awaiting the next flight to Vladivostok and then I have to get ready to switch time zones again. But that's much later in the day and I have plenty of time to rest at the hotel room they've given me."

The sound of planes roared in the backdrop with some mild chatter in the terminal. He began to speak up as the sounds of the airport intensified.

"Oh I'm glad you got there safely hun... where are you exactly?"
"I'm at JFK Airport in New York; pretty far from home isn't it?"
"So I figured... maybe because I recognized the area code from the phone number you gave me, haha."
"How did your day treat you today?"

With a heavy sigh, she began to tell her story to him, upon seeing her own breath in the phone booth.
"Oh it was alright; I'm pretty tired... I had twice the paperwork to get done because plenty of my coworkers called out sick today. Bunch of slackers. And I had to assign several archives of phone data to be given to the proper departments. The dispatchers' office got all kinds of calls from all over the city because we were so understaffed. Several water main breaks called for public works attention and created an uproar. So like you I'm pretty tired, pissed, and hungry, haha."
"Well I'm so sorry to hear that from you... I'd say you had it worse than I did today."
"Oh? Because jet lag can be a real bitch when trying to sleep.... just ask Larissa. Speaking of her, how is she doing?"

He put the phone down for a moment, then turned and looked behind him before picking it back up again.

"Larissa? She's well rested but she has to use the bathroom or something... I haven't seen her in a while so I hope she's okay."
"If you find her let me know because I'd like you to tell her I said hi and that I care about her safety too."
"Will do."
"And Mishya?"
"Yes?"
"There's something I've been wanting to tell you."
"And that would be...?"

She took a brief pause, holding the phone close in her hands, briefly practicing what she was going to say to him without feeling embarrassed. A minute later she brought the phone to her ear and spoke. And her face blushed upon speaking these few words:
"You are the light of my life; I will always be here for you as I was in the past. There is nothing we can't do together. If it wasn't for you I probably wouldn't be here speaking on the phone with you right now. You're my hero of love and we are one. Just remember this: no matter how far you stray from home I will always love you, and I shall pray for you and Larissa to get home safely. I miss you both and if I could see you right now I'd smooch you like no tomorrow. You deserve my respect and nothing but."

There is an awkward silence on the line, both aware of their own heartbeats for that one moment in time. She was waiting for him to speak as every second felt like an hour. Hoping she didn't sound too personal, she was getting a little nervous. He then proceeded to talk.

"Oh sweetie, why thanks.... I don't know what to say; I'm just too flattered..."

Even though she couldn't see his expression on the other side of the world, it was clear that he was blushing. In the airport, he tried his best to hide it from anyone who happened to walk by. Then he cleared his throat and begun his reply.

"Sweetie, you don't have to tell me all that..."
"Why so?"
"Because I love you just as much and I'm so glad to have you in my life."

She was quite uplifted once he said this, and laughed a little bit not caring if he noticed.

"Long story short is that I miss you and feel lonely without you."
"Oh you shouldn't have... I'm doing fine right now but I appreciate the concern.

Taking on a bit of a stumble in his speech, he let out what he could and it felt a little awkward. He spoke again.

"Yeah haha... I always love talking to you."
"So do you know when you'll get back home?"
"Probably in a good week or so depending on the flights that come by; as long as we stick to schedule, the rest of the week should be smooth sailing... or should I say flying. But anything could happen in these next few days. Don't be disappointed if I get home a little late."
"Okay, I guess I could wait... I just want someone to cuddle with."
"I promise when I get back we can do all the cuddling you want."
"Oh good, because you definitely deserve it.... I need my sweet doggie by my side to help me get through this."

He set the phone down for a moment, cracked his sore hand and switched the phone over to the other.

"You're too kind to me... and you should probably get home soon. Didn't you say you were cold or something?"
"Um yeah... I'm starting to see my own breath in the phone booth. The walk home is a bit long so maybe I can take the metro. Just across the street is a station stop."
"Make it home safely, is all I ask."
"I'd best be going... thanks for keeping me company."
"Goodbye sweetie; love ya."
"До свидания."
"Спокойной ночи."

The couple both hung up the phone and went their separate ways. Surely they'll be back to talk again sometime soon. Proof that love knows no boundaries. And it wasn't long after until they both got cellphones.

THIS HAS TO BE MY MOST HEAVILY SHADED PENCIL DRAWING OF ALL TIME
But seriously, it took me about five different pencils to completely shade and detail this picture. I used a technique I like to call "dirty shading" in which I roll up piece of paper to create a stick and use it to smear the pencil marks across the paper to create better shades. I'm convinced this is a legitimate technique [professional] artists use to shade their work, but it's a simple yet effective method. I felt like this picture was just one big scribble because that's what it kind of felt like to have such a large area that required a lot of dark shades. With the help of a pencil eraser I was able to create those subtle tones of white, some more prominent than others.
And this is an early Valentine's picture I decided to draw because i wanted to focus more on the couple of Karen and Mishya. I love these two as if they were good friends of mine and nearly cried upon finishing this. They represent everything I've always wanted in a relationship despite the fact that I haven't had one in years. But here's to you all who took the time out of their day to read this long story of mine a happy Valentine's Day and I wish you and your signifigant other the best.

Characters © SpetsnazKaz