Short love stories for bedtime
The story I’m about to tell is not recorded in history, as those stern and solemn records would never attribute a great invention to a tender love. But the truth is, in 1872, when Russian naval officer Mozhaysky first met Anzi, he fell in love with her and was destined to do something extraordinary for her.
From then on, Mozhaysky wandered outside Anzi’s house once a month. He was a naval officer, and his fleet often went on long voyages, returning only once a month. On that day, he would rush to Anzi’s door.
“Hey, your clothes aren’t washed yet!” his comrades would remind him when they saw him heading to see Anzi again.
“No need to wash them. They smell of my thoughts for Anzi, and I don’t want to lose that,” he would reply.
“Good luck!” his comrades would cheer him on with bright smiles.
After four months of standing outside Anzi’s door, Mozhaysky learned that Anzi’s dream was to own a farm because she and her sisters loved eating eggs. This was a simple matter, but it excited Mozhaysky immensely. “What a great dream,” he would often praise to his comrades. “A girl who loves to eat eggs must be a special girl.” He would often lean on the ship’s side, gazing into the distance, lost in thoughts.
Soon, he discovered that Anzi loved to dream. Her biggest dream was to fly into the sky. She had told her close friends that she would marry whoever could make her fly. Upon hearing this, Mozhaysky vowed to make his Anzi soar.
From then on, Mozhaysky’s free time was spent carrying an axe and an old hen, wandering into the woods of St. Petersburg, staring at the sky. He chopped down dozens of different trees to find the hardest yet lightest wood suitable for making airplane wings. He observed the wings of hens, geese, peacocks, seagulls, owls, and nightingales, trying to figure out what kind of wings could make his “airplane” fly. Of course, he didn’t know the term airplane at the time; he just called his creation “Anzi’s Dream” in his heart.
After twenty years of exploration, in 1882, Mozhaysky designed and built a monoplane. The wing’s shape was like that of a nightingale flying in the dark—nightingales sing of love in Russian poetry. The wings were painted in autumn gold, Anzi’s favorite color.
The airplane was equipped with four landing gears because, after flying, it needed to land, ideally into their happy nest. He even made a special chicken coop on the plane, signifying that one day, he would buy Anzi a big farm.
In the spring of 1882, Mozhaysky took his airplane for a test flight on the outskirts of St. Petersburg. He specifically called his beloved Anzi to witness it. With the roar of the engine, the plane wobbled and flew into the sky. Although it only flew twenty or thirty meters, Mozhaysky was overjoyed. He hugged Anzi, shouting and running, eager to share the news with everyone in St. Petersburg.
Mozhaysky was so happy that he didn’t photograph the test flight or have witnesses document the event. Even though his invention preceded the Wright brothers by twenty years, it was not recognized by history.
But Mozhaysky didn’t care. After the test flight, he took Anzi and bought a farm near St. Petersburg. The farm had many chickens, all for Anzi to have her eggs. On the roof of their house stood the airplane he had built—a symbol of their flying dream.
Thank you for reading! ” Sitestorys “
