The sighting of the Tsar

It was Natalya’s fourth trip to St. Petersburg for the year. She was writing a treatise on Tsar St.Peter the great and could still feel the massive influence he had had in founding the city. Of Albanian descent but born in Russia, Natalya had never failed to be impressed by how much of the architecture and cultural past of Russia been dominated by just a few (noble!) men over the centuries.

Her favourite was of course, Leo Tolstoy, of noble birth who had been beloved of the masses. She wondered how it would be to meet a tsar from the long ages gone by. After entering the Church of our Savior on Spilled blood, she turned a deserted corner absentmindedly. She was shell-shocked to see a shimmering transparency in the air which beckoned to her with bloody hands. She couldn’t control the panic that followed nor the unheard tinny screams.

(150 words)

“What Pegman saw” is a weekly challenge based on Google Streetview. Using the 360 degree view of the location provided, you must write a piece of flash fiction of no more than 150 words. You can read the rules here.