The three weeks before the issue was released passed in the blink of an eye. Sasha had literally nothing to do but mentally prepare herself for the reactions of those closest to her especially her parents. She went to see them and her brothers often; her parents again noticed a massive shift within their daughter. If before her eyes were fighting a battle, now they were at peace. She explained that the April issue would be double the size and she was immensely proud of it. She gave them the date it was set to drop and cryptically mentioned that she would give them a few days to digest it before she would visit them and they could talk about it. They both did a double take at that as she half-smiled. All of the secrets would be revealed soon.

     The day the issue dropped, Sasha had woken up early and walked to the South Street Seaport and looked out at the water as people walked all around her. The sky was a crisp blue, without a single cloud. She always wondered just how her simple words impacted a populous and yet she knew it was because of the strength of her words, that she could engage as many people as she did. From where she was standing, she noticed a man in a business suit sitting on a bench with a copy of that same issue in his hand. When he saw her looking at him and at it, he smiled at her and she smiled back. As he was thumbing through the pages, he suddenly froze and looked at her again. She knew exactly where he was and what page he was looking at without even needing a reference. She didn't look at him again but just gently smiled and walked away. Her anonymity even in NYC was about to decrease.

    A copy of the issue was waiting in her mailbox when she returned home and she picked it up, walking inside. She sat by the window and looked the issue over carefully and professionally. The editors didn't change a single thing from what was decided upon and she was happy with that. The poem went first, followed by the main piece, then Rahel's photojournalism, and lastly came 'Witness'. The documentary would release in just a short week on the actual anniversary. Two days later, she finally went to see her parents. The moment she stepped into the apartment, her mother got up off the couch and ran over to her daughter. Her eyes were red and face was swollen from crying. Both Ekaterina and Feodor spent the entire day and night sobbing as they read 'Witness'. They tried to keep as quiet as possible to not wake or worry the boys. The day before they met with uncle Vlad and aunt Nadya, who also were emotional wrecks. No one went to work, essentially they were in almost an entranced state of mourning. The sheer horror of the story and that their daughter and niece had endured it alone at the age of just 6, was mind boggling.

"Oh my God, Sashenka. I--"

      Ekaterina sobbed as she held onto her daughter with all of her strength. Sasha also had tears in her eyes. She was more worried about her parents then herself. She knew that this shock might be dangerous to her father's heart. By then Feodor had also joined the two of them in a group hug, also sobbing, almost losing control. The boys were at school so they could have time alone without issues. For endless moments, they just stood together grieving silently. Then Sasha slowly pulled them both to the sofa.

"It's ok, mama, papa. I'm ok. I'm more then ok. I'm sorry I never shared any of it with you. Back then, I knew had I told you, you would have forbidden me from going back to see him." To which her parents both nodded emphatically as Sasha smiled sadly and continued:
"Afterwards, I just wanted to run away from everything but at the same time, I couldn't lose him. He's been in that journal and in my soul all of these years and if it hadn't been for Ben and Rahel's intervention, I would have taken him to the grave. But Vasya didn't deserve that. His story had to be told. He was so young, to die so horribly, without any knowledge of why. I was the only living witness to him and I have the power to bring him to life again with dignity. I had to do it. He was guiding me the entire time."

   As she finished speaking, she reached over and took the blue journal out of her bag and slowly extended it to her parents as their eyes went wide.

"Mama, papa....I want you to meet Vasya."

Silently, they took the journal with one hand each. They didn't open it but saw his name scrawled on the cover in a child's handwriting.

"I always wondered what happened to the blue journal as back then I remember buying you three different colored ones and this one just vanished. Now, I know." Ekaterina said quietly.
"I didn't know when I started writing in the journal what would happen in my life, I chose it because it was my favorite color."

   By that time, Sasha saw her uncle and aunt enter as well. They both hugged her fiercely eyeing the journal with mistrust like the thing had the capability of sucking Sasha into its pages. But she knew this reaction would come. Essentially she was not just giving her family two days to deal with the entire thing before visiting them, but she was also preparing herself for their emotions and questions. After some time, everyone was basically drained and Sasha went through as much as they wanted to hear that they hadn't read including the return trip after her expedition and how the entire thing had come to light in the first place. She made them all tea as she continued her story.

    She spoke about Vasya with more candor as the time progressed, she could tell her parents wanted to know everything and were trying to make her as comfortable as possible to do so though they didn't have to. After all, it wasn't all horror and gore. She told them about his sense of humor, his wishes for the future; wanting children and seeing his family again. It made him a real person again, which is essentially why she had written his story. This is what she wanted.

    At some point, the boys came home and seeing their sister and relatives there was a bit of a happy surprise. George, however, quickly picked up on the fact that everyone looked sad and his mother had red eyes. With his usual candor, he asked:

"Did someone important die?"

Silence followed as no one knew how exactly to tackle that one. Sasha took over as she was the most composed of the group.

"Someone did, but a long time ago. We were just remembering him." She said softly.
"But why is mama sad now?"
"Because he was my friend and mama didn't know him." Both brothers looked at their sister then.
"Was he a good friend?" Mark asked, interested. Sasha smiled as she teared up a bit too.
"Yes Mark, he was a wonderful friend, a kind person."
"What was his name?" George asked finally.
"Vasya. His name was Vasya."
"Like the camel?" Everyone laughed a little at that as Sasha nodded, remembering.
"Yes, just like the camel."

   That's all the boys wanted to know before going over and giving their parents and uncle and aunt a hug asking them not to cry anymore. Sasha watched them proudly; they were able to handle something like that very well with even a limited amount of information. She knew at their school, teachers and students would all find out this story sooner or later and she wanted to prepare them as best as she could. This was the least invasive way in doing just that; that way when asked they could say Vasya was their sister's good friend who died a long time ago.

   All around the world, NatGeo readers were in awe of the April issue and just as expected, it was 'Witness' that was taking center stage in every conversation. In every language, it was being read and reread; the website subscription went up as well as the visits and reads. It was only two days since the release of the magazine and it was like a shockwave reverberated around the planet. Ben and Rahel were talking on the phone about how people in their respective countries were reacting and how Sasha must be handling it on her end.

"She was supposed to go see her parents today." Ben told Rahel.
"Oh wow. I can't even imagine."
"Let's send her some luck."
"I have been doing just that since the release." Rahel said and Ben smiled on his end.

   Sasha spent that entire day with her parents and left very late at night in a Lyft as she wanted to get into the office the next day. The documentary was set to drop in 4 days on the anniversary and she wanted to make sure everything was ready in case the DC office wanted follow up interviews. She texted her mom as soon as she stepped through the door as well as both Ben and Rahel. She wanted them to know things went well considering. Both were beyond shocked to see their names listed in the thank you credits of 'Witness' and they told Sasha as much.

   The next day, as she walked into the office, everyone fell silent as they stared at her. She smiled and shook her head; the Petri dish specimen-effect was making her slightly uncomfortable but she knew it was going to happen so she just squared her shoulders, tossed her bag on her desk and walked into Kathy's office. Her editor's eyes went wide as she watched Sasha enter.

"Oh come on, Kathy, it's still me. I didn't grow gilded wings and horns overnight." Sasha complained as people who gathered outside Kathy's office gasped and scattered.
"I-I'm sorry Sasha. You're right, it's just a lot for people to process."
"I get that, but can they and you please stop staring? It's very uncomfortable. I spent all of yesterday with my parents and even they didn't stare." Sasha grumbled. She didn't say anything about the weeping, wailing, or hugging. While her parents' reactions were understandable, she felt her coworkers could be a tad more professional.
"Don't worry, we'll stop. We didn't know you were coming in today, otherwise an email would have been sent to everyone to keep cool."
"I came in to make sure nothing extra was needed before the documentary dropped. I know that's more Rahel's section as well as Ben's but I want to make sure everything goes off without a hitch." Kathy smiled; same old Sasha, ever the perfectionist. She had just written an epic issue and she was just grinding away, nothing had changed.
"You can certainly check your email but I haven't seen anything to suggest an issue."

   After chatting with Kathy, and reviewing her in office mail, she was content that nothing else was needed and left the office. By then, Kathy had sent a global to everyone to remember to treat Sasha as they had before and not to make her uncomfortable with any unneeded staring or inappropriate questions. Sasha was always open to chat with her colleagues especially if they had questions but to send them via email. Until the anniversary was over, Sasha would still be all hands on deck busy.

   The documentary dropped on April 26th, 2016, the 30th anniversary of the disaster. It was 3 hours long but one didn't want to skip a single second. It was shown all over the world and multiple times as well as on internet streaming platforms. Sasha watched it at her parents' house with the entire family. She saw herself on the roof of the apartment building in Pripyat writing away as the drone zeroed in on her and her brothers clapped each time they recognized her on tv. She was actually surprised how many times she herself made it in. She smiled as she watched Ben and Vasily's respective interviews and scientific experiments and when Rahel was walking around snapping photos or directing where her equipment was to be set up. The 'Room' project she herself had explained as it was her idea and then everyone watched in fascination as the entire experiment was carried out and how the entire expedition team helped.

     As Sasha watched the documentary unfold, she was also chatting with Ben and Rahel who were also watching it. They all reacted with their own comments and sometimes even laughter remembering some funny moments as strange as that might seem. Vasily was also watching the documentary with his family; he was so proud of having worked with such an excellent team. His parents teased him on the way he stared at Sasha as if looking at the holy grail; his work crush was apparent even on tv. Now looking at Sasha in the documentary, a lot more made sense to him. When they first met and her reaction to him, he couldn't figure it out; that is until he read 'Witness' and the dots connected themselves. He had even more admiration towards her knowing everything she had gone through at such a young age.

     The entire town of Gomel was buzzing about the issue and documentary. Those that met Sasha, Ben, and Rahel, be they cab drivers or hotel clerks all had an experience. Sasha's old neighbors and their kids were surprised she didn't stop by their homes and voiced as much. One family however was getting over both 'Witness' and the documentary as if a fresh wound was reopened. They didn't know exactly what to do or say. It was really too much and yet not enough. A woman stared at Sasha's picture along with the journal and flowers late into the night.

     After the initial reaction of the anniversary, NatGeo was inundated with requests by multiple stations and platforms for interviews by the three main parties; Sasha, Ben, and Rahel. In one interview granted to an international committee, all three came together virtually to talk about their work. The interview was over 2 hours long and was broadcast live and worldwide. Millions of people tuned in as the three professionals and now close friends explained things step by step. They spoke separately and together sometimes answering things at the same time making the interview real and human.

That summer went by very quickly and the story was still so huge that their May issue only seemed to branch off into more of the same and the editors decided to give the paranormal platform a chance to be seen in regards to the anniversary. One issue had multiplied to 2 and than even 3 as more of what Ben and Vasily researched was added to the June edition. In the meantime, Sasha took on another project and this time went back to Iceland for a more in depth follow up to their volcanic system. Teaming up with a geologist she'd worked with before, she ended up writing an excellent piece that was featured in the October issue. In between traveling for research, Sasha was writing smaller pieces that she had studied prior and was almost never without work. However, her notoriety didn't lessen since April and in early January the following year, Kathy called Sasha who was at home preparing lunch. She had taken a small holiday for the New Years and was due back in the office in a couple of days.

"Sasha, are you sitting down?" She asked excitedly. She couldn't believe it when DC called her, or rather she could but she wasn't sure Sasha would.
"No, I'm making lunch. Why, what's up?" Sasha asked frowning as she stopped and took the phone previously cradled between her ear and shoulder into her hand.
"You better sit down."
"Ok, I'm sitting down. What gives?" Kathy smiled even wider at Sasha's impatience.

"Sasha, you've been nominated for a Pulitzer!"