“Stranded Cruise: Cross-Gender Time Slip Story (Covid-19 Time Slip romance)” authored by Yulia Yu. Sakurazawa and Lasha Shashimohan has been published on Kindle Unlimited. It is an unforgettable love story beyond time and space.
32-year-old American, Maurice Beckmeyer marries a young Japanese woman called Yulia Sugawara. The two embark on a cruise in the luxury ship, Lunar Halo on January 20, 2020.
Yulia Sugawara has had a traumatic past. She lost her parents and younger brother in the 2011 tsunami. Maurice knows about Yulia’s tragedy and wants to make the rest of her life blissful. The two enjoy themselves to the hilt on their honeymoon.
All is well until the quarantine inspectors start testing all the passengers of the ship for the deadly new coronavirus, which spread in Wuhan. On the 3rd of Feb, Lunar Halo is docked in Yokohama. It is rumored that a few passengers have tested positive for the fatal coronavirus. The passengers apparently counteracted it from a Chinese man who boarded Lunar Halo at Hong Kong on January 25.
Maurice isn’t much bothered by what is going on around him. He is delighted to be quarantined with his new wife in their cabin. The honeymoon continues until Yulia is tested positive for the virus and succumbs to it.
A heartbroken Maurice takes a chartered flight to the US. In order to forget his pain, he drinks too much and loses consciousness.
Maurice wakes up in a classroom. He finds himself in a delicate female body, which is dressed in a school uniform and is sporting a ponytail.
It doesn’t take Maurice long to figure out that he has transformed into Yulia and has time-traveled to Kita-Souma of March 2011, the day Yulia’s family was washed away by the tsunami.
Characters:
Maurice Beckmeyer: is a 32-year-old American working in Tokyo. Appearance-wise, he’s tall and wiry, with red hair and green eyes. He’s sweet, jovial and has a good sense of humor. He speaks Japanese quite fluently and marries Yulia, a Japanese girl. When Yulia dies of COVID-19, Maurice is devastated. He time-travels to become his young wife living in Japan.
Yulia Sugawara: is a 23-year-old Japanese girl working as a career counselor in Tokyo. She is 5’6, has a delicate body, thick black hair and soulful brown eyes. She is a good-natured, albeit reserved sort of a person. Yulia has lost her parents and younger brother in the tsunami which hit the Kita-Souma region in Japan. She loves Maurice, but is unable to discuss her painful past with him. Yulia hopes to lead a long, happy life with Maurice, but succumbs to COVID-19.
Scarlett and Theo Grant: A staid and British couple on Lunar Halo, who become friends with the Beckmeyers. The two couples are having lunch at the sushi bar, when the quarantine inspectors check the temperatures of all passengers on Lunar Halo at Naha port.
Lee: is a young, boisterous Australian who is on Lunar Halo with a group of friends. He runs into the Beckmeyers after the couple return from International Street in Naha. Lee tells the Beckmeyers that it was 5 pm by the time the quarantine inspectors had finished checking all passengers on Lunar Halo.
Josie Gagnon and Alice Trembley: Two sportive Canadian girls, who play roulette with the Beckmeyers and end up losing all their bets. The girls and the Beckmeyers subsequently go to the bar and have a few beers.
Shin and Naomi Suzuki: are a Japanese couple the Beckmeyers befriend on the ship. On the day Lunar Halo is docked, the Suzukis access local news channels and update the Beckmeyers with the latest news.
Dr. Akira Tanaka: is a kindly doctor, who attends to Yulia. He is unable to save her. Dr. Tanaka empathizes with Maurice as he too lost his wife recently.
Dr. Ito: is a junior doctor. Yulia dies while the doctor is not able to arrange for a ventilator.
Keiko Nakamura: is Yulia’s best friend in high school. Keiko is a merry, affectionate and likable girl. She doesn’t believe Yulia that there is going to be an earthquake in the Kita-Souma region at 2:46 pm but accompanies Yulia to the hilltop anyway. Yulia loses touch with Keiko after the shine-building collapses on her and Keiko.
Miss Rikuta: Yulia’s history teacher who is upset that she isn’t paying any attention. Miss Rikuta is a sincere, bespectacled young woman. When Yulia hints that she is on her period, Miss Rikuta excuses her from class.
Miyuki: Yulia’s mom, who fails to survive the tsunami even after Maurice time-travels and tries to save Yulia’s family.
Souta: Yulia’s younger brother who studies in elementary school. He too dies in the tsunami.
Aunt Yukiko: Yulia’s mother’s elder sister. She is a tall, plump woman who resembles Mrs. Sugawara. Aunt Yukiko is a widow, who’s only child (a son, Ryoma) studies in NYC. After Yulia’s family is killed by a tsunami, she is raised by aunt Yukiko in Tokyo.
Rei: is Yulia’s classmate in Tokyo. He is from Iwaki but has a heavy Tohoku accent. Some bullies assume that Rei is from Fukushima and treat him like a contaminated entity. Rei is called “Nuclear Virus” and is ordered to go back to his “contaminated Fukushima.” Yulia feels bad about the bullying and reports the misbehavior to the teacher. As a consequence of this, the abuse of Rei stops.
Aunt Cathy: is Maurice’s maternal aunt. She is a sweet, kind-hearted woman in her late 50s. Yulia discovers Cathy through one of Maurice’s photo albums and writes a letter to her. Cathy reciprocates and the two women start corresponding by email. They become good friends.
Suzu: is Yulia and Maurice’s baby, named after Yulia’s favorite young actress. Suzu is a cute baby girl with Maurice’s eyes.