Chapter 5

Only after the shower, when I stood on the balcony watching the sea shimmering in the distance, did I remember last night. Not bad. I’d manage to distract myself from all those unwanted thoughts for the whole day. Well done. I glanced at their side of the balcony, but it was empty, and the sliding door leading to their flat was shut.

I shrugged and looked away. I felt tired enough to fall asleep without any problems, so why did part of me hope they would be around…? I should probably go inside and try to watch something. I could easily find a wartime movie I knew would be entertaining, but for some reason, I stayed, watching the sun slowly paint the sky with soft pink hues, when I heard the sliding door on the other side open.

“Fu’Ri..”

The girl ran to the gate separating our spaces and looked at me, her ears raised, and her tail swishing from side to side. I looked at her and smiled involuntarily.

“We went for a food run! We got a lot of stuff, do you need some?”, she said in one breath, and I almost chuckled.

“I am fine.”

“We could trade!”

I blinked, but before I could ask what she meant, she ran inside, only to reappear carrying a heavy-looking box of apples. She tried to lift the box and put it on top of the gate, but stumbled under its weight. I leaned over and took hold of it. She smiled and pressed her forehead against mine, and a warm calmness filled my body.

“Hi, Fu’Ri”

I gave her a confused look and placed the box on the gate.

“What did you do?”

“Said hi..”

Only then did I see the older one watching us from the door, her tail slowly swinging. She walked over to us and put her arms around the girl.

“We were last in the line, so we got everything that was left, even though she cannot eat all of them. We can swap if you want…?”

I sighed and picked a few of them. Another weird custom of theirs? At least it gave me something to do. It sounded valid enough to silence the random thoughts popping in my head. It wouldn’t really hurt… I went inside and picked up a few packs of canned chocolate. She’d eaten it last time, so it should be fine… Apple-plum jam, why not? I had so many points on my food cart, it wouldn’t make a difference if I gave them some. Basic rations were cheap, and I never spent my points on the stuff I could sell on the black market. The military provided me with everything I needed, and I had zero need for luxury goods.

I came back and handed them a bag.

“Are you sure? It’s a lot.”

“Yeah, I have more I can eat.”

The older one gave me a sceptical look but accepted the bag.

“What did we get?”

The girl peered into the bag and pulled out a can of chocolate.

“This is nice. It was our first food we had here, do you remember?”

She smiled at the older one.

“I do…”

She looked away, avoiding my gaze, and I leaned against the wall. Yeah, everyone had a story that wasn’t meant to be told. I knew it well, so I let the silence fall between us.

“Do you want some tea?”

“Sure”, I nodded, remembering the drink she’d offered me yesterday.

It was bitter and definitely not my favourite, but not as bad as that shot of Massandra we had in Siberia that time…

She walked to her flat, and I sat down on the floor, resting my back against the warm wall. It would be nice to have some chairs…

“Do you want some?”

The girl extended her hand through the gate, offering me a half-empty can of chocolate. Without thinking, I picked a piece and put it in my mouth. This stuff was made to give you enough calories, not to taste good, but I’d got used to it pretty quickly after I signed in, and by now anything else just tasted wrong.

Mai-Ri appeared again, carrying a small tray with tall glasses full of the same drink as yesterday. She passed me one and sat down on the other side of the gate.

“What did you do today?”

An’Ri looked at me, nibbling on a piece of chocolate, her ears raised with curiosity.

“Just working…”

For some reason, I didn’t want to tell her about the ruins I’d helped to clean or the unexploded ammunition or…other things I sometimes found between the rubble. Mai’Ri must have noticed my hesitation because her gaze stayed on me for a few moments before she wrapped her arms around An’Ri.

“Let her rest, she must be tired.”

“You too”, I said without thinking and almost regretted it instantly, but something in her eyes told me it’d been okay to say it before she turned away her gaze and took a sip of her tea.

An awkward silence filled the air, but it was still better than being alone, so I stayed. I hated being stuck in my flat with nothing to do that could distract me from the unwanted thoughts. I glanced at her, sitting with her back against the wall. But why did she stay? She must be as tired as I was?

It was getting late, and the sun was setting, slowly disappearing into the sea, when An’Ri reached through the gate and touched my arm.

“Fu’Ri…? Can I come and see the sunset?”

She pointed to the end of my balcony.

“Sure.”

I got up and watched with amusement as she leapt up and floated above the gate, just to land on the other side.

“You see, it is not useless”

She gave me a playful smile and ran ahead, and I followed her to the end of the balcony. I leaned on the balustrade, looking at the sea turning slowly pink.

“It looks different”

“It does”, I nodded, remembering the vivid violet colours the sunset in her world brought.

I shook my head, trying to disperse all those memories connected to that violet sunset, and involuntarily looked behind me. Mai’Ri stood on the other side of the gate, watching us, her tail flickering from side to side.

I hesitated for a moment before gesturing to her.

“Come if you want…”

She looked at me, trying to avoid my eyes, and then hesitantly leapt over the gate. I shivered for a moment, suddenly remembering how fast and agile they were. Another thing I hoped to forget. I looked away as she came and joined us, but I noticed how stiff her body became when she stood next to me.

I sighed and watched the last rays of the sun slowly disappear beneath the waves. Yeah, for good and bad, we weren’t that different…