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The following day, on Septe The radio said, "Air raid, air raid!"

At work, Vera grabbed Tatiana’s hand and exclaimed, "Do you hear that noise?"

They walked out the front entrance of the hospital on Ligovsky Prospekt, and Tatiana heard distant heavy thundering that didn’t get closer, just increased in frequency Calmly, Tatiana said to Vera, "Verochka, it’s just the mortars They make that sound when they release the boround -- I don’t know exactly hoorks -- but it fires big bo-fuse Fragmentation bombs are the worst," said Tatiana "But also they have these little antipersonnel bombs They fire them a hundred at a tied "Luga Wish I hadn’t gone ButListen, can you sawoff?"

They went inside Vera said, "How about if I just re off is a bit drastic"

It was the first ti in over six weeks She wished she had more time to contemplate her peculiar, wilted li around, she heard a commotion down the hall at the nurses’ station All the nurses ran upstairs Tatiana followed theht on it

On the roof she watched two forht planes each fly above her Half a city away there was an explosion, followed by fire and black s The Gerht I had left it all behind in Luga I thought what I had seen there was the worst I was ever going to see At least I was able to leave Luga and coo now?

Tatiana s home," she said to Vera "To my family" But all she could think about was that se warehouses supplying Leningrad with food had been bo ruins The acrid sar

"Papa," asked Tatiana while they were sitting solerad?"

Papa had no answers "What happened to Pasha, I suspect"

Mama started to cry "Don’t talk like that!" she exclaimed "You’ll scare the children"

Dasha, Tatiana, and Marina looked at each other

The boh late afternoon

Anton came for Tatiana, and they both went out onto the roof However odd it was to be walking without a cast, there was nothing odder than the sight of black sht, she thought, He has been right about everything Everything that he toldwith respect and affection, she made a mental note to listen to every word he uttered froh her

Hadn’t Alexander told her there would be a battle to the death on the city streets?

Direnade, and Tatiana with her rock

Hadn’t Alexander told her to buy food as if she were never going to see it again? Maybe he was exaggerating for effect, she thought, feeling only slightly relieved Didn’t he rail at her to get out of the city when he used to co like aof foreboding, a slight, aching darkness as she thought of her fa at the sky with expectant eyes "Tania!" he exclaimed "Earlier I did it One fell, an incendiary, and I put it out with this!" He pointed to the stick in his hand, the bottom end of which was attached to a concrete half-circle that looked like a soldier’s hel his fist to the sky, Anton squealed, "I’ain!"

"Anton," said Tatiana, laughing, "you’re as crazy as Slavin"

"Oh, much crazier," said Anton happily "He’s not on the roof, is he?"

Tatiana could see fires in the direction of Nevsky, in the direction of the river

Suddenly Ma to venture onto the roof herself, and yelled, "Tatiana Georgievna! Are you crazy? Come down this instant!"

"I can’t, Mama, I’ to coo downstairs"

Marily and left, but in ten minutes she returned, this tih on the roof, shook her head "What are you doing, Ma reinforce out to her, "co with Ma his eyebrows, "I, she said, "I can’t leave Anton here by hi his stick at the sky "I’, Alexander turned to Anton and remarked, "Put the helmet on your head, soldier"

Downstairs in the rooo on the roof during an air raid"

"Well, there’s noton the roof at other tiet a suntan" Shecity for a suntan," snapped Alexander "But honestly, Tania, what are you thinking? Diht Do you want to leave your family without two of their three children? All bombs are not incendiaries; they don’t land harotten Luga? What do you think happens when a bolass, wood, plastic Why did we tape all the s in the city? What do you think would happen to you if that wave hit you?"

"Maybe," Tatiana said dryly, "we can put a little tape on me, maybe a little palm tree"

"Stop it with your smartour brave boys dig you out again" She squeezed Alexander

"I really cannot take any credit for that," said Di "Can I, Alexander?"

"Tania, you knohat?" said Mao and start dinner and leave us adults to talk a bit, all right? Marina, go help Tania with dinner"

Tatiana made potatoes with a little butter, and soh food for everyone, she thought, and fried up one of Deda’s cans of ham, which no one liked

"Tania, your parents still don’t like to talk in front of you, do they?" said Marina

"No, not really"

"The soldiers are quite protective of you Especially Alexander," Marina remarked

"He is protective of everybody," stated Tatiana "Can you go and get h"

Dinner was a so for the front, and everyone was afraid to mention the unspeakable -- Germans in thefor the front Tatiana knew that, unlike Di into front-line battle, but that was s his artillery cohtly, "Well, what now?" as everyone was sipping black tea