Page 40 (2/2)

They ate seven each Only small remainders were left of what used to be whole pieces of toasted bread Broken reetting your monthlies?"

"What?"

"Are you?" There was anxiety in Dasha’s voice and anxiety in Tatiana’s as she answered "No Why do you ask?"

"I’m not either"

"Oh"

Dasha was quiet The sisters breathed shallowly

"Are you worried, Dasha?" Tatiana said at last, with great reluctance

Dasha shook her head "I’lanced at Tatiana "Neverit That it just ceased to be"

"Don’t worry," said Tatiana, relieved and sad for her sister at the saain"

Dasha raised her eyes at Tatiana

Tatiana looked away

"Tania," Dasha whispered, "aren’t you feeling it? Like your whole body is just shutting down?" She started to cry "Shutting down, Tania!"

Tatiana hugged her sister "Dearest," she said " down, Dasha And you’re not either"

The girls were silent in the cold roo Tatiana back, Dasha said, "I want that senseless hunger back Re?"

"I remember"

"You don’t feel that anymore, do you?"

"No," adet it back When we start eating, it will all coht Tatiana came home with a pot of clear liquid they served in the hospital cafeteria There was one potato floating in it

"It’s chicken soup," Tatiana said to her family "With some ham hock"

"Where is the chicken? Where is the ham hock?" Maet this"

"Yes, Tanechka, you were Come, pour for us," Mama said

It tasted like hot water with a potato It had no salt, and it had no oil Tatiana divided it into five portions because Alexander was still away

"I hope Alexander comes back soon so we can have soood ration," said Dasha

I hope Alexander coht Tatiana I need to lay my eyes on him

"Look at us," said Mama "We’ve waited for this dinner since our one o’clock lunch But solass, the wounded We’re not helping All ant to do is eat"

"That’s exactly what the Germans want," said Tatiana "They want us to abandon our city, and we are ready to do it to have a potato"

"I can’t go out there," said Malared at Babushka, who sat quietly, chewed her bread, and said nothing

"We won’t go out there," said Tatiana "We will sit and work and sew But we are not abandoning our Leningrad No one is leaving here"

No one else spoke

When the air raid began, they all descended to the shelter, even Tatiana, who tripped over a woainst the wall and whom no one had bothered to move Tatiana sank down and waited out the darkness