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“Corandood to be late ”

Vera can see that her oes to her grandchildren and kneels down, taking the them

“Don’t cry, Baba,” Leo says “You can ith us tomorrow ”

Across the rooa bursts into tears and tries i now, Mama ”

Maood,” is the last thing she says to her grandchildren She hands Vera one hundred rubles “It is all we have left I’m sorry”

Vera nods and hugs her o, children ”

It is a beautiful sunny day The six of the as they can; Ma toward the Badayev food warehouses where they both work; Olga leaves next She hugs her niece and nephew fiercely and tries to hide her tears and she runs toward her trolley stop

Now it is just Vera and her children, walking down the busy street All around her, trenches are being dug, shelters are being built They stop in the Suone froed There are no children playing here today, no bicycle rings bleating out

Shtly, Vera takes her children by the hands and leads them to a part of the city where they have never been

Inside the building that they enter there is pandeh the hall in every direction, flowing away from desks overrun with paperwork,with dour, disappointed faces

Vera knows they should go directly into the first processing queue and wait their turn, but suddenly she is not as strong as she needs to be Taking a deep breath, she takes her children to a corner It is not quiet here—the sounds of people are everywhere—footsteps, crying, sneezing, begging The whole place smells of body odor and onions and cured meat

Vera kneels down

Anya is frowning “It smells in here, Mama ”

“Co his bunny

“Do you remember, when Papa went off to join the Peoples’ Volunteer Ar?”