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Ie, I knew enough to understand my fate The bodies of children who’d been in the system turned up only too often Every tiht a candle I could tell how s a candle burned in the sill

“I can’t even iine how hard thatmy arm

“There was nothing left of ht to a halfway house, a duht, I ran away”

She makes a small sound of distress “You ran away?”

“What else could I do?” I don’t give her the colorful details of the future that would’ve awaited me as a so-called system child

Staring at me in shock, she asks, “All alone?”

“I was fifteen, ”

She trails her fingertips over my forearm “How?”

Her intention is to provide comfort, but my body heats at the innocent touch Even the subject isn’t enough to turn h to secure a job as a delivery boy in a pharerous Delivery boys are often attacked, and the pharmaceuticals they transport stolen for the black ood at defending myself, and the head of the division took notice He favored h e of nineteen When I graduated, I landed a job in an oil company”

“What happened then?”

Many years of bitter deter, I watch her from over the rim as I drink my coffee “What do you want to know?”

“How did you end up as a powerful business es?”

I sround I can’t be an educated man?”

A flush darkens her cheeks “That’s not what I meant”

“It’s all right” I finish my coffee “You’re not the only one who’s asked ood invest for oil in an area of Siberia that ht held a lot of proe oil reserve That allowed me to start my own oil company and then branch out from there”

She regardsto speak all those foreign languages? Did you also go to language schools?”

“I’ve always enjoyed reading, and I pick up languages quickly A crash course usually does the trick”