Spring
"Natalya, Katyusha come in, it's getting dark!" A worried voice shouts. We sit, at the edge of the field, the wind blowing the dandelions, allowing Katyusha and me to dance along with their powdery seeds. "Can we come outside tomorrow Katyusha?!" I shout happily, falling onto the soft fresh ground.
"Of course little sister." She smiles, setting me behind her. She holds her arm in a piggy-back stance. I get on, and she takes us to the house, skipping as she went. I laugh, kicking my heels into her sides as if she were a real horse. She neighs, laughs escaping each breath as we gallop into our small cottage.
We are welcomed by the smell of hot soup bubbling away. She puts me down on one of our thick armchairs. Ivan hops up and down in front of mother holding a bowl, demanding food. He reminds me of the small birds me and Katyusha find. Small, begging and desperate. But sweet none the less.
I give him a smile, but he turns away, seemingly scared. For some reason, he's always terrified of me. I wonder why? Possibly because I'm adopted? He probably had all of Katyusha's attention back then. But she's mine now.
I turn to Katyusha who, is trying to press the flowers we picked in our father's bible. "Katyusha! You know very well you can't play with the Holy Book!" Mother barks, bringing down her ladle onto the table.
"Sorry Mother!" Katyusha squeals then goes up the stairs. I follow her, skipping a step each pace I take. I watch her take out an enormous book on Pushkin's poetry and delicately, place the flowers we found round the back pages, winking to me as she did so.
"What happens if Mother finds out?" I ask, the idea of her bringing her stormy wrath upon Katyusha's sorry head. "Mother never reads this book. She hates Pushkin's books, she says their terribly grim. She just keeps it here for the sake of it." She smiles and takes out our flowers, one by one before leaving them on the edge of our bedroom window to dry.
Giggling, we bounce back downstairs. Mother raises her eyebrow but makes no question, and ladles out helpings of soup for each of us. Predictably, Ivan gets the most, since the doctor requested a more nutritious diet, to tend for his malnourished bones.
We settle down to eat in front of a blazing fire, as we eat our delicious soup. It's my favourite, with mushroom and leek. To finish it, we eat lingonberries which Katyusha picked the other day.
"This is a good symbol for our health children." Mother smiles as she squeezes us into a warm and tender hug. I snuggle in between Katyusha and Ivan, hoping for the warmest part of Mother's body.
We spend half an hour, playing a small game involving dice, before Mother sends us to bed. I share a bed with Katyusha, a fact that makes me smile every time I'm forced to go to bed.
As Mother blows out our candle, Katyusha, pushes me towards her already growing chest and whispers, "I love you my small, lovely Natalya." I kiss her on the lips and ask, "Will you love me forever?" She squeezes my hand. "Of course."
"Promise?"
"Promise."