Natalia woke up feeling sore, tired and in pain. She opened her eyes to a dark room. Her muscles tensed at the unfamiliarity. She slightly relaxed when she vaguely recognized the shape of the furniture. She pulled herself to her feet using a heavy chair to help support her weight. She staggered from there to the wall. After blindly searching she found one of the heavy curtains and threw it open. The sudden red light of the setting sun hurt her eyes and she had to shield them until they adjusted.

Had she fallen asleep here? It was hard to believe she would have done something so dumb. She rubbed her neck without thinking about it. At least this meant that she would not have to go to school today. She had already slept through it. Natalia yawned. After sleeping all day she should not be as exhausted as she currently felt.

She turned and slowly walked down the hallway, completely ignoring her lunch pail. She passed the door leading back down stairs. Right now she did not think she could navigate down and up through the window. Natalia kept going to the doors at the far end. She hoped it was the right general direction of the main entrance. The door was not locked, but it was stuck. It took all of her strength to get it open. She staggered into a large room that must have been used for receiving visitors to this manor. Right now Natalia was not in any state to appreciate its dilapidated grandeur. Natalia went for the front door. It was slightly ajar. It took surprisingly little work to get them open a little more and slide through them.

From the shadows a lone person watched Natalia leave.

Natalia had found the gate unlocked. She only thought about it enough to be grateful that she would not need to climb over it again to get out. She turned down the street and headed toward home.

There was light coming from the window of the house. She could smell her sister's simple, but delicious cooking. Natalia knocked on the door. Katyusha threw open the door.

"Natalia, what happened to you? Your dress! Where is your lunch pail?" She pulled her younger sister inside the house and began looking her over.

Natalia mumbled something about doing stuff with other girls from school. She was too tired to put much work into her lies.

"Did you hear that, Ivan? Little Natasha made friends and was spending time with them!" Katyusha pulled Natalia into a big hug, almost suffocating her against the large breasts.

Ivan got up from the wooden chair he had been sitting in at the kitchen table. He had a tired smile. He placed his hand on his little sister's head as he said "I am happy for you. You should have many friends."

Natalia gave that happy smile she only ever gave her big brother when he paid attention to her. He was always at the factory. When their parents had died Natalia had been just a baby. Katyusha had to start finding work almost immediately. So while Katyusha would have been away all day, Ivan would be taking care of the younger child. This lasted until Natalia was old enough to be left alone. Then he had started working in the factory. Secretly, Natalia wished they would forget about sending her to that dumb school.

"Thank you, big brother," she said softly, even demurely. Then Natalia yawned.

"Are you alright?" Katyusha asked.

"You should get some rest. Being overtired is not good."

"Just leave your dress out and I will repair it tonight."

Natalia just nodded at both of them, she was so tired that she did not even feel hungry. She walked to the room that the three of them shared. It was all she could manage to change out of her clothing and into the nightdress that her sister had made for her. The clothing she had been wearing was unceremoniously dropped onto a crudely built chest. She rubbed her neck as she lay down in the bed. It was really starting to bother her.

Sleep began to close in around her. They were haunted by pink shadows and a pain in her neck.