Illya had no cake on his eighth birthday. Soldiers had encircled the city, cutting off supplies from the outside world. Operation Barbarossa, the Nazis called it. All Illya knew was that it meant that he was hungry all the time.
A few days after his birthday, Illya's little sister, Masha, died. She'd been sick for days, and of course there was no medicine available. She got weaker and weaker, until finally one morning she didn't wake up. Her body joined those of countless others in one of the carriages rolling constantly through the city. There would be no grave, no marker, nothing to show that she'd ever existed at all.
The day Masha died was the day Illya saw the light go out of his mother's eyes. From that day forward, she went about her daily duties mechanically, hardly saying a word. The deep sorrow Illya saw in her eyes matched the aching emptiness he felt inside.
If only Papa were here! he told himself. But Papa was away, fighting in the war, and he, Illya, was now the man of the house at eight years old.
One day there was only a single piece of bread left.
"Eat it, Illya," Lidiya Kuryakin urged her son. "You have to stay strong and healthy for when Papa comes back from the war."
"No, Mama." Illya tore the piece of bread in half. "We will share as we always do."
"No." Lidiya was so weak that she could barely talk. "You are a growing boy, and you need the nutrients. If you do not eat the other half, it will go to waste, for I will not eat it."
"All right, Mama." Illya's voice quivered, and his guilt-ridden eyes never left his mother's face as he ate every crumb of the bread. Soon afterwards, he fell into an exhausted sleep.
All was quiet when Illya awoke the next morning. His stomach aching with hunger, he crept out of bed and went to see if his mother was all right.
Lidiya lay in bed pale and still. Gently Illya shook her arm. "Mama?"
There was no answer. Illya shook her arm more urgently next time. "Mama? Mama!"
By this time he was practically shouting. Still there was no response.
"Oh, Mama!" Big tears rolled down Illya's face as sobs wracked his body.
A/N: The Battle of Kiev lasted from August 23-September 26, 1941 and cost more than 600,000 lives.