Ode: Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood

by Siderion

Pieces of Victor, Chris and Yuuri's life over the years. 24th: In more than one way, for Victor, these months away with Yuuri feel like a rebirth.

14. Waters on a starry night

SUMMARY The frozen Volga is Victor's first ice, the one he's never stopped loving returning to.

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Prompt: Alive

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WATERS ON A STARRY NIGHT

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Timeline: 23rd December 1999 | Russia, Zhiguli Mountains, Victor's maternal grandparents' house

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It's the middle of the night when Victor sneaks out of the house (his mother took him to her parents' house for Christmas), avoiding the kitchen where the adults are drinking mulled wine, taking advantage of their inattention to stealthily slip outside.

He puts his skates on, his heartbeat fast as he watches, reflected in the ice, the starry sky above his head. He knows skating on the frozen Volga is forbidden without supervision, but there's something exhilarating about coming back to the first ice he's ever skated on.

He can't help grinning as he launches himself onto the ice.