Kolya looked down, then went on. “We separated the pieces and hid them in different spots around the house and yard. I know they found a few things but not all of them.”
“Why haven’t you spoken of this before now?” Mama’s eyebrows arched high in disbelief.
“What would it have mattered? If they hadn’t found where it was hidden, it may as well stay there. Until now, I couldn’t get anywhere to sell it without arousing more suspicion.”
“Yes, of course,” Mama said. “And now, how do you feel about seeing if any of it is still there? Could you part with it?”
Winter had shown its cold face, and already they barely ate anything each day. Without help, they wouldn’t survive.
Kolya rubbed his rough knuckles against Halya’s translucent cheek. “Of course. The baubles are nothing to me. I will gladly trade them all for food for us.”
“We should parcel up the food we get and hide it back at your parents”， Kolya.” Katya spoke up as the idea occurred to her. “Like you said, they don’t look there anymore, because it’s abandoned. Everything will be safer there.”
Kolya’s parents’ farm had fallen to ruin. People weren’t allowed to chop down trees or gather wood from the forest anymore because the state owned the woods. If they picked up a stick or log or took anything from the forest, they were stealing from the state. With no other option for firewood, Kolya and Katya had already dismantled some of the outbuildings in the cover of night and hauled the wood back home to use. Weeds and overgrowth had taken over the yard that had once been filled with beautiful flowers. Considered abandoned, the state left it alone.
“That’s a brilliant idea.” He shot Katya a rare smile as he handed Halya to her grandmother. “We’ll have to hide it well enough that thieves can’t find it. I’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”
“I’m going, too,” Katya said. “I know the best foods to get for our trade, and I want to see this store.”
“Yes,” Mama agreed. “Two of you going will be safer than one.” She rested her hand gently on Katya’s face. “But you must be careful, daughter.” She didn’t say any more, but Katya could read the hidden message in her eyes. They’ve already taken one of my children. Don’t let them take another.
Katya walked silently through the snow over to Kolya’s old farm, steeling herself for the task ahead. She’d been there recently to help dismantle the barn for firewood, but she hadn’t made herself go inside since Kolya and Alina had moved back home. She would never overcome her aversion to that house.
Katya hesitated when they reached the door. The large wooden slab closed off the tiny house, a physical barrier between her and the memories inside. Now, as she stood there in front of it, her stomach rolled at the thought of entering. She took a step back.
“It’s fine, Katya,” Kolya said. “You can wait here. I’ll be only a minute.”
Grateful, she walked off to wait for him near the old barn site. She couldn’t even bear getting a glimpse of the interior. Squeezing her eyes shut, she instead thought about one of her favorite memories with Pavlo.
“Pavlo, wait for me!” She laughed as she chased him through the hay field.
“Come on, you’ve got to keep up,” he shouted back. His long legs carried him so far ahead that she lost sight of him, but she followed blindly anyway. She would follow Pavlo to the end of the earth if he asked.
When she finally reached him, he was sprawled under an old linden tree, his hands folded under his head, creating a pillow.
“Katya, come lie with me and watch the clouds pass us by.”
She sat down next to him, gasping for air. “All right, but I can’t stay long. I need to get back and help my father with the chores.”
Pavlo leaned up on one elbow and stared at her with a grin playing on his lips. “Do you realize how much you need me in your life? You would toil away all day without any fun if it weren’t for me. I balance you out to make you the well-rounded woman I’ve grown to love.”
“If you had your way, we would run around all day and get nothing done,” she laughed. That was far from the truth. Pavlo was one of the hardest working men she’d ever met.
“And if we lived your way,” he countered as he reached out and twirled a lock of loose hair around his finger, “we would work the days away to an early death and never enjoy life along the way. Admit it, you need me.”