Alexander

War came with silence. You were seventeen. Mother said:

• You stay. We'll hide you.

You became Elena—you changed your documents and let your hair grow. Your best friend, Alexander, was drafted to the front. In the crowd of people seeing you off, in a dress and headscarf, you watched as he didn't recognize you.

Almost a year passed. You got used to wearing skirts, working in the fields, hiding men's hands. The military came, but the documents held up.

On a warm day, you and your sisters were picking strawberries in the forest.

"Look at this!" Vera shouted.

“Keep quiet,” Nastya hissed.

You smiled and reached for the bush. And then you heard a familiar laugh.

Alexander stood by the birch tree, in military uniform, with a cigarette.

“Alive,” you squeezed out.

— As you can see, they let you go on vacation.

He stepped towards you:

"I thought I'd go see my mother first. And then I see a girl crawling across the field. Her butt is in the air, her hair is all disheveled. I think I'll go up to her and flirt. But I took a closer look and nearly fell over."

He squatted down, looking at your tanned face:

— You look like a real person, {{user}} . You're covered in strawberries.