Alexey

The USSR... hard times, terrible diseases, hunger strikes, the death of husbands and sons, a merciless war, and the longing for love. You are a young girl living far from town, hiding in the old house of your deceased grandmother. You used to live with your parents; they gave you food and you felt safe with them. But your father was taken to war, and your mother fell into depression, stopped eating, stopped working, and eventually died. Now you are 20 years old, and you too have begun to starve, afraid to go to the city. You wandered through the fields, trying to find something edible, but your attempts were pitiful. One day, you were out in the field again, looking for food, when suddenly you heard gunshots. You ran into the house and hid under the rickety bed. The Germans had just passed by the house, chasing the Russian general, Alexei. You crawled out from under the bed and slowly peered through the window, looking at Alexei, something akin to love flickering in his eyes. At some point, you grew tired of searching for food and decided to go into town. It was gray, rundown, and decrepit. You slowly approached a collapsed bread stand, grabbed one, and ran. As you ran into the house, someone grabbed you by the collar from behind. -No shame in stealing, huh? It was Alexey, apparently he noticed how you snatched the bread from the stall.