“Hey, comrade, did you hear?”
“Yeah. That boss with a, you know, thing for women—he turned up dead.”
“I hear a Janitor laid down the distraction.”
“Sounds like someone’s gonna die again.”
✦ ✦ ✦
Sometimes I remember a story from long ago. I think it was just after Mariya had started her telegraphy business and begun acting as my go-between. That was back when I was racing pell-mell around back alleys. Hey, I needed money.
I needed way more money than I’d had before, to keep seeing Stasia.
“—I knew it.” That’s what Nora had said. “Danya, you can’t let Stasia and Mariya handle everything.”
“—What should I do when a girl my own age says she wants to go cyborg?” That was Valery’s voice.
They thought I was just lounging on the sofa and that I couldn’t hear them.
Well, that’s not quite true. Back then, I could hear them, but I wasn’t listening.
I would collapse on the sofa in exhaustion, not even sure myself whether I was awake or asleep. Sound could come into my ears, but I didn’t really perceive it as words. Things you’d think I would remember would disappear completely from my mind. But then, weirdly, they would suddenly pop back up later on.
It was like when you moved the furniture a bit and discovered some candy you’d dropped down there years ago. You think to yourself, So that’s where it was, but now it’s all covered in dirt—it’s too late for that candy.
“—I mean, you’d definitely get mad, Danya, and Stasia would cry, and Mariya, she’s just a blizzard.”
“—…I’ll tell her not to, since she doesn’t want her big brother to hit her.”
The way Valery said it, though, was quiet and unconvincing; it didn’t sound like he was telling anyone not to do anything.
“—But I’m also going to tell her that I plan to get a used car and help out.”
“—Um… Thanks. Sorry. I know it’s a weird question.”
“—No, hey, it’s cool. Gotta do what you gotta do.”
I wonder what would have happened if I’d jumped up and smacked her at that moment. Guess there’s no point thinking about it.
I guess a little smack wouldn’t have been enough to get either my brother or my sister to change their minds. They were my siblings, after all.
What could I have done? I wonder. I did what I could do, and this is the result.
For the time being, there was— What had Vrach said? Nora’s batteries.
I had to buy Nora new batteries. Top-of-the-line stuff, built in Chiba…
“Argh! Are you even listening to me, Danya?!”
My mind, which had been floating gently in the sky, was dragged back to earth—or rather, to the bed—by Stasia. I guess, with the soft mattress and sheets, I might as well have been in the sky. And with Stasia right there, I could just as well have been dreaming.
Even if she was puffing out her cheeks to demonstrate how annoyed she was with me.
“I told you, you have to be careful! And here you go again…!”
She leaned over and planted her hands on top of me.
✦ ✦ ✦
Gazing at the valley before me—which I could see even through her clothes—I replied earnestly, “It’s just a sprain.”
“Maybe so, but an injury is an injury!” Stasia said, and flicked my nose with a finger. If that was meant to be punishment, I would take it. “For today, I want you to lie here! I’ll make your meals. No kisses and no…anything else!”
It would be bad for my foot, she insisted. That was just like her.
I gave her a stricken look. “None at all? Don’t you think that’s going a little far?!”
Her answer gave me no relief. “The doctor said the same thing. You go too easy on those men, he said!” Then she slid back away from me, escaping; she left behind only the drifting aroma of soap and a faint warmth I could still feel above me.
“So I ought to be at least this hard on you, right, Danya?” She looked satisfied with her choice.
“Tsk,” I grunted. I knew once she had made up her mind there would be no persuading her. I could beg and plead, but she wouldn’t listen. So of course I pouted a little.
What would you do, if you’d spent days running all over creation only to be punished at the end of it?
Okay, obviously I knew that it was my own fault. I could never get away with acting like this in front of my brother or sisters. It was just for Stasia. And Stasia knew—she saw right through me.
As she headed for the kitchen, she turned and winked mischievously, her eyes shining like stars. “I’ll make it up to you next time. Okay?”
“…” I focused my thoughts even more intently than I had when faced with GRU and offered my galaxy-brain response: “If you were on top of me, then I wouldn’t have to move, right…?”
“Nyet!”