But Wasn't There Some Sort

Andrius Turned. His Eyes Found Mine. I'll See You He Said. My Face Didn't Wrinkle. I Didn't Utter A Sound. But For The First Time In Months I Cried. Tears Popped From Their Dry Sockets And Sailed Down My Cheeks In One Quick Stream. I Looked Away. The Nkvd Called The Bald Man's Name. Look At Me Wispered Andrius Moving Close. I'll See You He Said. Just Think About That. Just Think About Me Bringing You Your Drawings. Picture It Because I'll Be There.

Good Men Are Often More Practical Than Pretty " Said Mother. "andrius Just Happens To Be Both.

One Day When I Was Fourteen, I Told Charlie That I Hated Mother. “don’t Hate Her, Jo,” He Told Me. “feel Sorry For Her. She’s Not Near As Smart As You. She Wasn’t Born With Your Compass, So She Wanders Around, Bumping Into All Sorts Of Walls. That’s Sad.” I Understood What He Meant, And It Made Me See Mother Differently. But Wasn’t There Some Sort Of Rule That Said Parents Had To Be Smarter Than Their Kids? It Didn’t Seem Fair.

My Art Teacher Had Said That If You Breathed Deeply And Imagined Something, You Could Be There. You Could See It, Feel It. During Our Standoffs With The Nkvd, I Learned To Do That. I Clung To My Rusted Dreams During The Times Of Silence. It Was At Gunpoint That I Fell Into Every Hope And Allowed Myself To Wish From The Deepest Part Of My Heart. Komorov Thought He Was Torturing Us. But We Were Escaping Into A Stillness Within Ourselves. We Found Strength There.

He Threw His Burning Cigarette Onto Our Clean Living Room Floor And Ground It Into The Wood With His Boot. We Were About To Become Cigarettes.