Through the paper-thin wall, she heard an urgent whisper. ‘Lisa, wake up!’
‘Alexei! What are you doing here?’ Lisa seemed happier to be woken up by Alexei than she was by Natasha. She sounded honey-sweet. Natasha wondered if their voices would wake their grandparents but no, they continued sleeping, their breathing regular.
‘I can’t sleep,’ said Alexei.
‘I can’t sleep, either.’
‘That folding bed is so uncomfortable. And it’s cold in the kitchen. The window is open.’
‘Have you tried closing it?’
‘No, I thought I’d come here instead.’
‘So sleep here with me. I’ll keep you warm.’
‘Are you sure? What if your father finds out? He’ll kill us both.’ Lisa’s bed creaked once, and then again, as Alexei climbed in.
‘Who’s going to tell him?’ asked Lisa.
‘He’ll come into the kitchen in the morning and find my bed empty. What is he going to think?’
‘You’ll just have to wake up before him, won’t you?’
‘What about Natasha?’
‘She’s a sound sleeper. Besides, she’d never tell on me. She’s my sister.’
There was a moment of silence that lasted far too long. Were they kissing? Natasha felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment. Maybe she could go and sleep in the kitchen on Alexei’s folding bed. But that would mean admitting she had been awake all this time, listening in. And what would Father say if he found Natasha in the kitchen? Alexei and Lisa wouldn’t be the only ones he would kill.
A pitiful sound reached her, like a kitten meowing. Lisa was whimpering softly and blowing her nose. It had been years since Natasha had heard her sister cry.
‘Are you okay?’ asked Alexei. ‘Why are you crying? Do you want anything? What’s wrong?’
‘Everything,’ said Lisa. ‘Everything is wrong. What are we going to do?’
Natasha felt a wave of affection for her sister, who tried to comfort her and give her strength, even though she herself felt weak. Lisa was being so brave, and only now, in front of Alexei, did she show how she really felt. Natasha wanted to hug her sister, hold her in her arms and tell her everything was going to be alright. But Alexei was already doing that.
‘Please, don’t cry,’ he was whispering. ‘The most important thing is that we have each other.’
‘That’s all that matters to me, you know. That we are together. Nothing bad can happen to me while I’m with you. You’ll protect me, won’t you? From everything?’
‘Of course I will.’
His voice cracked, and Natasha knew instantly something was wrong. But Lisa didn’t seem to notice. ‘We’ll get married,’ she was saying, ‘and we’ll start a family. We’ll be so happy.’
‘I have to tell you something,’ said Alexei. All of a sudden, he sounded short of breath, as if he were walking fast up a steep mountain.
‘What?’ she prodded.
‘I’ve been thinking and thinking about it.’ He paused.
‘Tell me.’
‘I might have to go away for a little while.’
He waited for Lisa to reply but she was silent. The clock chimed three in the morning.
‘I can’t stay here and do nothing, Lisa. It’s war. I need to do my bit for our country. I keep hearing rumours about the partisans. I’m going to find them, make my way east, join the Red Army. Before you and I can be together, we need to beat the Nazis. You do understand, don’t you?’
‘No, I don’t understand,’ Lisa sobbed. ‘I don’t understand why you’d want to leave me.’
‘I don’t want to leave you. It’s the last thing I want. But how can we be happy while Hitler is in the Soviet Union? First we fight and then we build a life together. A happy, married life with children and grandchildren.’
‘Grandchildren? Really?’
‘I’m just thinking ahead. I love you, Lisa. I want to grow old with you. I want everything with you. But first, we fight. We can’t take this lying down. We can’t turn the other cheek.’ Alexei’s voice grew louder in the dark. ‘Before we can start our lives together, we fight and we beat this,’ he repeated.
‘If you leave, you’ll never come back. I can feel it! I’ll never see you again.’
‘Of course I’ll come back. How could I stay away?’ said Alexei. ‘How could I stay away from you?’ he added.
‘Don’t go!’ Lisa pleaded. ‘I don’t want you to go. I can’t imagine living without you.’
‘It’s only for a little while.’
‘I can’t imagine living without you even for a little while.’
‘And I couldn’t live with myself if I stayed here and did nothing. Even you wouldn’t respect me if I did.’
‘I just want you here with me. I want you safe. I love you.’
‘And I want to be with you. It’s all I’ve ever wanted. But we can’t be selfish, Lisa. Boys as young as fourteen are running away to enlist. To fight, to make a difference. How will it look if I do nothing? Please, try to understand.’
‘You would walk away from me, say goodbye and leave me in Kiev?’
‘What choice do I have?’
Lisa sobbed and said nothing.
‘Will you wait for me?’ asked Alexei.
‘What choice do I have?’ she replied, and Natasha heard heartbreak in her voice.
‘You could forget about me and marry someone else.’
‘Not if you marry me first.’
‘I’d marry you tomorrow if I could.’
They were silent for a while. Then Lisa said, ‘Do you remember the day we first met?’
‘When you refused to dance with me and pretended you already had a sweetheart? How could I forget?’
‘When you told me I was the most beautiful girl you’d ever seen. And I did dance with you eventually.’
‘Not before you made me beg for it.’
‘See, that’s why I could never marry anyone else. Who would put up with me?’
For a few minutes all Natasha could hear was Lisa’s sobbing and Alexei’s ‘sh-sh-sh’, like he was comforting a child. Then the sheets rustled, and suddenly Lisa was no longer crying. Alexei whispered, ‘Lisa, what are you doing?’
‘What does it look like I’m doing?’
‘Are you sure about this?’
‘Positive.’
‘I thought you wanted to wait till our wedding night?’
‘That was before.’
‘Before what?’
‘Germans