Souvenirs from Kiev by Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger

Author:Chrystyna Lucyk-Berger [Lucyk-Berger, Chrystyna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Inktreks

Kulka stood under the awning of the Luts’k library, its Greek-styled facade strange to him because it was one of the last whole buildings in the city. His head was drenched, but the rest of him was dry beneath the oversized trench coat. It would do the trick. He shook the rain from his hair and took in the bustling market crowd. The people at the market were scrambling to trade for whatever scraps they could. The train station loomed in the background of the market pavilion. The church that flanked the entryway to the east had a gaping wound. Smoke rose from the contents still smoldering inside. He checked the streets once more, then stepped into the library. He’d been here many times before to deliver the bulletins and flyers he and Filipchuk had produced.

The main reading room was on the second level. In the silence, he realized he was stepping extra carefully, to not make any noise, but the hem of his trench coat whispered along the marbled floor. He approached the main desk. The woman behind it looked up from the book she was reading, smiled absent-mindedly, then looked again.

“You,” she said, just a hint of a smile.

He only knew her as the Librarian.

Kulka nodded and spoke the password. She inserted a piece of paper in the book, closed it, and rose. Nobody else was in the room that he could see. He followed her back down the stairs and to the area with all the offices. Her heels clicked and echoed along the corridor. Kulka admired her figure as she walked before him. She was in her twenties, slim, with dark lashes framed around intelligent brown eyes. She had a no-nonsense practical manner. And she was brave. Nobody—especially her—would ever know how he felt about her.

She stopped at one door and opened it. The Director, a man with thin whitened hair brushed over his balding head, looked up and removed his dark-rimmed spectacles. The Librarian nodded to the Director as she passed his desk. She fished out a key that hung between her blouse and her chest, and pulled the chain off over her head. She unlocked the door, the older gentleman now standing with them, and all three went inside.

Kulka saw crates, some with their lids removed and books inside. The gentleman wasted no time and retrieved one of those crates. Both he and the Librarian removed four layers of books, stacked thick. Below that was the bottom of the crate. Kulka glanced at them nervously as they stepped back. Where were the weapons? The ammunition?

The Director smiled and lifted the wooden bottom with a flourish. Beneath a thin layer of straw lay six rifles, hand grenades, and ammunition. Kulka grinned and undid the trench coat.

“Give me the first two and a couple of grenades,” he said.

The Director snorted. “You want to carry them out just like this? I thought you were coming with others.” He passed a hand over the storage room. “There’s at least fifteen, maybe twenty more boxes like this.

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