The Girl From Moscow by Julia Levitina

Author:Julia Levitina
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pantera Press
Published: 2024-04-15T00:00:00+00:00

33

The night air at Minsk central station smelled of linden trees in bloom. Ella clambered down the steps onto the platform. Black tea with lemon had worked wonders and cured her upset stomach. The pains in her belly had vanished, leaving her light-headed but otherwise fine. Reaching Brest no longer felt impossible, just the next stop on their way to Warsaw. Four hours to go.

She leaned against the warm wall of their train carriage. Not far off, Ilya and Dmitri wandered along the platform towards a few women who were selling boiled potatoes and pickles.

The conductor peered at her. ‘Feeling better?’

Ella shrugged. ‘Food poisoning.’

The woman raised an eyebrow. Then Dmitri materialised in front of them with a soaked-through newspaper funnel full of apples. ‘Want one? They’re pickled.’

The vinegary aroma tickled Ella’s nostrils. Inside her everything trembled, but she kept her face blank. She accepted his offer of an apple.

‘How’re you feeling?’ he asked.

She sank her teeth into the salty-sweet apple pulp. ‘All good, thank you, Dmitri. Yourself?’

He scowled and tilted his head. She strolled down the platform to join Ilya. Her pain had subsided, and the spicy taste of fruit cheered her up. She took Ilya’s hand. More than anything else she dreaded letting him down. He loved her even though she was pregnant with Roman’s child. And he was leaving behind his own son, maybe forever. She owed Ilya their chance at freedom.

‘Five minutes to departure,’ the conductor called out.

Ella kissed Ilya’s cheek. The fresh air had revived her. Her future with Ilya and the baby in faraway Australia gleamed on the horizon.

*

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