The Memory Keeper of Kyiv (69)

“She will survive this, Alina,” Katya said into the cold night. “No matter what I have to do. I swear it.”

She closed her eyes and imagined Halya, grown up and beautiful with dark hair and flashing blue eyes like Alina. Katya sighed as she tucked the pencil inside her journal, then she wrapped her arms around Halya and slept.





“I have good news,” Kolya announced one evening when he came home from the village.

As always, he went straight to Halya and scooped her into his arms. She giggled as he nuzzled his face into her cheek and tickled her. A surprising surge of affection rose up in Katya as she saw the love shining on his face for his daughter.

He tucked Halya against his chest and went on. “They’ve opened a Torgsin store in the next town over. We can bring any gold or jewelry we have there and trade it for food.”

“How is this good?” Katya set a bowl of watery potato soup on the table and put her hands on her hips. She’d snuck back to another potato field early that morning, thankfully without running into any other angry activists. “We don’t have any gold or jewelry to trade. They’ve already taken everything.”

“That’s not true. I still have my grandmother’s ring.” Mama went to her bed and dug into her pillow, searching for the hidden ring. She held it up, admiring the glittery red stone set on a thin band of gold. “It will do me no good if we’re all dead. Our lives are more important than jewelry.”

Katya frowned. “How can they offer food for the very things they have said we should not possess? What if it’s a trap?”

Kolya shook his head. “This is their way of ensuring they own every last one of our precious items. They won’t have to come searching for it. We’ll deliver it to them.”

Mama slipped the ring off and set it on the table. “I thought I’d seen everything, but apparently there is no end to their deception.”

“I may have some more things to trade,” Kolya said.

Katya looked at him in surprise. “What do you have?”

“There are some things hidden at my parents’ house. Nobody’s been living there for some time, so it hasn’t been searched recently. My mother had some jewelry that she always kept tucked away. When the activists first started in with their raids, she had Pavlo…” He trailed off as he glanced at Katya.

She tried to keep her face blank so Kolya wouldn’t see the pain that shot through her whenever she heard his name. After all this time, his death still hurt as if it had happened yesterday. Kolya stared at her as if he could read her mind, and she pushed her feelings back down where they lived in a tight knot in her gut.

“It’s fine. You don’t have to be afraid to say his name.”

Kolya looked down, then went on. “We separated the pieces and hid them in different spots around the house and yard. I know they found a few things but not all of them.”

“Why haven’t you spoken of this before now?” Mama’s eyebrows arched high in disbelief.

“What would it have mattered? If they hadn’t found where it was hidden, it may as well stay there. Until now, I couldn’t get anywhere to sell it without arousing more suspicion.”

“Yes, of course,” Mama said. “And now, how do you feel about seeing if any of it is still there? Could you part with it?”

Winter had shown its cold face, and already they barely ate anything each day. Without help, they wouldn’t survive.

Kolya rubbed his rough knuckles against Halya’s translucent cheek. “Of course. The baubles are nothing to me. I will gladly trade them all for food for us.”

“We should parcel up the food we get and hide it back at your parents”, Kolya.” Katya spoke up as the idea occurred to her. “Like you said, they don’t look there anymore, because it’s abandoned. Everything will be safer there.”

Kolya’s parents’ farm had fallen to ruin. People weren’t allowed to chop down trees or gather wood from the forest anymore because the state owned the woods. If they picked up a stick or log or took anything from the forest, they were stealing from the state. With no other option for firewood, Kolya and Katya had already dismantled some of the outbuildings in the cover of night and hauled the wood back home to use. Weeds and overgrowth had taken over the yard that had once been filled with beautiful flowers. Considered abandoned, the state left it alone.

“That’s a brilliant idea.” He shot Katya a rare smile as he handed Halya to her grandmother. “We’ll have to hide it well enough that thieves can’t find it. I’ll leave first thing tomorrow morning.”

“I’m going, too,” Katya said. “I know the best foods to get for our trade, and I want to see this store.”

“Yes,” Mama agreed. “Two of you going will be safer than one.” She rested her hand gently on Katya’s face. “But you must be careful, daughter.” She didn’t say any more, but Katya could read the hidden message in her eyes. They’ve already taken one of my children. Don’t let them take another.





Katya walked silently through the snow over to Kolya’s old farm, steeling herself for the task ahead. She’d been there recently to help dismantle the barn for firewood, but she hadn’t made herself go inside since Kolya and Alina had moved back home. She would never overcome her aversion to that house.