fantasy she would ever have.
She imagined herself lying on her back—very straight—with her legs open. Danya lay down on top of her. They reached the point of contact. And they both exploded. That was it. She wanted it so much, but at the same time she was so absolutely sure that she’d get it eventually, that it would happen, and that it would happen exactly like that, that she felt perfectly content.
The sound of a commotion in the bushes brought her back. The kids crowded by the blackberry bush, fighting each other to take a look at something.
“Hey! What are you doing there?” Inka yelled.
“A hedgehog, a hedgehog! We found a hedgehog!” the kids yelled back.
“Bring it here!”
Inka and Lena sat up to have a look. One of the kids, probably Sveta Kozlova, was holding it in the palms of her outstretched hands. Other kids followed her as if in a holy procession. Lena had never seen a hedgehog before. She was sure that seeing it now was somehow connected with Danya.
The hedgehog was curled up and trembling. It didn’t look like an animal at all, but rather like some alien creature—a spiky vibrating ball.
“I want to draw it,” Sasha Simonov said.
“No. Put it down,” Lena said.
“No! He’ll run away.”
“So he will. We can’t take him with us anyway. He’ll die of boredom and gloom.”
Inka looked at Lena as if she had gone crazy. She could have been right. But Sveta Kozlova took her words very seriously.
“Can you really die of that?”
“Hedgehogs can—they are less tolerant of depression than humans,” Sasha Simonov said. Sveta looked at Sasha with interest and put the hedgehog down. Apparently, she believed in such dangers. She was just a little girl, Lena thought. And Sasha was just a little boy. And Alesha. They were little kids, funny, helpless, naïve. For the first time since Lena started working at the camp, she felt something like affection for them.
First few seconds, the hedgehog didn’t move at all. But slowly, so very slowly, he began to unfurl. There was his little nose. Black, leathery, and wet. There were his tiny paws. They looked exactly like the paws of a rat or a mouse. Then they saw the tiny beads of his eyes. And then his tongue. Lena didn’t expect him to have a tongue! A tiny pink tongue, which he stuck out like a cat lapping up milk. And a second later the hedgehog was gone. It rustled through the grass and into the bushes.
Lena couldn’t wait until the second dance. She kept changing her shirt, unable to choose between the white and the blue, and applying and reapplying her lip gloss. She tried to imagine how Danya would look at her when he saw her at the dance. How he would smile at her, walk over, and put his hand on the small of her back. All without saying a word.
But as they were about to leave for the dance, Sveta Kozlova announced that she wasn’t going, and that was that. She refused to explain why. She insisted that she was staying and there was nothing Lena could do about it. Lena could’ve asked Inka to stay with Sveta, but Inka had already left.
“Sveta,” she pleaded, “Sveta, please.”
She said, “No way!”
“But why?”
“Because the music sucks.”
“Sveta, you’re not serious,” Lena said.
Sveta said, “Yes, I am.”
“Sveta, do you realize that I have to stay here with you if you stay?”
Sveta nodded with great enthusiasm. She was hopeless.
Lena just sat down on the steps. She sat like that in silence for a couple of minutes, and then something occurred to her. She said: “Sveta, do you remember that hedgehog we saw in the woods?”
Sveta nodded again.
“Sveta, I will die of boredom and gloom if you don’t let me go.”
Sveta stared at Lena, contemplating her words, and eventually she sighed and said that she’d go.
Lena squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
Lena saw Danya as soon as Sveta and she got up the steps to the dance floor. He was standing with other soldiers by the fence. He wasn’t looking
She imagined herself lying on her back—very straight—with her legs open. Danya lay down on top of her. They reached the point of contact. And they both exploded. That was it. She wanted it so much, but at the same time she was so absolutely sure that she’d get it eventually, that it would happen, and that it would happen exactly like that, that she felt perfectly content.
The sound of a commotion in the bushes brought her back. The kids crowded by the blackberry bush, fighting each other to take a look at something.
“Hey! What are you doing there?” Inka yelled.
“A hedgehog, a hedgehog! We found a hedgehog!” the kids yelled back.
“Bring it here!”
Inka and Lena sat up to have a look. One of the kids, probably Sveta Kozlova, was holding it in the palms of her outstretched hands. Other kids followed her as if in a holy procession. Lena had never seen a hedgehog before. She was sure that seeing it now was somehow connected with Danya.
The hedgehog was curled up and trembling. It didn’t look like an animal at all, but rather like some alien creature—a spiky vibrating ball.
“I want to draw it,” Sasha Simonov said.
“No. Put it down,” Lena said.
“No! He’ll run away.”
“So he will. We can’t take him with us anyway. He’ll die of boredom and gloom.”
Inka looked at Lena as if she had gone crazy. She could have been right. But Sveta Kozlova took her words very seriously.
“Can you really die of that?”
“Hedgehogs can—they are less tolerant of depression than humans,” Sasha Simonov said. Sveta looked at Sasha with interest and put the hedgehog down. Apparently, she believed in such dangers. She was just a little girl, Lena thought. And Sasha was just a little boy. And Alesha. They were little kids, funny, helpless, naïve. For the first time since Lena started working at the camp, she felt something like affection for them.
First few seconds, the hedgehog didn’t move at all. But slowly, so very slowly, he began to unfurl. There was his little nose. Black, leathery, and wet. There were his tiny paws. They looked exactly like the paws of a rat or a mouse. Then they saw the tiny beads of his eyes. And then his tongue. Lena didn’t expect him to have a tongue! A tiny pink tongue, which he stuck out like a cat lapping up milk. And a second later the hedgehog was gone. It rustled through the grass and into the bushes.
Lena couldn’t wait until the second dance. She kept changing her shirt, unable to choose between the white and the blue, and applying and reapplying her lip gloss. She tried to imagine how Danya would look at her when he saw her at the dance. How he would smile at her, walk over, and put his hand on the small of her back. All without saying a word.
But as they were about to leave for the dance, Sveta Kozlova announced that she wasn’t going, and that was that. She refused to explain why. She insisted that she was staying and there was nothing Lena could do about it. Lena could’ve asked Inka to stay with Sveta, but Inka had already left.
“Sveta,” she pleaded, “Sveta, please.”
She said, “No way!”
“But why?”
“Because the music sucks.”
“Sveta, you’re not serious,” Lena said.
Sveta said, “Yes, I am.”
“Sveta, do you realize that I have to stay here with you if you stay?”
Sveta nodded with great enthusiasm. She was hopeless.
Lena just sat down on the steps. She sat like that in silence for a couple of minutes, and then something occurred to her. She said: “Sveta, do you remember that hedgehog we saw in the woods?”
Sveta nodded again.
“Sveta, I will die of boredom and gloom if you don’t let me go.”
Sveta stared at Lena, contemplating her words, and eventually she sighed and said that she’d go.
Lena squeezed her hand. “Thank you.”
Lena saw Danya as soon as Sveta and she got up the steps to the dance floor. He was standing with other soldiers by the fence. He wasn’t looking
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