| General Fiction posted February 5, 2023 |
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The meeting
A Baby Soldier Memoir/ 7
by John Ciarmello
Prologue Entry 6 / Novgorod orphanage 1934
Dimitri nudged Lev. “Hey, did that girl just come out of the boy’s changing closet?”
“Yeah, I thought I saw that too. I wonder what she was doing in there?”
“Not sure,” Dimitri studied her as she sat on a cot across the room. “I’ve never seen her before.”
Lev shot her a glance and then turned his attention to Dimitri. “Is she looking at us?”
“Yeah, big time!”
“Do you think she’s okay? Maybe she needs our help or something?”
“Nah, if I had to guess, I’d say she’s an orphan whore looking for a…”
“Dimitriiii?”
“What? Why don’t you go ask her, then?”
“Maybe I will. Her reason has to be more logical than yours.”
“Huh, I doubt it.”
“It never ceases to amaze me how you can entertain yourself so easily.” Lev started across the room.
Dimitri cupped his mouth. “Let me know if I’m right—maybe we can split her cost,” he yelled.
Lev glanced back disdainfully and stood in front of the cot. “Sorry about my friend.”
Zora tugged on her earlobes.
Lev nodded and sat on the cot beside her. “How long have you been deaf?” he signed.
“Since birth. And you can tell your friend I’m not an orphan whore. And if I were, I’d be way out of his league.”
“Cool, you read lips too.”
“Proficiently,” she mouthed.
Lev pointed to the other side of the room. “So you don’t go in there again–that changing closet you came out of is for boys only.”
“Yes, I figured that out after it was too late.”
Lev paused and stared at her for a second. “You act much older than you look.”
“Do I?” Zora sank her arms into her lap and looked away from Lev.
He tapped her on the arm. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“It’s okay. I lived on the streets for a long time. I guess I had to grow up fast.”
“Yeah, I guess we all had to.”
Zora glanced at the scars on Lev’s arms.
Lev twisted them back and forth in front of her. “Pretty cool, huh? They’re burn scars. I got caught in a prison fire in Mohziak.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the last thing I remember is part of the burning ceiling crashing around me, and then the next thing I knew, I was waking up in First State Medical.”
Zora lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry that happened, Lev.”
Lev waved his hand in front of her eyes to regain her attention. “How did you know my name?” he signed.
Novgorod orphanage / 1934 / Entry 7
Dimitri yelled from across the room. “Well, was I right? She’s an orphan whore, right?”
Lev stood and faced Dimitri’s direction. “She’s not a—”
Zora grabbed the bend in Lev’s arm. “He’s still on the orphan whore, kick, isn’t he? Would you mind if I had a little fun with your friend?”
“Fun? I–guess so. You’re not an orphan whore, though, right?” he signed.
“Right! But you’re going to tell—what’s your friend's name?”
“Dimitri.”
"—Dimitri, that I am. Here’s the plan.”
Lev returned and leaned palms down on the table across from Dimitri.
“Well! Lev, why are you just staring at me? Spill it! Is she, or isn’t she, an orphan whore?”
“Yep, you were right. The sad part is she doesn’t want me. She wants you!”
“Well, that’s not surprising,” Dimitri said under his breath and then slammed his palm down on the table. “Damn! I knew she was a whore!” He blurted.
“Don’t look so proud of yourself yet, Dimitri. She wants to chat with you first.” Lev reached into a top drawer of a nearby cabinet and pushed the contents around. “Here.”
“What’s this for?”
“What’s it look like it’s for?”
“Now, why in the hell would I need a pencil and notepad?” Dimitri paused. “Ahh, you want me to write down all the dirty details for you, right?”
“Yeah, well, as amusingly disgusting as that idea sounds. I’ll pass!”
“Then why the paper and pencil?”
“Because she’s deaf.”
“Deaf! What do you mean she’s deaf!?”
“She can’t hear, Dimitri!”
“I know what the word means, Lev. It’s just that—”
“What–what’s bothering you about her being deaf?”
“It's just—”
“What, It’s just what, Dimitri?”
“Well, what about my sounds of climax? My Neanderthal grunts of primal ecstasy? It’s all going to fall on deaf ears?” Dimitri pulled a chair close to Lev and sat down. “What if she has to give me sexual direction?” he whispered. “This friggin’ pad and pencil won’t do jack-shit!”
“Sexual direction?”
Dimitri grabbed Lev's shoulder and glanced around. “Shh, not so loud. Do you want the world to know my business?
Lev stared wearily at Dimitri. “What sort of sexual direction?”
“You know--in, out, up, down, left, right.”
Lev rubbed his face hard in his palms. “What’re you talking about?”
“I’m sorry—I’m just a little weirded out about doing it with a deaf girl.” Dimitri leaned in closer. “So, do you remember the story I told you about my girlfriend’s doll? How I wanted to practice before I had real sex with her for the first time?”
“Okay, look, that story traumatized me, Dimitri.”
"I know, but I wonder if having sex with a deaf person will be like that?”
“Dimitri, for Cryin’ out loud, she’s a human being. She isn’t stuffed with cotton! Besides, if she lays there like a Raggedy Ann doll, that’s on you!”
“Yeah, speaking of that—” Dimitri flopped back in his chair and wrung his hands. “---I have a confession to make.”
“Dimitri, are you okay? All the color just washed out of your face.”
“It was Raggedy Andy,” Dimitri muttered.
“What was that?” Lev playfully cupped his ear and smirked.
Dimitri sighed. “You heard me! It was Andy, Raggedy friggin’ Andy! I could never tell the difference between those stupid dolls, and I just grabbed one off my girlfriend’s bed before I lost the mood. After I was done, I noticed the damn doll had pants on, not a dress!”
Lev scowled. “And that’s the only thing that bothered you about screwing your girlfriend’s doll?”
“Yeah! You talk about traumatizing. I went a solid two weeks thinking I was gay!”
“Dimitri, I can’t listen to any more of this.”
“No, hear me out. You’ll be proud of me. Anyway, I finally realized where I went wrong.”
“Oh, well, that’s a plus.”
“Yeah, I was hasty! I was much more careful to grab the right doll the second time. Let me tell you!” Dimitri paused for a few seconds in thought. “Wait, Lev, what part of that story was supposed to help me again?”
“NONE OF IT!” Lev buried his face in his hands and shooed Dimitri with a dismissive hand.
“But–”
“Just go over and talk to her and let my brain heal.”
“But–”
“Go, Dimitri, before I throw up.”
“Alright, alright, I’m going, I’m going!”
****
“You’ve been over there forever. What were you guys talking about?”
“She’s a total freak, Lev.” Dimitri fumbled through the pages of the notepad. “Look, look what she wrote here!”
Lev took the notepad. ‘I like my men—’
“Shh, don’t read it so loud. It’s weird and kinky.”
‘---I like my men to smell manly. Swaddle yourself in a heavy blanket and sit near the heater for one hour, then do a hundred jumping jacks and 50 pushups. The more manly you smell, the less I charge. I’ll be waiting!’
Lev turned his smirk away from Dimitri and pretended to thumb through the scribbled pages of the notepad. “So, what’re you going to do?”
Dimitri craned his neck above the rows of cots and caught Zora’s gaze from across the room. He shrank down into his chair. “I’m going to run like a hunted rabbit; that’s what I’m going to do!” Dimitri’s tone turned sarcastic. “She wants me to smell manly. I mean, what is that shit all about, right?” Dimitri dragged the notepad across the table with the palm of his hand and then flipped through the pages. His finger followed along the words as he read aloud. ‘The more manly you smell, the less I charge.’ “I should be telling her what I’ll pay!”
Lev leaned into Dimitri and took a few short sniffs. “I wouldn’t worry about having to pay her.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you smell like a seeping carton of sour milk already. If I had to guess, I’d say she’ll end up owing you money.”
“Ya know—your attitude disappoints me, Lev. You’re lucky I love you like a brother.”
“Yeah, ditto.” Lev tucked his feet under his blanket and gave his pillow a few short punches. “Anyway, it’s after 1 a.m. “I need to get some sleep.”
****
Dimitri rolled onto his back and listened to the voices outside the secured door a few feet away. He nudged Lev with his fist.
“What? Huh!” Lev turned his confused gaze to Dimitri. “What, what’s going on?”
“Shh! Listen.”
Lev squinted at the clock on the wall. “What could you possibly want me to listen to at 3:00 a.m.”
“Shh! Do you hear them?”
Lev rolled over. “ Yeah, it’s probably a bunch of kids just hanging out.”
“No, it’s more than that, Lev. I think they're after me.”
“What’re you talking about? Who’s after you?”
Dimitri swung his legs over the cot's edge. “Do you remember when the faculty told us that Francis had been moved to another orphanage?”
“Yeah?”
“Not true.”
“What do you mean, not true?”
“I mean, he wasn’t moved. He was taken.”
“Taken? Dimitri, are you sure?”
“Oh, I’ve never been surer about anything in my life.”
“That’s crazy! Why didn’t you report this?”
“I was scared.”
“Dimitri, he’s our friend. We had the pact to protect one another.”
“I know—but—”
“This isn’t like you! You’re braver than this!—what aren’t you telling me?” Lev glared at Dimitri. “Don’t clam up on me now. Tell me.”
“It was an inside job.”
“How do you know that?”
“I saw her.”
“Who?”
“Lubora.”
“Lubora! The receptionist?”
“Yes, her! That morning about three weeks ago, when we woke up, and Francis was gone.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well, she came and took him out of bed in the middle of the night.”
“Yeah, that is weird. But still, you should’ve—”
“I followed them, Lev. She took him to the loading dock exit but not before she cuffed and gagged him. After I saw that, I ran back here and looked out the window. I saw two men driving away in a white van.”
“You think Francis was with them?”
“I know he was.”
“How?”
“You know Francis. He’s a survivor. Somehow he managed to kick the rear doors open and roll out of the van.”
“He’s alive then! He’s on the run, right?!”
Dimitri lowered his gaze.
“Dimitri! Tell me! What happened to him.”
“He was limping when he got up, so it didn’t take them long to catch him.”
“And?”
Dimitri looked at Lev, and tears puddled in the corners of his eyes.
“Are you saying they—why would they have killed him, Dimitri?”
“The minute he escaped from that van. He was of no use to them.”
“What do you mean?”
“He became a flight risk for them, a threat to their operation.”
“How do you know this stuff, Dimitri?”
“I was kidnapped and sold into slave labor to a rich family in Kalininsk. I slept and ate my meals in an entry closet. Their daughter took a liking to me, and we had a secret relationship. At twelve, we both thought it was exciting to sneak around.”
“But you got away. Did she help you escape?”
Dimitri nodded. “Her name was Alina.”
“I’m sure you’ll never forget her.”
“Yeah, she took a big risk for me.” Dimitri looked back at the secured door. “I don’t think she knew—how big.”
Lev sat on Dimitri’s cot and put an arm around his shoulders. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that, Dimitri.”
“Yeah, me too, but there’s more.”
Lev sniffed and wiped his eyes on his shirt sleeve. “What else could there be?”
“They saw me in the window, Lev. One of the men pointed at me and ran his finger across his throat. They know I’m here.”
To be continued:
Prologue Entry 6 / Novgorod orphanage 1934
Dimitri nudged Lev. “Hey, did that girl just come out of the boy’s changing closet?”
“Yeah, I thought I saw that too. I wonder what she was doing in there?”
“Not sure,” Dimitri studied her as she sat on a cot across the room. “I’ve never seen her before.”
Lev shot her a glance and then turned his attention to Dimitri. “Is she looking at us?”
“Yeah, big time!”
“Do you think she’s okay? Maybe she needs our help or something?”
“Nah, if I had to guess, I’d say she’s an orphan whore looking for a…”
“Dimitriiii?”
“What? Why don’t you go ask her, then?”
“Maybe I will. Her reason has to be more logical than yours.”
“Huh, I doubt it.”
“It never ceases to amaze me how you can entertain yourself so easily.” Lev started across the room.
Dimitri cupped his mouth. “Let me know if I’m right—maybe we can split her cost,” he yelled.
Lev glanced back disdainfully and stood in front of the cot. “Sorry about my friend.”
Zora tugged on her earlobes.
Lev nodded and sat on the cot beside her. “How long have you been deaf?” he signed.
“Since birth. And you can tell your friend I’m not an orphan whore. And if I were, I’d be way out of his league.”
“Cool, you read lips too.”
“Proficiently,” she mouthed.
Lev pointed to the other side of the room. “So you don’t go in there again–that changing closet you came out of is for boys only.”
“Yes, I figured that out after it was too late.”
Lev paused and stared at her for a second. “You act much older than you look.”
“Do I?” Zora sank her arms into her lap and looked away from Lev.
He tapped her on the arm. “I’m sorry I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“It’s okay. I lived on the streets for a long time. I guess I had to grow up fast.”
“Yeah, I guess we all had to.”
Zora glanced at the scars on Lev’s arms.
Lev twisted them back and forth in front of her. “Pretty cool, huh? They’re burn scars. I got caught in a prison fire in Mohziak.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, the last thing I remember is part of the burning ceiling crashing around me, and then the next thing I knew, I was waking up in First State Medical.”
Zora lowered her gaze. “I’m sorry that happened, Lev.”
Lev waved his hand in front of her eyes to regain her attention. “How did you know my name?” he signed.
Novgorod orphanage / 1934 / Entry 7
Dimitri yelled from across the room. “Well, was I right? She’s an orphan whore, right?”
Lev stood and faced Dimitri’s direction. “She’s not a—”
Zora grabbed the bend in Lev’s arm. “He’s still on the orphan whore, kick, isn’t he? Would you mind if I had a little fun with your friend?”
“Fun? I–guess so. You’re not an orphan whore, though, right?” he signed.
“Right! But you’re going to tell—what’s your friend's name?”
“Dimitri.”
"—Dimitri, that I am. Here’s the plan.”
Lev returned and leaned palms down on the table across from Dimitri.
“Well! Lev, why are you just staring at me? Spill it! Is she, or isn’t she, an orphan whore?”
“Yep, you were right. The sad part is she doesn’t want me. She wants you!”
“Well, that’s not surprising,” Dimitri said under his breath and then slammed his palm down on the table. “Damn! I knew she was a whore!” He blurted.
“Don’t look so proud of yourself yet, Dimitri. She wants to chat with you first.” Lev reached into a top drawer of a nearby cabinet and pushed the contents around. “Here.”
“What’s this for?”
“What’s it look like it’s for?”
“Now, why in the hell would I need a pencil and notepad?” Dimitri paused. “Ahh, you want me to write down all the dirty details for you, right?”
“Yeah, well, as amusingly disgusting as that idea sounds. I’ll pass!”
“Then why the paper and pencil?”
“Because she’s deaf.”
“Deaf! What do you mean she’s deaf!?”
“She can’t hear, Dimitri!”
“I know what the word means, Lev. It’s just that—”
“What–what’s bothering you about her being deaf?”
“It's just—”
“What, It’s just what, Dimitri?”
“Well, what about my sounds of climax? My Neanderthal grunts of primal ecstasy? It’s all going to fall on deaf ears?” Dimitri pulled a chair close to Lev and sat down. “What if she has to give me sexual direction?” he whispered. “This friggin’ pad and pencil won’t do jack-shit!”
“Sexual direction?”
Dimitri grabbed Lev's shoulder and glanced around. “Shh, not so loud. Do you want the world to know my business?
Lev stared wearily at Dimitri. “What sort of sexual direction?”
“You know--in, out, up, down, left, right.”
Lev rubbed his face hard in his palms. “What’re you talking about?”
“I’m sorry—I’m just a little weirded out about doing it with a deaf girl.” Dimitri leaned in closer. “So, do you remember the story I told you about my girlfriend’s doll? How I wanted to practice before I had real sex with her for the first time?”
“Okay, look, that story traumatized me, Dimitri.”
"I know, but I wonder if having sex with a deaf person will be like that?”
“Dimitri, for Cryin’ out loud, she’s a human being. She isn’t stuffed with cotton! Besides, if she lays there like a Raggedy Ann doll, that’s on you!”
“Yeah, speaking of that—” Dimitri flopped back in his chair and wrung his hands. “---I have a confession to make.”
“Dimitri, are you okay? All the color just washed out of your face.”
“It was Raggedy Andy,” Dimitri muttered.
“What was that?” Lev playfully cupped his ear and smirked.
Dimitri sighed. “You heard me! It was Andy, Raggedy friggin’ Andy! I could never tell the difference between those stupid dolls, and I just grabbed one off my girlfriend’s bed before I lost the mood. After I was done, I noticed the damn doll had pants on, not a dress!”
Lev scowled. “And that’s the only thing that bothered you about screwing your girlfriend’s doll?”
“Yeah! You talk about traumatizing. I went a solid two weeks thinking I was gay!”
“Dimitri, I can’t listen to any more of this.”
“No, hear me out. You’ll be proud of me. Anyway, I finally realized where I went wrong.”
“Oh, well, that’s a plus.”
“Yeah, I was hasty! I was much more careful to grab the right doll the second time. Let me tell you!” Dimitri paused for a few seconds in thought. “Wait, Lev, what part of that story was supposed to help me again?”
“NONE OF IT!” Lev buried his face in his hands and shooed Dimitri with a dismissive hand.
“But–”
“Just go over and talk to her and let my brain heal.”
“But–”
“Go, Dimitri, before I throw up.”
“Alright, alright, I’m going, I’m going!”
****
“You’ve been over there forever. What were you guys talking about?”
“She’s a total freak, Lev.” Dimitri fumbled through the pages of the notepad. “Look, look what she wrote here!”
Lev took the notepad. ‘I like my men—’
“Shh, don’t read it so loud. It’s weird and kinky.”
‘---I like my men to smell manly. Swaddle yourself in a heavy blanket and sit near the heater for one hour, then do a hundred jumping jacks and 50 pushups. The more manly you smell, the less I charge. I’ll be waiting!’
Lev turned his smirk away from Dimitri and pretended to thumb through the scribbled pages of the notepad. “So, what’re you going to do?”
Dimitri craned his neck above the rows of cots and caught Zora’s gaze from across the room. He shrank down into his chair. “I’m going to run like a hunted rabbit; that’s what I’m going to do!” Dimitri’s tone turned sarcastic. “She wants me to smell manly. I mean, what is that shit all about, right?” Dimitri dragged the notepad across the table with the palm of his hand and then flipped through the pages. His finger followed along the words as he read aloud. ‘The more manly you smell, the less I charge.’ “I should be telling her what I’ll pay!”
Lev leaned into Dimitri and took a few short sniffs. “I wouldn’t worry about having to pay her.”
“Why’s that?”
“Because you smell like a seeping carton of sour milk already. If I had to guess, I’d say she’ll end up owing you money.”
“Ya know—your attitude disappoints me, Lev. You’re lucky I love you like a brother.”
“Yeah, ditto.” Lev tucked his feet under his blanket and gave his pillow a few short punches. “Anyway, it’s after 1 a.m. “I need to get some sleep.”
****
Dimitri rolled onto his back and listened to the voices outside the secured door a few feet away. He nudged Lev with his fist.
“What? Huh!” Lev turned his confused gaze to Dimitri. “What, what’s going on?”
“Shh! Listen.”
Lev squinted at the clock on the wall. “What could you possibly want me to listen to at 3:00 a.m.”
“Shh! Do you hear them?”
Lev rolled over. “ Yeah, it’s probably a bunch of kids just hanging out.”
“No, it’s more than that, Lev. I think they're after me.”
“What’re you talking about? Who’s after you?”
Dimitri swung his legs over the cot's edge. “Do you remember when the faculty told us that Francis had been moved to another orphanage?”
“Yeah?”
“Not true.”
“What do you mean, not true?”
“I mean, he wasn’t moved. He was taken.”
“Taken? Dimitri, are you sure?”
“Oh, I’ve never been surer about anything in my life.”
“That’s crazy! Why didn’t you report this?”
“I was scared.”
“Dimitri, he’s our friend. We had the pact to protect one another.”
“I know—but—”
“This isn’t like you! You’re braver than this!—what aren’t you telling me?” Lev glared at Dimitri. “Don’t clam up on me now. Tell me.”
“It was an inside job.”
“How do you know that?”
“I saw her.”
“Who?”
“Lubora.”
“Lubora! The receptionist?”
“Yes, her! That morning about three weeks ago, when we woke up, and Francis was gone.”
“Yes, I remember.”
“Well, she came and took him out of bed in the middle of the night.”
“Yeah, that is weird. But still, you should’ve—”
“I followed them, Lev. She took him to the loading dock exit but not before she cuffed and gagged him. After I saw that, I ran back here and looked out the window. I saw two men driving away in a white van.”
“You think Francis was with them?”
“I know he was.”
“How?”
“You know Francis. He’s a survivor. Somehow he managed to kick the rear doors open and roll out of the van.”
“He’s alive then! He’s on the run, right?!”
Dimitri lowered his gaze.
“Dimitri! Tell me! What happened to him.”
“He was limping when he got up, so it didn’t take them long to catch him.”
“And?”
Dimitri looked at Lev, and tears puddled in the corners of his eyes.
“Are you saying they—why would they have killed him, Dimitri?”
“The minute he escaped from that van. He was of no use to them.”
“What do you mean?”
“He became a flight risk for them, a threat to their operation.”
“How do you know this stuff, Dimitri?”
“I was kidnapped and sold into slave labor to a rich family in Kalininsk. I slept and ate my meals in an entry closet. Their daughter took a liking to me, and we had a secret relationship. At twelve, we both thought it was exciting to sneak around.”
“But you got away. Did she help you escape?”
Dimitri nodded. “Her name was Alina.”
“I’m sure you’ll never forget her.”
“Yeah, she took a big risk for me.” Dimitri looked back at the secured door. “I don’t think she knew—how big.”
Lev sat on Dimitri’s cot and put an arm around his shoulders. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that, Dimitri.”
“Yeah, me too, but there’s more.”
Lev sniffed and wiped his eyes on his shirt sleeve. “What else could there be?”
“They saw me in the window, Lev. One of the men pointed at me and ran his finger across his throat. They know I’m here.”
To be continued:
© Copyright 2024. John Ciarmello All rights reserved.
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