Chapter 43

“Boris!”

“What are you doing here, little one?” The consistent and uniform stomps of the crowd muffled Boris’s words slightly, thus he raised his voice as he spoke. “Where is boss lady?”

“Boss lady…? Oh, Emma! She said she has to take care of something right now.”

“Mercenary work? Where does she leave you, little one?”

“What do you mean ‘where does she leave me…?’”

“Right, she do not take you with her on job, no?” Boris scratched his head. “Did you get in fight with her? Why she not take you this time?”

“You’re mistaken, we just met at the underground city place.”

“Really? I thought she was your mother and sneak you to job in suitcase.” The man gave a soft chuckle.

“She’s not my mom!” retorted the girl.

“But you look much alike. It is like kitten and tiger, no?”

“Do we really…?” The girl stroked her hair, as her fingers got caught near the ends, she pulled it in front of her. Her hair was a bit tangled and messy, but distinctly straight and jet black. Moments later, a sudden realization struck her.

“Wait… suitcase…?” Another matter quickly occupied the girl’s mind. “Hey! I’m not that small!”

The reaction from the child brought Boris to a full blow laughter.

“I joke, I joke. So, why are you here alone, little one?”

A little disgruntled, she crossed her arms and curled her lips.

“Oh, I need to find a silent generator.” She pulled out the tip of her money pouch and shows it to the man. “And I’ll use this to buy it.”

“Silent generator? Why? What freaky thing do you need it for?”

“I just really need it!” Her eyes suddenly filled with determination, one which Boris cannot deny.

“Ok, ok. I get it. Do not know where to find it but it is easy to make.”

“Really?!” Filled with excitement, Anya pressed forward, prompting the man to slowly back away. “How!”

“Listen…” Boris grabbed the girl’s shoulder, holding her still. He then scoots in closer. “It is secret-secret, ok?”

“I won’t tell anyone,” responded Anya in a whisper.

“You take normal generator… and you put it far away. Now you do not hear it.”

A huge wave of disappointment struck the girl and her smile instantly vanished.

“Whaa! It is clever, no?”

The child faced the smiling Boris with a glare.

“That’s not what I meant...”

“Then... I have no idea. They are all loud, even crank by hand make noise. Clack-Clack-Clack, you know. It is like matryoshka, when you shake it also Clack-Clack-Clack.”

“Can you please help me?” Desperate, Anya decided to utilize her secret attack. She clamped her hands together and did her best rendition of the puppy face, knowing that many had fallen victim before. “Please…”

To Anya’s bewilderment, it did not yield the intended effect. Boris was not charmed, in fact, he seemed the opposite.

“That is weird, stop it… I do not like it.”

Still, Anya was not about to give up.

“I’ll stop if you agree…”

“...” Boris did not respond, therefore Anya stepped up the intensity.

“Please… I’ll leave you alone after…”

“...” the man rubbed his neck and sighed. “You are spooky child… but… sure. I have errand but not much to do. Now put away that face.”

“Yes!” the girl cheered. “Where should we look first?!”

“Hmm… hard to say, I am not weirdo so I do not usually look for these things. Maybe generator store.” Boris shrugged his shoulders. “Just suggestion, no?”

“Are you… making fun of me?” Anya squinted at the man, her hands pressed against her sides. “It feels like you’re making fun of me.”

“Everybody is missing a little something.” he then looked back at Anya. “But it is good, we work with what is here.”

The girl’s stare grew sharper and she puffed her cheeks.

“I joke, I joke! Why you take life so serious. Come on, follow me and do not get lost again.”

Still bitter, the girl huffed before following the man.

“I wasn’t lost…” she mumbled.

…

The torrent wave of on goers became much less intimidating once Anya learned some of the roadway’s unspoken rules. The key was to never fully stop along the path unless it happened to be one of the rare occasions when the streets were sparse. As they traveled along with the crowd, the girl stared at the countless varying shops with amazement and threw every curiosity she had at the man escorting her.

According to Boris, the market streets connect one end of the city to another, hence its constant traffic. Vehicles aren’t allowed within the city unless they are either within the mechanical districts or parked in guarded multi-leveled lots. They are currently within the general shopping district, where they sell all sorts of goods and services, but what Anya was looking for required a bit more specialization.

“Boris…?” Anya questioned, he head turned to face Boris with a slight tilt.

“What is it, little one?”

“How do they power all the lights?”

Luminous was the city of lights, a never ending sanctuary where darkness was forever held at bay. In the thirteen years she had been alive, nothing she had ever seen could be compared to what laid before her: splendor, magnificence, and vitality. The air brimmed with hope, people chatted away near the stands, laughing, not out of morbid recognition of reality, but of genuine bliss.

It all seems somewhat fake, like a hallucination brought forth by desperations not uncommon in these desolate, rubble-filled lands. The girl even pinched her cheeks on several occasions, wondering whether it had all just been a dream.

“Well… I think it is big generator.” Boris scratched the scar on his cheek, “somewhere in city, there is big machine that gives everyone... well, everyone who have money, power.”

“You have to pay for it…?”

“You pay for food, what make you think you do not pay for power?

“...” Anya pondered in silence for a short while.

“Well, I never had to pay for it.”

The man scoffed, then patted the child’s head.

“Not everybody is lucky monkey, no?”

“What is a… lucky monkey…?” The girl grabbed Boris’s coat and tugged as the speed of their pacing increased.

“It is like… monkey, but lucky.” Boris then stared at the girl. ”You know, Lucky monkey.”

“That’s not very helpful.”

“This is because you do not try very hard.”

“Wait… what? I don’t… What?”

Boris then patted Anya’s head again, but more gently this time.

“It is okay, it sometime happen.” His looked at the girl with the same eyes one would give to a lost puppy. This all left Anya further confused. “But hey, we are here at stop. Shop owner knows much about marketplace, we can ask him where to get you weirdo generator. Then everyone happy, no?”

The man dragged the baffled child along, pushing through the wooden front door into the dimly lit interior of the dusty shop. Shelves upon shelves of clear liquor bottles lined the walls. Toward the back of the small shop, was an old bearded man whose face soured by the second.

“Privet!” Boris opened his arms wide with a big smile on his face. “Did you miss me, old friend?” As he approached for what seemed like a hug, the old man pulled a shotgun from under the counter and pumped it.

Seeing the weapon, Anya stood stunned with her eyes wide open.

“You do not get close to me.” the cranky man growled in an accent as thick as Boris’s. “I am old, not your friend. I do not like you here.”

“Hey, this is no way to treat best customer!” Boris lowered his hand and pulled out his own bag of coins. “I have more money.”

The old man lowered his shotgun, swirled some saliva back and forth in his mouth then spat it out onto the nearby floor.

“My business go down because of you.” The old man slammed his fist against the wooden surface, dispersing a layer of dust that caused Anya to cough. “No more discounts! You pay my price!”

“Okay, okay, you are only one with what I like. A nu cheeki breeki iv damke! I pay what you want, okay?”

“Do not give me cheeki breeki! I see money first, then you get vodka.”

Boris pulled a few coins from his pouch and placed in front of the shopkeeper.

“Here, full amount.” he then tucked his pouch back into his coat. “How is business? Place look like you grow dust for food.”

The old man carefully counted the coins, after ensuring that they are of the right amount, he pulled a bottle of clear liquid and place it on the counter.

“Business?” the shopkeeper scoffs, “I get too much business. You can see how rich I am.”

Boris lets out loud laughter before he grabbed the bottle and inspected it. Despite Boris’s cheerful mood, the old man was not laughing. Instead, he glanced at the small girl who wondered around his shop.

“Who is this, Boris? You make more mistakes?”

“Little one?”

“Who else, Boris? I already know you are mistake.”

“Ha! She is not mine, taking care of her for… boss lady.”

“Hmph, boss lady- HEY! YOU BREAK, YOU BUY!”

Anya jumped back and quickly retracted her hand close to her chest.

“Oh, umm… sorry!”

The old man spat once more unto the ground and mumbled to himself.

“This is why I do not like children, they are all stupid.”

“Oh come on old friend, we were children once, no?” Boris unscrewed the bottle cap and took a big whiff of the potent aroma. “That is good stuff.”

“We were children. We were stupid too. You are still stupid, Boris.”

“Hey Boris!” Shouted the girl from across the room. “Is this really that good? I knew someone who also likes this stuff.”

“Ah, he was also cultured man.” Boris finally took a sip from the bottle before he capped it, wrapped it with rope, and attached it to his belt. “Yes, it is better than good, it makes me happy man.”

“It makes you stupid man.” the old man interjected.

“If it’s so good… then why are you the only one buying it?”

This seemed to have struck a nerve with the old man, whose initial shock quickly turned into pure rage.

“BECAUSE THEY ARE PUSSIES!”

“Woah-woah old friend! We do not use that in front of child.”

“What does that mean…?” asked Anya, not quite sure why it riled up Boris.

The shopkeeper slammed his arm against the table.

“They are trusiska!”

“Coward.” voice Boris calmly, “It means they are cowards.”

“Oh… I’m sorry!” the girl bowed and apologized, not wanting to further anger the man. “I didn’t mean to upset you…”

The old man grunted and laid his head on his palm, his annoyed glare now directed toward Boris.

“You got what you want, why are you still here?”

“Don’t be like that, she is just child. Look how sorry little one is.” Boris stuck two finger into his coat and dug around. “We just want some help from the smart, you.”

“And why would I help you, Boris?”

When the old man looked back at Boris, he was met with a wide grin. Boris quickly reached behind the shopkeeper’s ear and pretended to pull out a coin.

“It is like magic!” he said as he tossed the coin into the old man’s hand. “Now you help?”

“Hmph, what help you need?”

“A silent generator! I need to find a silent generator!” shouted Anya. “Please tell me where I can find one!”

“What?!”

“A SILENT GENERATOR!” shouted Anya even louder. “Please-”

“I can hear, you stupid child!” the old man screamed back. “I do not know why you want one.”

“What, you never want silent generator as child? Maybe you are the weirdo.” Boris gently bumped his fist against the old man's arm and chuckled.

“Touch me again and I will shoot you.” The shopkeeper then turned his attention to Anya. “I never heard of silent generator. They all make annoying noise.”

“Are you sure….?” pleaded Anya. “Do you know anyone that might know…?”

“If you do not trust me, why do you ask me for help?”

“Come one old friend, do you know nothing more?”

“No, now leave me alone.”

“Then give money back.”

“Boris, are you crazy?”

“Old friend, you are no help. So give money back.”

“You can go fuck yourself!” The shopkeeper’s eye then met Boris’s. Neither of the two spoke a word as the atmosphere grew heavier and heavier until finally, the old make took out the coin and threw it at Boris. “Get out of my shop!”

Boris and the girl walked outside, the door slowly closing behind them. Just a few steps from the shop, Anya squatted down and buried her face in her arms. The man was not sure how to comfort the girl, so he squatted down next to her.

“I tell you what, maybe we can not find generator, but we can fix your aim. So you no longer shoot like crippled dog, yes?” Boris patted the child on the top of her head. “Free lesson, it is limited deal, what do you say?”

Without lifting her head, Anya gave a brief and subtle nod.