The One Who Vanished

ONE

Siberia, RUSSIA.

The room in the facility where Shaera Katova stayed was large with white walls and an expensive family portrait hanging on one of them, a queen-sized bed draped in silk, a small desk and a chair tucked in a corner. An enormous window showing the snow-covered garden of the facility.Despite the luxurious surroundings, the only noise that was heard was the sound of Shaera's fingers flipping through the pages of the book.

Despite the extravagance of her room, Shaera had grown bored of being in the exact same environment for the past four years which seemed like an eternity. The only thing she was looking forward to was the weekly visits from her younger brothers. Even though the two of them were annoying, there was nobody else she had around to keep her company in the facility

Suddenly, her moment of peace was interrupted by a knock on the door. Her head jerked up as she looked at the door, her blue eyes narrowing slightly. She wasn't expecting any other visitors than her brothers, and as far as she could remember, it wasn't time for them to be at the facility yet.

The sound of the knocking continued, and Shaera let out a sigh of annoyance. Whoever was at the door clearly was not planning on leaving until she opened it. She marked the page on her book and set it down on her bed before getting up and walking over to the door.

As she approached the door, she took a deep breath, trying to mentally prepare herself for what or who would be on the other side of it. She knew it would probably be one of the nurses, and a part of her hoped it was one of them to break up the boredom. Another part of her secretly hoped it was her brothers' arrival. She reached for the doorknob and opened the door, her face unreadable as usual.

When the door opened, she found herself face to face with a nurse. The nurse smiled kindly at her, her eyes shining with a hint of excitement. «Добрый день, Шаэра» "Good afternoon, Shaera," the nurse greeted. «Надеюсь, я ничего не перебиваю»."I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

Shaera simply shrugged, leaning against the frame. «Зависит от того, для чего вы здесь»."Depends on what you're here for," she replied, her voice flat and unamused.

The nurse continued to smile, unfazed by Shaera's demeanor. «У вас есть посетители». "You have visitors," she said.«Я здесь, чтобы провести вас в комнату для свиданий». "I'm here to take you to the visiting room."

— Посетители?"Visitors?" Shaera repeated, her curiosity piqued despite her attempts to maintain a indifferent tone. She straightened up, her arms still crossed. "Who is it?", she said in her strong British accent.

The nurse's smile grew wider. "It's your brothers, actually. They arrived a little earlier than usual," she informed her in a thick Russian accent.

Shock flashed through Shaera's eyes, which widened ever so slightly before disappearing again. "A little early, huh? That's unusual for them," she remarked, a hint of surprise in her voice. "Have they been waiting long?"

The nurse shook her head. "No, not at all. They arrived less than an hour ago. They're waiting in the visiting room for you right now," she explained.

A flicker of excitement and anticipation passed through her mind, but she suppressed it quickly. "Fine," she said, pushing herself away from the door. "I'll go see them."

The nurse gave her a nod of approval and gestured for her to follow. "This way then," she said, leading her down the corridor towards the visiting room.