Mama and my Papa were happy today. It was knowledge day today. My brother lifted my friend onto his shoulders so she could ring the bell. She was excited! I was excited for her too. Вера is older than me. Beautiful, too. There was singing and dancing! I danced with Papa and Alexsei, and Mama helped prepare the food. Bepa gave me a new doll! She made it all by herself. We were watching the sunset when the men came.
I saw black eyes, black coats, black guns. They shot them. They shot them all, except for my family and my friend. The woman saw me, and extended her hand with a small smile.
She told me we were going on a journey. Papa had a happy smile on his face, but something wasn't right. Bepa looked sick, and my brother tried to get to me. The men drew their guns. The blonde haired woman pulled away from me suddenly, and flipped and twirled and twisted. All the men were on the floor crying out. All of them except the one with the black mask. She let me go to Papa. I asked him,"Papa, where are we going?"
His smile twisted, and he laughed strangely. "We are going to make you beautiful. So beautiful, my darling."
That was all he told me. I knew not to question, so I followed the woman. She told me tales of someone called Dreykov. She said he was marvelous, and super strong. And smart. She said I was going to the ballet. Mama smiled sadly. Bepa asked why she had to come too. The woman told her she was to work at the ballet too. Bepa had always dreamed of the ballet, so had I. We danced and sang! Oh joy, the ballet! Bepa held my hand as we stepped over the dead bodies. I tried not to look, because they made me feel sick and sad. It did not make sense to me. The woman introduced herself as Madam Berstroff. The man said nothing, and guided us. He still wore the black mask, and it was scaring me. How could someone be so quiet? Something wasn't right, but I was so excited for the ballet that I didn't care. Bepa was sad. I didn't know why. She always wanted to be in the ballet. It was an honor! She should be excited! I gripped her hand tighter because I was scared. The hike was not long. We reached a car after walking a little way. The other men had caught up with us, and they helped us into the black car. The men took Mama and Papa to the other car, and I sat with Bepa and my brother.
"Black, black, black," I said to Bepa.
She sighed. "This an honor, Ali." Алексséй snorted. "Yes, yes. An honor it is, Ali."
I shrugged my shoulders at him. He sighed.
"Ali, don't you know where you're going?"
I laughed at him. "Yes, brother! I am going to the ballet!"
Bepa flinched, but they both didn't say anything. The driver man talked on some sort of a device I'd never seen before. He told someone that we were to arrive soon, and then the man with the mask nodded. I must've fallen asleep, because the next thing I remember was Bepa shaking me awake. Madam B came for us, and I guessed that we had arrived. She led us to a path.
"This is our training facility. You will be staying here for some time."
Bepa and I hugged. This was so exciting! We walked up the path to see the biggest building I'd ever seen. It was huge! It looked like a castle in the stories Bepa told me. Madam B took us inside, and we met some other girls. One came up to me. I was scared at first, because she was not smiling. When she saw my hair, she pointed. She spoke in a different language. Bepa started translating. She was so smart.
"She--she likes your hair, Ali."
I grinned. Not many had hair like mine.
"Thank you," I said, even though I don't think she understood. Madam B led us on a tour, and we got to see the ballerinas! I couldn't wait to go to classes. She showed us our rooms, and told us to 'prepare for bed'. My Papa said his goodbye, and Mama gave me the journal I'm writing in for a present. Madam took Bepa with her. I forgot the doll! I left it at home. I will miss her.
I shared a room with that girl. She had dark hair and dark eyes, but she was full of light! We were learning to speak to each other when Madam came back.
"Lights out," she said. The girl and I hurried into our beds, and talked for a while longer. Her name was Yelena, and she had come from a small village I had never heard of. She told me that she loved the ballet and couldn't wait to join in. Then, she fell asleep. It was a lovely day today.
