The Khigir Hunters

2. Cold Nights

Does my mom have any enemies? The question played through Yulia's head like a record on repeat. That was the one question that left her speechless, how could her mom have any enemies? She was the nicest, most lovable person on earth, and if you didn't like her, then you were the worst, scummiest person on earth. It didn't make any sense to her that the law had the audacity to ask her such a question. In fact when they did Yulia hesitated, and disbelief washed over her face, leaving her speechless.

Of course she told them no. The rest of the questions thrown at her went over her head. Yulia remembered nothing about the rest of the interview, except for that stupid question. When the questionnaire was finally over, only then did Karine come to usher her out. In a way Yulia felt subconsciously present, feeling like she was a spirit separated from her body, still not over the shock of losing her mother.

She was in a foggy daze, desperate to just close her eyes and pretend that none of this ever happened.

"Are you ready?" Karine spoke softly, a hand on the small her back. Yulia hesitated, processing her question; was she really ready? Ready to do what? Leave this place, and acknowledge that her own mother is dead, never to return? Yulia wondered if she could ever come to terms with this.

"Yulia?" Karine placed a hand on her shoulder, looking down at the teen with worried eyes.

"Yes." The words left her lips before she could process them. It was like her body had a mind of its own. Yulia felt a slight pressure on her back as Karine moved her towards the exit, and out the doors. As soon as Yulia stepped outside she began to shiver, and Karine quickly made her way to her silver Lexus GX, dragging her along.

Yulia looked up at the dark sky, the occasional snowflake landing in her eye, making her blink. There were no stars, only darkness. The beeping of Karine's car seemed to draw her back to the ground.

"Alright," Karine rubbed her hands together, "you can sit in the passenger seat." The woman opened the door for Yulia, frowning when she realized that Yulia didn't take the blanket with her, and was practically wearing nothing against the cold. She watched as the teen stepped in her car, her breaths creating white puffs in the air. Finally Yulia strapped herself in, and Karine shut the door and hopped in the driver's seat.

"Lets turn up the heat hmm?" Karine said softly, mostly to herself. She knew Yulia was only sixteen, a child for goodness sakes! She couldn't imagine the thoughts going through her head. Karine's *мать was still alive after all, and she couldn't imagine a life without her.

"Yulia?" Karine asked gently, like she was talking to a newborn. Karine received no reply from her, but she did take note of the way the teen's head turned slightly towards her. "I want you to know that you can always talk to me. I know you won't be in the country in a few hours, but you can call me if you want, I'll be willing to talk." Yulia stared ahead, as if waiting for this whole thing thing to get a move on. After a couple seconds Karine put the car in reverse and began to drive to her flat in the cold Russian winter night.

。・゜・.・゜・。・゜・.・゜・。。・゜・.・

It was a sad sight, to say the least. Yulia had fallen asleep, her hands wrapped around her fragile self. Karine gently tried to rouse her to no avail, finally deciding on moving her herself. With two nervous arms she scooped the girl up, and carried her to the sofa. She placed her head down carefully and quickly searched for some warm blankets. After wrapping her securely in three blankets, Karine finally declared her work to be done for the day.

Sighing with relief, the social worker sat down in a comforter opposite of Yulia. It was a long day. Karine was ready to go home at 8:00, but a heap of surprise papers said otherwise. She ended up working overtime, finally finishing around 11:00. Just as she was about to leave, a call came in, and that's why she was buried in her soft chair at 5:32 in the morning, with a motherless teen passed out across from her. Maybe, just maybe if she didn't stay for those papers, she wouldn't be in this situation, rather, she could be in her room with a good nights sleep under her belt.