“Does Lyusya have parents?” I inquire.
“No. Lyusya doesn’t come from anywhere and has never changed. She is insured against lines on the bridge of her nose (by botox) and fine wrinkles (stem-cell extract crème). As for where the money comes from – as the old joke says, it’s in her bedside table, an antique, bought at auction. The day comes when there’s no money in the drawer and Lyusya disappears. She fades away in a rage, smarting from all she’s had to keep an eye on, what she couldn’t do, and in her place appears Mila, merry as a lark. Mila has plenty to talk to her friends about. She can spend an hour on the phone to each one of them. She has at least two lovers at any one time and, if there isn’t a third on the horizon, it’s because there’s no one available. Mila takes care of her app
