37
Kage
A
t least once in every man’s life, he faces a reckoning.
My father told me that. He knew a lot about reckonings. About calculating gains and losses. About saying goodbyes. He left everything he had in Russia to make a new life in a new land. To have better opportunities for his children than he had for himself.
He paid with his life for that risk, but I doubt he would’ve regretted it. He was stronger than I am. He never regretted anything.
But me, now, standing here…I regret it all.
If only I’d told her from the start, I wouldn’t have to bear that look on her face now.
I wouldn’t have to witness Natalie’s love for me going up in flames.
She sits perfectly still. Her back is straight. Her face is pale. Her hands are spread open on her thighs. Around her throat, the necklac
