MY SISTER AND TWO STATIONSI was a little late to meet the train from Mensk. Ulia was already marching up and down the platform. She turned round when I called out to her and burst out laughing. So did I.
If it hadn’t been for my slight limp, the only way people could tell us apart was by the way we dressed and did our hair. I wore my hair long and liked to colour it fairer than it was. Ulia had her hair cut short and dyed it black. I always wore billowing skirts, loose trousers, dresses with quite fantastical lines; the colours I chose were always delicate, pastel shades, somehow amorphous — sandy, greenish (like green russule mushrooms), lilac. My sister’s character positively demanded precise, simple outlines and bright colours — her favourites were red, blue and a kind of striking shad
