IVA
“I’m hungry,” Lala said, just as we finished thanking Henrich for everything and wishing him a good day, if such was even still possible.
Lev had offered him a suite since it was still too early, and we could clearly see he had a long night, but he chose to go home; I didn’t blame him. It had been one thing after another with my family, and I didn’t know what we would all have done without him.
We could all feel the exhaustion now that we had settled, and Lev said he’d make us something to eat. But he froze midstep.
“Lev?” I started to ask, but the sound of footsteps stopped me in my tracks, and it wasn’t long before our parents entered, both of them wrapped in robes.
My mother’s hair was loose, her face flushed but composed, and my father looked… different. There was color in
