Rabbit, Soldier, Angel, Thief - by Katrina Nannestad

And we still have loveliness in our lives. Like here. Now. I am picking wildflowers for Mama, humming a tune and thinking how good it is to feel the sun on my back and Ushanka’s soft, fluffy body weaving in and out between my legs. Ushanka is our cat. We named her after the hat, because she’s black and fluffy and likes to sleep on our heads at night. Ushanka and I wander through the meadow, tall grass sweeping across our bodies, flowers begging to be plucked. When my hands are full, I straighten and turn back toward the village. It looks so pretty with its log houses and wooden fences and full gardens. A flock of snow-white geese are out for their morning walk, heads held high. They are proud to be a part of this beautiful place. I think, I am a lucky boy. I have a good life. But sometimes our thoughts make mistakes, don’t they? Even as I walk back toward the village, there’s a change. The breeze is still there, and the warmth of the sun. But the birdsong is gone and something else has taken its place. I hear it first, a low hum. Next, I feel it in my feet, through the thin bark soles of my shoes. And then the grass and the flowers begin to shake! Ushanka twitches her tail and dashes away, across the meadow, toward the forest. I walk faster, and soon I hear clunking and screeching, and the chugging of engines. The noise grows louder and uglier and the ground shakes even more as five big brown beasts roll into sight. I’ve never seen such things before, but

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