"What happened to my dear brother Boris has haunted me for many years. Even now, when I think of it...." his voice trailed off. “What Uncle Dimitri?...what? Tell me now what happened to my father" Boris pleaded. "How were we to know what was in the mind of your father? How could we know what he was thinking?" Dimitri spoke in a whisper. "We listened to the Council believing that what they told us was from God himself. They told us to be obedient and that we would be blessed." he said shaking his head. "It was I who answered the phone that morning. It was from the village constable. He said that there had been an accident and if I would be able to meet him at the hospital. I told him that I would be right there. When I met him, he told me solemnly that the person involved in the accident had been killed. He said that he suspected that the man was my brother and would I be able to identify him. He led me down a corridor and we entered a small well lit room. There was a sort of stainless steel gurney there. I could see the form of a body covered by a white sheet. He led me over, lifted the sheet and asked me if this was my brother. The man had been horribly injured. I thought that it must have been a terrible auto accident. I stared at his face...it seemed so familiar. I told the constable that I wasn't sure...that I had not seen my brother in forty odd years. He seemed puzzled by that but didn't ask why. He told me the reason that he thought it was my brother was because of this and he handed me two worn photographs. "We found this man's wallet where the accident happened. It contained his identification and a few photographs." he stated. "It was a photo of my brother and me in the backyard of our home. It was a beautiful sunny day and we both were smiling. On his hand was a baseball glove....his other arm embraced me. I had a bat slung over my shoulder. We both loved baseball. I immediately remembered that day like it was just yesterday. I loved my brother so. The other was of my mother and father at Ivan's graduation. They were so proud of Ivan. He had graduated with honors. It must have been shortly after this that Ivan left us and I never saw my brother again. It was just then that the door burst open. It was a distraught woman being held by an orderly. She was sobbing...”Ivan, Ivan" "I was dumbfounded...I did not know who this woman was!"

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