Kevi turns the laptop on, clicks the "Paris" folder and exhibits the photos one by one.

"Seems like they're really close to you," she says, "This man, and his sister......what did you call them, supervisor?"

"Members of a Russian terrorist group, 'Misha'," Nemo continues, "Which the official will make a serious charge about you, Miss Valentine, if they get these photos."

"Russian, right?" Kevi turns to Weiss, "Guess what? Those police who attacked me last night came from Russia too. What would you say, Miss? A coincidence?"

Weiss doesn't lift her head, not even a glance at them. She just stares at those photos, pokes her forefinger to the screen, right at the face of the black-haired girl.

"God......" she bursts out a sober as the first word coming out, with tears are falling down her cheeks, "Why makes me suffer like that......"

Kevi and Nemo look at each other simultaneously.

"A coincidence?" Weiss says, "Huh! I wish it was, Natasha. Otherwise why would Him set my sister's face on you, and put you in the room she used to live?"

"What?" Kevi glances at the photo and squints a bit, "Your sister......"

"It's Antje Valentine, or Antje Martina Müller in the past, or Antje Subokova in the future," Weiss shakes her head slowly, "When I saw you in the room, Natasha, I......really thought, that you are Antje's ghost: similar in feature, but without her breath around; so close in distance, but so far away in heart......At first I comforted myself, that you might------sorry, I should use 'her'------angry about me for not helping her out, deliberately kept the distance and pretended not to recognize me, until......you told the police like that, which made me finally realized......that the girl staying with me, was absolutely a random stranger, probably some avenging angel came to punish me, but......who knows? I'm not a Christian anymore."

She heads up and looks at Kevi's eyes. Kevi steps back somehow, she feels some dangerous emotion striking her heart, right at the soft irrational part.

"The other two?" she straightens her face, acts more intimidating, "How did you connect with the Russians?"

"Antje fell in love with the man," Weiss says in calm-----since she never treat Kevi as her real sister anymore, the business is simply the business, "Ilich Subokov, a student from the Free University Berlin. I don't feel surprised about my sister, she behaved like a guerrila fighter since I knew her: always on the road, rebellious and unsound, with no constant residence. She was the result of an affair of my reverend father many years ago. I guess she might have inherited the depraved part from him with the nerdy-half left to me. I just didn't expect they were about to get married, only for three months relationship."

Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.

Weiss sighs in slightly whisper,

"My mom won't avow this illegitimacy. As for my father? He acted even worse before. So I stood out, tried to persuade Antje. That was the purpose I started the travel with them to Paris, to know more about her fiance, maybe......more about herself.

"At first, I was totally being isolated. The couple were sticking with each other with no space left for me. His sister------named Bagira as I remembered------was too young and vicious to everyone. When we visited to the Arc de Triomphe, I thought it was perhaps the last chance to drag her out from this unreliable relation. As I emboldened myself and walked to Antje, I found she was crying on his shoulder, regardless of a thousand tourists around. Then like a bullet hit my forehead, I realized one thing in a flash: she never cried on my shoulder or each of my parents' shoulder. She shielded herself with the stings of indifference like a hedgehog, but I knew there was a soft heart beneath the shell. We must have failed her so many times when she in need of our shoulder. By the end of the tour, I told Antje that I will be her best sister, I wish her all the best with Ilich and look forward to celebrate their wedding soon. I've never seen so much happiness on her face ever. That was the first time she hugged me and kissed me in the cheek, and also the last time."

Weiss' eyes turn red, but with no tears dropping.

"3 weeks later I heard terrible thing happened to them.....rumors in D37 said that they have been arrested by the riot police. I rushed to the Riot Center but none of the staffs gave any respond. Luckily as a journalist in Der Spiegel I did have some privilege. The officer told me that they were arrested for violating the Blackout Law and violent offence against the riot police. But he never provided any document or record about it, they didn't even allow me to visit my sister! I kept waiting, kept praying-----I hadn't been to church for almost 5 years, until one night I got a phone call from Ilich. He told me that he and Bagira were deported and they were on the flight back to Moscow.

'Where is Antje? 'I asked him. He said they released her yesterday, but not telling him where she went.

'What happened that night? What did you do?' I kept asking, but he gave no respond.

'Weiss, don't get yourself involved.'

That's his last word.

And I've never heard any news from them, never seen my sister since then.

After finishing her words, Weiss lowers her head in a daze, she grabs the sheet even tighter.

"Terrorist......" she mocks, "You call the only one who stands with my sister during her worst period of time, and guarantee her marriage and happiness, a terrorist? What are you then?"

Weiss turns to Kevi, with the fearless gaze at her.

"I don't know who you are, Natasha, not sure whether you are a gift to me, or das Gift." she says, "I'm sorry that's everything about them as far as I know, can't help you further. Arrest me if you want, charge me anything whatever, but would you return my laptop to me, and get out of the room first?"