"You're early today," Malu noted when I arrived at our usual apartment. It's amusing, but now I call it 'ours.' I've spent more time here than in my cherished library in the last two months.

Malu was sitting here alone at the moment, playing on his cell phone and listening to music without headphones. It was some specific kind of Russian rap where the lyrics mainly spoke about how cool it was to smoke, how cool it was to get drunk, yet wondering why we were such losers and saying it was probably destiny to blame. I never liked Russian rap because, unlike English, I understood the meaning of the songs.

"My sister at home is feeling sick again," I said, shaking my head. I know it's better not to reveal my personal life here, but a couple of explanatory words wouldn't do any harm. "That's why I'm here."

"Well, welcome," he shrugged. "You can sleep on the mattresses, they're clean, even if they don't look like it."

"Are the sheets also clean?" I asked, examining these... "beds."

"Don't be a wuss. I wouldn't sleep on a jacked-up bed," he dismissed.

"Okay..." I cautiously sat on the edge. "What are you doing here? Don't you live somewhere else?"

"Yeah... well... Ali is visiting," he finally admitted. "Probably banging my dear sister. So I decided not to disturb them."

"Don't you like your sister?"

"What do you mean?" he didn't understand.

"I mean, you just said... 'banging'..."

"Oh, you mean that... I just used a figure of speech. I really love her, seriously. She's my little sister, after all. It's just that Ali is dating her, so I decided not to interfere."

"You seem calm talking about it," I noted. "Usually, brothers harbor some resentment for those who dare to touch their sisters."

"They're just idiots," Malu shrugged. "She's happy, and I don't care about the rest. Seriously, if she's happy with Ali, if she blossoms around him, and he doesn't do anything bad to her, why should I worry? Those you're talking about are idiots, that's all. They don't give a damn about their sister as long as they're fine. I do care. I'll step in when she becomes unhappy - to make things right."

"Do you mind if I ask a question? A somewhat personal one."

"It depends on how personal."

"How did you meet Ali? I've known him since childhood, since about the fourth grade. He was ten then. I never thought he would choose this path. Yes, Ali wasn't a saint, but to get involved in crime..."

"My sister introduced us," he shrugged.

"Your sister?" I was surprised.

"Yeah. He met her when he... moved to the ninth grade, I think. Definitely two years ago. Yes, ninth grade."

And then he started doing better in school. Mystery solved.

"And then a year later, she introduced you two?"

"Yeah. One word led to another, you know how talkative he is. Well, he said he needed money, and I offered him a part-time job, and off we went."

"And what about Syringa?"

"Earlier. She had already been living in Khanksk. She met me almost immediately after I moved here. And there, in Silverside, there's plenty of opportunities for youngsters, jobs of all sorts in Lower City."

"What's this Lower City?" I asked. "What's it like? Everyone talks so much about it, but nothing is really clear."

"Well... how to explain it to you... Have you seen what Chicago or New York looked like in the thirties? Their streets? Those brick buildings of varying height, sometimes standing so close together you could hop from roof to roof. Grim, narrow streets, cars driving by. Dirt, steam from the grated outlets, rats, these monotonous blocks. Small alleys between the houses, where you enter and feel as though you're behind the walls of this city, where not a single light bulb shines. Entire districts of these concrete jungles with labyrinths between houses, where you can sometimes see and find what you've never wanted to see."

"You're describing a noir city of the American dream to me," I noted.

"I have no fucking idea what you mean, but I'm sure that's it. A gray, large, brick district of monotonous blocks, where strange and terrifying things sometimes happen. Just missing thirties' cars, and it would be a full-on gangster city. There's more crime there than in all of Manchuria. It's a fucking mess, not a city."

"Is there constant shooting?"

"I wouldn't say it's constant. You'd be surprised, but there aren't that many murders, considering the number of total fuckwits. About five people get offed a day. Sometimes less, sometimes more."

"But that's a lot," I pointed out.

"Well, what can you do," Malu shrugged. "But yeah, you could catch a bullet just standing at a traffic light if someone took a liking to your stuff. Though it was all controlled, and they didn't let things get too out of hand. Either the gangs crushed the rebellious, or the police showed who's boss."

"What a wonderful city."

"If you need to hide or start a new life," Malu sneered. "But it's not a city. It's a part of the city. The second part is the complete opposite. It's also funny that the Upper City is actually on a hill, while the Lower one is in a valley. Probably so the rich could look down on all that shit - like they look at shit in a toilet bowl," he laughed.

But somehow, I didn't find it funny.

"And you left it? The city of dreams."

"Are you fucking with me?" he sneered. "You'd fit perfectly there with your stone face. You look like you don't give a shit about anything."

"I doubt that."

"Don't doubt it."

"And yet, why did you leave?" I asked.

"Because of my sister. You haven't seen her, but the Lower City left an indelible mark on her. It's imprinted on her for life."

"Did she become introverted?"

"She became blind. They burned out her eyes. And not just that."

"Eyes? Burned out?" Hearing about such things happening in a city like Silverside was wild. Though no wilder than a stash of drugs and weapons in my own Khanksk. I never had illusions about life, but what kind of city is that? A version of one of the South American ones, but in our own way?

"Right," he shrugged nonchalantly.

"For what?"

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"Oh, the reason was worthwhile," Malu crookedly, almost painfully, smiled. "They probably thought it was funny. She was thirteen and had beautiful blue eyes, unlike mine. You know, such a lively, restless girl. This idiot was told not to run away from our block, but she didn't listen. She ran away. And someone probably thought it was amusing to put out their cigarette butts in her blue eyes. They didn't deny themselves the pleasure of doing it."

He sighed, put his phone aside, and stretched. Then he fell silent, gazing somewhat into the corner, as if recalling something.

"I found her at night. An old woman took her in, for which I was grateful. She said my sister was blind, crying, bumping into walls, trying to find her way home, and unable to explain where she lived. It's good that she took her in because they could easily have killed or raped her there. But since then, my sister has not run away."

The last words were probably meant to be a joke, but... they looked like a tragic conclusion to the story.

"Did you take revenge on them?" I asked, probably the question that troubled me the most. Simply because we are used to the fact that such actions usually result in retaliation. That every story has, if not a happy, then at least a just ending.

"I didn't take revenge. This is not the world, Box, where fairies piss red wine, vomit pastries, and princesses shit daisies. Justice is a luxury that not everyone deserves. I just didn't find anyone. And even if I had, I might not have been able to kill them. So..." Malu sighed. "Maybe it's for the best that I didn't find anyone. If I had found them and then found out I couldn't kill, I would be tormented much more. Well, you know, put a finger on them, and they'd tear you and your family apart."

"Yes... I understand..."

"Well, then came a dark streak for both me and her. I nearly got shot, was severely beaten, and spent several days in the hospital. Surprising, right? There, in the Lower City, there is a city hospital and even a church, as if mocking us. Well, my sister was left alone for a while. And while I was gone, she was robbed and raped when returning from the nearest store. She needs care, too, needs to be accompanied everywhere. I was doing that until I ended up in the hospital, but my parents are fucking alcoholics, they didn't give a shit, even if their daughter was raped a hundred times a day. It happened right near our house, and yet, the bastards didn't calm down. Probably fucking hilarious to mess with a blind girl," Malu started to get wound up. "Yeah, fucking great to mess with a blind girl. If I were there, they wouldn't have gotten away with just a bullet. Every fucker involved in this..."

Malu kicked the table hard, causing it to flip over with a loud crash. He fell silent for a few minutes. Just when I thought there would be no continuation, he started speaking again.

"I still remember with horror when I came home and saw her. A shadow of herself. That fucked up situation, her tear-stained face filled with shame, it haunts my nightmares. It's fucked up... We were basically worthless to anyone. It just... happened... Not everyone is lucky in life. And alcoholic parents are sometimes like a stamp in your personal file that you're different. You know, like those... what are they called, the infected ones..."

"Lepers," I suggested. As he was telling all this, I began to understand his reaction to those photos. Of course, I was shocked, too, but Malu was in a rage.

"Yes, exactly, lepers," he continued. "Well, who the fuck is going to protect us? The state? It doesn't give a shit about us. It's great for making money off us, but certainly not for helping us. We lived with our parents until my drunk mother started making advances on me. After that, I ran away with my sister. We found shelter in the house of a kind woman. Not everyone in that town is a freak, there are many good people, they just get lost against the backdrop of shit. I went to work where it was easiest - naturally, crime. Other places wouldn't take me because I was underage. And my sister... her mental state went to hell. After that incident... I couldn't calm her down. She retreated deeply into herself, was silent, didn't react to anything. I thought she had gone mad - she stopped going to school and just sat there, motionless. She was in eighth grade at the time.

That's when I realized I needed to get out of there. The Lower City is fine when you're healthy or when you're alone. But not with a blind sister who no one will care for. The city is decent, of course, but if you've got in trouble there, you've got really deep. And it's definitely not safe. So, I moved to Khanksk. Plus, I was hoping that the move would help my sister, but it didn't help at all. I didn't know what to do, so I got a job with Arrow. I showed him that I was a solid guy and wouldn't back down or run away. He helped me find a place to live for a while until I could rent my own. I met Syringa at work; she already had a little sister back then. I don't know... we just crossed paths on one job. We were stealing something from a warehouse. Well, one day she came to visit us... you know who Syringa is, right?"

"Lycanthrope."

"Kind of, yes. So, there she came, you know, a girl with ears and a tail. Not only was I shocked, my sister came back to life. And there was also a kid with her, her little sis. My sister just adored petting her. Hell, it's a miracle, right?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"Yeah, a miracle. My sister seemed to get over it. She came back to life. And then, in ninth grade, she went to a new school and somehow became happy. I couldn't understand it at first: was it the change in environment that had such an impact, or what? And then I saw her with some creep. I came up to talk, one word led to another, and... We almost had a fight, basically, but my sister sprayed us with a gas canister that Ali had given her. That's how I met him. And then I thought, why the hell not? Look at how happy she is, and he immediately stepped in for her when I approached, you know Ali..."

"Yes, he was a troublemaker."

"Kind of. So, I thought, if my sister is so happy, then I don't care at all. Let her enjoy life, and he seems like a good guy. Why would I spoil her happiness with my nagging? Besides, he was watching out for her, although here, in Khanksk, it's a thousand times calmer in that regard."

"Why didn't you get a proper job here?"

"Let's just say it didn't work out. With a past like mine, you can't get a decent job. I'm practically an orphan, in essence. To afford a decent life, not just survive, eating only bread and drinking from the toilet tank, you can't find a job. So I tried, tried, and came back."

"And Syringa?"

"Because of her sister. Money, you know. There were family problems. There was no mother, the father didn't care about them. She ended up working for Arrow, too. And then, her little sister was caught and put in an orphanage, and since she was also an anomaly, all that stuff... Basically, Syringa could say goodbye to her sister. They don't have parents either; the asshole father doesn't count. So Syringa went to Arrow... to negotiate... They made a deal. Arrow's men brought back her sister. And then she stayed to work with me. We worked like that for a year, and then Ali joined us. That's it, basically," he shrugged.

You guys sure lived a "fun" life. I never considered myself unfortunate... except for the last three years. I just knew that some were much less fortunate than me. And now one of those was in front of me. I feel like a lucky guy.

"So what about you?" Malu nodded.

Well, since we're talking about personal stuff...

"My older brother was hit by a car when I was six. I don't remember it well, maybe it's for the best. Two sisters with impulse. One of them had an attack three years ago. After that, we're hanging on the edge."

"Did you get into this business for your sister?"

"Yeah. We were almost out of money, so either go to work like this or already order a coffin."

"Respect, props to you," he sighed. "Your sisters have a strong impulse?"

"I don't know," I shrugged.

"If it's strong, then there won't be a problem with work. Even for the local house, here. They're assholes, but money settles everything," he dreamily looked at the ceiling. "If I had an impulse, there would be no problems at all. I mean, a normal, powerful impulse. I would have a shitload of money."

"I wish they could settle everything," I smirked.

"Believe me, they do. Even if you don't have a goal in life, they give you one."

"And what would that be?"

Malu bared his teeth in a grin.

"To earn even more, of course."

We chatted a while longer about this and that. By then, I wasn't really paying attention to our conversation. Dawn was already breaking outside.

Soon, I simply laid down to sleep. I was exhausted from worry, from anxiety about things not going as smoothly as we planned, and so on. My stomach was aching from the stress and wouldn't let up, a dull throbbing that felt like my insides were being turned out, making it impossible to eat. Malu even offered me something to sniff to calm down, but I declined. I said it was a bad idea before a job. By then, I didn't care that the beds looked, to put it mildly, a bit dirty. I lay down fully clothed and fell asleep within minutes.

I didn't dream of anything. It was just darkness. Maybe that's what death looks like. Or my life. On the other hand, I didn't have to suffer through my own nightmares, of which I have plenty in my waking life. I had become a nightmare, not just for myself but for my family, too.

So I slept the whole day and only woke up the next morning when someone prodded my shoulder. Roughly and persistently, pulling me out of sleep. And how disappointed I was when, struggling to open my bleary eyes, I saw Alex's smirking face.

"Wake up and sing, Sleeping Beauty. Did you skip school?"

"Huh?" My thoughts were sluggish and heavy with sleep. "Is it evening?"

"Morning. We've got a job in two hours, remember?"

"You can't forget something like that..."

I slowly got up, feeling stiffness all over my body. Sleeping on that mattress clearly hadn't done me any favors; I felt as if I had rested on rocks, and my back hurt. At least I didn't feel anxious. Not yet, anyway, but I was grateful to wake up feeling calm.

Syringa was already dressed in the clothes we prepared for this job, having apparently changed early to avoid flaunting her tail and ears to the others. Alex, on the other hand, had clearly just arrived - he was still in his everyday attire. As for Malu, he was just starting to change, pulling on his pants.

"Come on, Box, rise and shine; we've got a job to do."

"Yes," I nodded. "We do."

As they say, one last time and for good. I had to do this and couldn't afford to mess up. If I did screw up, I'd be better off staying there.