36

Leningrad, Russia

June 26, 1941

MORE THAN ONE MILLION LENINGRADERS HELP BUILD DEFENSE LINES!

Vera walked in the door, pointing to the headline on the front page of the latest issue of the Leningradskaya Pravda. "One million people! Can you believe it?"

Tanya looked up from feeding Verushka. "I can believe it, Vera. You saw how many citizens were out there working yesterday."

Feodora looked up from the tiny pink blanket she’d been knitting for Verushka and scrunched up her nose.

Vera's eyes grew dreamy. She had lived in Leningrad long enough to love the city.

Tanya, on the other hand, had only seen the ugly side of the city—the derelict Vyborg Quarter full of clapboard houses and slummy apartments, full of hungry beggars, starving children, and women forced into prostitution to pay for bread.

Tanya's love for Leningrad wasn't quite on par with Vera's.

But what she lacked in love, she made up for in pure desire to save her precious daughter. And that meant she would fight alongside Leningrad to the very end.

"Should we head down to the grocery store and try to stock up on supplies today? There wasn't much to be had last time I was there." Vera seemed to read Tanya's mind.

"No use." Feodora's words were slurred, revealing she'd had another flask of vodka for breakfast. "The man helping me build fortifications yesterday told me nearly every gastronom in town is completely out of food."

Tanya's gaze shot up. "Completely out?"

"Yep, I guess the rich Leningrad housewives made a run at the stores the morning the Germans marched into Russia. They bought up everything in stock. He told me one woman bought up twenty pounds of caviar!"

"Caviar?" Vera clucked her tongue. "Won’t exactly keep them full for long."

"Exactly. But as of yesterday, there was nothing left in the stores."

"What do we do now?" Tanya hated to be negative, but they would need more than a few days’ supply of food.

"The first thing we should do is go down to Kirov's and see if the rumors are true." Vera's common sense shone through in their moment of panic.

"I'll go with you!" Tanya said, anxious to get out of the stifling house.

They walked together down the street toward Kirov's. As they rounded the corner near the familiar store, the crowd gathered underneath the blue and white awning.

A quick glance in the window revealed the stark truth. Every shelf was completely empty.

A sign on the door explained that they would reopen once they were able to restock.

Tanya and Vera exchanged a wary look. Tanya looked away toward the horizon, the despair of the moment overcoming her soul.

Vera may feel confident trusting a higher power, but she wasn't so sure. Not that she had a better option.