Nikita: Victor Morozov... He was one my father's friends. He offered to take us in when we told him about our parents.

Jenna: How did you get from your parents' house to his house?

Nikita: After a couple hours of waiting, my brother and I walked to Victor's house... which, fortunately for us, was only about two miles away.

It started to get late, and our parents were still gone, so we left...

• 👉Leave the House → Go to Page 2.

Pavel: Mama is still gone... and Papa too.

Nikita: The phone is still broken too.

Pavel: I don't want to stay here alone, it's scary at night.

Nikita: The sun will be gone soon, Pavel. What do we do?

Pavel: Let's run to Victor's house before it gets dark.

Nikita: Okay, let's go now. I'll leave a note for Mama when she comes back.

Pavel: Yeah, just write that we went to Victor's house.

*Leave the house and run to Victor's house*

Pavel: Come on, Niki! I'll race you there!

*Keep running as fast as you can!*

Pavel: Niki, you're slow! Come on!

Nikita: Wait up! You're faster than I am!

*Pavel slows down and lets you catch up*

Nikita: I'm tired, Pavel, let's walk.

Pavel: I don't want to be outside when it gets dark, let's go fast.

*Start running faster*

Pavel: There's Victor's house right past that tree!

Nikita: What if Victor isn't home either?

• 👉Victor's House → Go to Page 3.

*Pavel knocks on the door*

*Wait for someone to come to the door*

Victor: Pavel and Nikita... boys, why aren't you home?

This was a smart move from my brother looking back at it now... we didn't know what to do... so we went to Victor's house. My brother and I were pretty excited to see him.

From my memory, I know that when Victor opened the front door, he looked sad... or worried, I didn't know why at the time, but I do now.

I'll reveal why he was sad later on in the story, but for now, let's continue.

Nikita: Well, mama and papa won't come home, they're gone.

Victor: Your mama and papa are gone???

*Pavel nods his head and looks at you*

Victor: Come in, I can bring you home later, I guess.

Nikita: I left a note at home to tell them we went to your house.

Victor: Good thinking, boys, okay, do you want some food?

Nikita: Yeah! I want blini!

Pavel: Blini! Blini!

Nikita: We like those a lot, can we have blini, Victor?

Victor: Sure thing, boys, give me 10 minutes, okay?

Nikita: Okay, Victor, thanks!

*Victor picks up the phone*

Nikita: Who are you calling, Victor?

Victor: Your parents... but they didn't pick up.

Nikita: Our phone is broken, you look sad, Victor, do you not like blini?

Fast Forward

• 🔍Recall the first night at Victor's house. → Go to Page 4.
• 🔍Recall the following morning. → Go to Page 5.
• 🔍Recall the Soviet Union's downfall. → Go to Page 6.
• 🔍Recall the police investigation. → Go to Page 7.
• 🔍Recall school life. → Go to Page 8.

He fed us, he was kind, everything was pretty normal, but when our parents still didn't come home when it was time for my brother and I to go to bed... Victor got concerned. He let us sleep at his house, and said he would try calling them a few more times.

My parents were still gone, they weren't ever coming back, but Victor wasn't exactly sure what was going on. He called the police in the morning and told them about the situation. The police said they would consider the case a missing person case if the parents were still missing in another 24 hours. We all know that the first 24 hours are the most crucial when looking for missing people, but... my parents weren't given that luxury.

When our homeland, the Soviet Union, fell apart, everything just became difficult. It's almost impossible to explain, but if you can imagine when a relationship, or a business, or a team falls apart, it leaves a pretty big crater that doesn't fill up immediately. Picture this on a very, very, very large scale. When the union fell, so many people left, people committed suicide, people vanished, it was really bad, and I was only 8 years old at the time. The union fell about 1 year after my parents vanished.

When the next 24 hours passed and my parents were still gone, the police got involved, but the investigation was called off very quickly and considered a cold case. The police gave up unusually quickly. When my brother and I heard the news, that our parents were gone... like, really gone, we fell apart. We acted out in school, we lost our friendships, and my brother kept getting into fights... it was a bad time for us, this point is the low point in the story. But, all of this bonded us together even more, all we had was each other.

I won't bore you with all of that school stuff, it's not that relevant to the story. But... once we got out of school, my story grows more intense. My brother and I graduated when we were 15, only year early because we skilled a year due to our intellect. We just wanted to get out of that school. After that, we stayed at home with Victor all day long... and found out that he didn't work anywhere... and then, we started to see the problems...

Memory: Victor's Problems

• 🔍Recall Victor's drinking. → Go to Page 9.
• 🔍Recall the following year after school was finished. → Go to Page 10.
• 🔍Recall the job hunt. → Go to Page 11.

I suspect Victor lost his job at some point during our school years and was living off of his saved money. Victor began drinking almost every night and sometimes it wasn't pretty. It was difficult for us because he was our only father figure.

My brother and I saw Victor very drunk very often... even in the mornings. We started to get more and more worried, and sometimes he would leave the house and not return for hours and hours. This kind of behavior became the norm within a year after my brother and I finished school.

When my brother and I began searching for jobs now that school was over and we didn't want to go to university... we tried to get Victor to find a new job as well. He didn't take this very well, but we still did feel like we owed him because he took us in when we were only seven years old. Victor was basically our new dad... so my brother and I decided we would work and help Victor through his tough time. We hoped eventually he would feel better. Victor blamed the fall of the Soviet Union for most of his problems... the thing is when you start blaming anything or anyone other than yourself, you lose control of your life, and when you give up control... that's when you give up your happiness. I know this now, obviously, and I wish I would have had this wisdom earlier in my life. Everything would be different.

• 👉New Phase → Go to Page 12.

Pavel: Happy birthday, brother, we're 16, almost adults!

Nikita: Jeez, he's already drunk, what do we do about him...?

Victor: WHAT DID YOU SAY, NIKITA!?

*Remain silent*

Pavel: He was just saying he wants a drink, but maybe later, right, Nick?

*Nod three times*

Victor: I have faith... the union will be reborn, just you wait. JUST WAIT, NIKITA!

*Look at Pavel*

Pavel: We will leave... we need to find a place.

Nikita: We need jobs, we can only live for about one month with the money we have.

Pavel: Stay positive, brother, we are Volkovs, we will make it, we'll get jobs.

Nikita: Okay, Pavel, let's do this, but what about Victor?

Pavel: We will stop by every once in a while and make sure he is okay.

*Nod in agreement*

Pavel: For now, brother, let's just try to enjoy our birthday.

Nikita: I can solve our job problem, I think...

Pavel: I never doubted you for a second, Nick.

*Pavel winks at you*

Nikita: Anyways, November 2... time flies, we're 16 years old. Happy birthday, brother.