[1940]
After Fyodor got the cats from Oleg, he decided to naming them:
Mila for the white queen
Khleb for the orange kitten
Chai for the grey kitten
Koka for the brown kitten
But he knew those old hags would try to ruin his happiness. How to kept these cats without known by them?
For the first time, Fyodor asked his father if the father can craft a special crate as the cat's house. The crate would be filled with lots of blankets and covered with pot plants, so people thought it was just gardening tools. The father happily fulfil it, and put that crate on the balcony. The cats are still kept outside, since Fyodor can't risk the cats abused by the old hags. The cats also sometimes escaped to streets since sometimes the old hags will check on balcony.
Since that moment, Fyodor, his father and two now-adult brothers are taking turns in caring the cats secretly. He trusted them to help caring the cats whenever Fyodor cannot arrive home (due to concert tour or overtime at the ensemble). He still doesn't trust his mother, as he still wounded by her choice to bring back those old hags.
Little did Fyodor know... the mother actually cat lover too. And the mother has making sure the abusive old hags won't come near balcony too often.
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[April 1942]
Fyodor was hit by the ruins after another battle in Moscow. He was lucky enough to step aside instead forward or backward, so he was only has his torso scraped by the destroyed bricks. Although still, he bled a lot and need to be pulled from the front.
Three days later, Fyodor is still lying down at hospital. He kept thinking about everyone. "Hope my friends survived. Hope Ivan is okay. Hope Stepan is still alive. Hope brothers still killing bastards out there. Hope dad and mom..."
And he always halted there. Then he will try to mention each names he known in the ensemble. Then will ended up halting his word when talking about his parents.
His reverie broke when he saw his parents walked in. Fyodor sighed in relief, although he is still awkward to see his mother. Someone that he both loved and hated brought a large basket.
"We received news from your brothers that you were wounded, after the bombings halted. So we rushed here to visit you," said his father.
"I'm fine. I won't easily died," posited Fyodor while still choosing to only look at his father.
"And... your grandma and aunt killed. Our communal bombed into pieces," his mother announced, leading to Fyodor's attention. For the first time, he finally look at his mother's eye.
"Killed?"
"They are stubborn to not taking shelter. They thought the communal won't be bombed, just because it's far away from the battlefield. But I'm not that stupid anymore," his mom monotoned. Then she slowly put a large basket to Fyodor's lap. With confusion, Fyodor opened that basket.
All of his four adult cats are inside, huddling together. They are meowed happily when seeing Fyodor. Meanwhile, Fyodor's eyes widened. He almost forgot about his cats. He almost accepted his cats will die, because they are still roaming on street when he went to the front.
"But how...?" Fyodor's lips trembled.
"Your mother quickly gets the basket and tell me to get the cats. Thank goodness they are waiting at alley. Quite nice cats... want to stay in one basket together. Then we went to shelter safely," explained his father with small smile.
Several teardrops coming out of Fyodor's eyes for the first time, too. He stroke Mila, Khleb, Chai and Koka. Then he look at his parents, who also start shedding tears. Without words, they hugged together.
Thus this morning, Fyodor's mother receiving her son's mercy and the cats' blessings.