The battle in Berlin was fierce and bloody enough during the spring. Though at the end, Dmitry survived with some scratches and bruises. After knowing the enemy has surrendered and no more gunfire heard, Dmitry can sling his gun to his shoulder forever.
False Memory
[Late 1944]
A giant fire blazed in the dry, brown ground. Medium-sized craters surrounded the fire, with hot pieces of metal in the center, or some charred corpses in some of the craters. It was unclear whether they were Soviet or Wehrmacht soldiers... but the shouts could be heard from everywhere. The same shouting, they ordered their subordinates to advance and shoot every enemy they saw. Meanwhile, two dirty-faced men were hiding above the forest trees nearby. They both watched as the Wehrmacht soldiers hid, waiting for their enemies to approach, and then shot them one by one.
Sacrifice
[Forest near border of Germany, July 1944]
The man named Dmitry Petronov, now swallowed his blood-tinged saliva again. His green eyes struggled to focus on what had struck his mouth in the sudden. His hands gripping his belt to brace himself against the pain. The only clear thing to see was a strange, widened sly grin. That grin let out a laugh, signaling his victory over his opponent.
"Hello, Dima. So you're still alive. I thought you will easily died over a random bullet," the man with hazel eyes mocked after a moment of silence.
"Lyosha? What the hell?! How you could be this cruel?" Dmitry cursed.
"Hahahaha, you even still call me Lyosha!!" Alexei barked before spitting on the ground, "You're so naive. Innocent. Annoying. Your qualities somehow attracted me to you, just like Lyosha felt. Made me develop primal instinct to protect you. Made me hesitated to poison you three years ago. Thankfully, I won't hesitate anymore, start by removing Vasya who kept pestering me around."
"Wha-what..." Dmitry's throat tightened as he heard Alexei's emphasized words. "You bastard! Why did you kill Vasya?!" Dmitry's anger boiled over, and ran toward Alexei to punch him. However, Alexei had already tilted his neck before Dmitry's fist could reach the cheek. Dmitry himself was also surprised when a hand suddenly struck him right in the ribs. Then he knocked down to the soil.
"There's a price to crossing over my lines. Especially for you, who take Dasha from me."
Interview
"Why were you not stepping up as soloist?"
DMITRY
Dmitry: "Because... I'm already content. Singing in the middle row, with friends between my shoulders. I can see other people instead just at audience. And I don't want to sing alone. It feels intimidating when I sing alone while my friends behind me."
Interviewer: "But the fame, the salary, and better connection!"
Dmitry: "As long the flour and yeast price not skyrocketing, I am content. As long I can still send money to Stalingrad, I am content."
Interviewer: "What, you have family?"
Dmitry: "...Just a neighbor who used to caring me while my mom working."
Interviewer: (jot down the notes)
VASILY
Vasily: "Because I heard there's a rule about reduce smoking and drinking habit to maintain good voice. I am not going to bent by such rules!"
Interviewer: "But soloist Georgy Vinogradov was popular as alcoholic wine drinker and heavy smoker."
Vasily: "BUT HE IS HANDSOME AND TALL LIKE ELF. I AM SHORTY BALD WITH EYEBAGS!!"
Interviewer: "Okay calm down! Yeah fair enough."
OLEG
Oleg: "I'm already a tenor coordinator. It's already multitasking as chorist too while maintaining my colleagues."
Interviewer: "Well, you can... pass your role to someone else, right?"
Oleg: "My colleagues trusted me more. I am crowd controller and mediator for every conflict among chorists."
Interviewer: "But I got information from Alexander Vasilyevich, you were kept thrown out of the bus because your pranks towards your peers?"
Oleg: "It's their love language. Because of me, they are staying in harmony without hostility. And so, they thanked me by make sure I don't leave them for a such isolating position."
Interviewer: "What."
ANATOLI
Anatoli: "Well, I would love to... but the position already taken by better singers than me. And I don't mad because they do talented! As example... Razumovsky, Nikitin, Laut, Vinogradov, Tverdokhlebov, Verkhulevsky, Kuznetsov, Babayev, Pankov, Lyagin, Shilov, Tolstov, Glazov, Ustinov, Fedorov, Bycheev...."
Interview: (slowly tune down the mic and stepped away)
FYODOR
Fyodor: "I don't need more unnecessary pressure from too much people, I guess."
Interviewer: "But the fame, the salary, and better connection! Moreover you have same surname like a military figure, Konstantin Rokossovsky!"
Fyodor: "Fun fact: tenor soloist Tverdokhlebov literally caught by NKVD three times and sent to Siberia, and somehow he always managed to escape, come back to the ensemble, and finally spared just because Commissars finds it funny."
Interviewer: "What—"
Fyodor: "Another fun fact: our Maestro's subordinate Shulman who usually managing the venues, were caught and kept in Siberia for years. Cannot escape until now."
Interviewer: "That's not connected at all—"
Fyodor: "It does. Having popular surname will make my life harder if I become too popular. So no thank you." (leaves the room)
Interviewer: (Speechless)
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