I woke up this morning to the same empty house, with the same scarcity of food, and the same cold nipping at my flesh. I grumbled unhappily as I grabbed my half drunken bottle of Vodka from last night and threw on my jacket. The sound of this sleepless city was still rumbling away outside my doorstep as I turned the door handle. Ah, Moskva, moy gorod. I began stumbling down the street as I took a drink and searched my pockets to make sure I had enough money to buy breakfast this morning. As I continued my journey to the market I remember hearing two people conversing about how Sputnik was a great success, and how Laika was just sent into space and wasn’t expected to survive. I then heard another group of people talking about how this sparked a “Space Race” between us and America, I’m not too sure what it means, but it makes me sick. Everyone has to compete to be on top, don’t we? No one can just be happy with the advancements one or another makes. I heard someone say we’d be sending a human into space soon, the first man. Yuri… Gagarin, or something, I believe they said. I’m hoping sooner or later everyone will realize it’s not up to who gets there first, but more so of working together in order further ourselves as humans. I toyed with these thoughts and such in my head over and over until I reached the market, my stomach growled as I stepped inside and took another swig of my drink. I asked the shop keeper if he had any bread for sale, he did, but unfortunately I came up just slightly too short with what money I did have, I’d have to either scavenge food somewhere or starve for today. Discontent I left the market and drained the dregs of my Vodka bottle; I tossed it back at the world, and started back for home.
As I began walking back home a strange looking old woman stopped me on the street and told me how hungry I looked, and offered to split her bread with me. I gladly accepted and thanked her, wrapping it in my jacket as I set off for home to eat. I continued walking until I heard someone shout my name from a nearby alleyway. “Vova! Get over here you urod!” Curious, I poked my head around the corner and saw Aleks, I wouldn’t call him much of an enemy, but more of a nuisance. During our schooling years it was obvious he was more brawn than brain, and while he was a strong laborer, he was easy to trick and manipulate. “What do you want from me, Aleks…?” I stuttered. “Calm down moy bratsiya, I have a proposition for you…” Suddenly I wasn’t hungry anymore, my stomach was turning. “I see you found some bread on your travels; I know you’ve got it in your jacket. You give me the bread, and I don’t kill you right now. Sound good?” He stared at me intently, not blinking once. I began to stammer. “L-look… H-how about us two s-split it…?” He nodded and locked on to my jacket. I slowly brought out the bread and began to tear it, but as quickly as he could he snatched it and ran to the back of the alley, eating it as he ran. “You dishonest child! Get back here!” I shouted as I started for him, but as soon as the words left my mouth, he dropped to the cold stone ground, coughing and sputtering. His head met the ground with a sickening crack, poison.