Other children ran past Stefan, but it seemed that Stefan was in no hurry to return home. After all, no one was home, and even if there were, arriving a few minutes earlier or later wouldn't make a difference.
As he stepped out of the school, he headed toward the street he had walked down many times with his mother to ensure he wouldn't get lost on his first day coming home from school. A little further ahead, his eyes caught the troublesome boy who had sat between him and Vasil, walking out of a narrow alley with a satisfied grin.
As Stefan passed the alley, he glanced in. He stopped, hesitated for a moment, as if unsure whether to go in or not, but it was too late to hide himself now. So, he entered the alley, approached Vasil, extended his hand toward him, and asked, "Do you always let them bully you so easily?"
Vasil took his hand and stood up. "Not usually. I always try to leave school right after classes end. This time, I got caught!"
Vasil bent down, picked up a green scarf from the ground, and dusted it off. Stefan watched him as he wrapped the still-dusty scarf around his neck. "Why do you let them do this to you in the first place?"
Vasil looked up at him, and Stefan continued, "If you stand up to them once, they'll stop bothering you."
He picked up Vasil's worn-out bag from the ground and handed it to him as Vasil was pulling a small pebble from his hair. Vasil took the bag. "Thanks. As for your question, I'm sure they'll get bored one day."
Stefan raised an eyebrow. "And you're just going to put up with it until then?"
Vasil replied, "Yeah. I can't stand up to them. I'd rather not get into a fight I know I'm going to lose."
Stefan looked at him with disappointment. "You're weak!"
Vasil said, "I know."
They left the alley together, and Vasil smiled at him. "Thanks for the help! See you tomorrow!"
He said this in a tone as if Stefan had helped him solve a math problem, not helped him gather his things from a dirty alley after being beaten up.
Stefan stood still and watched him walk away, then turned in the opposite direction to head home.
***
After a long struggle, the lock clicked open, and Vasil stepped into the house. He called out, "I'm back!"
No response. In fact, if there had been one, he should have been scared, as no one was supposed to be home at this hour.
Vasil kicked the door shut, dropped his bag and scarf by the door, and collapsed onto the dusty couch. He raised his arm and covered his eyes with his forearm to block the light coming in from the window that was bothering him. He tried to ignore the pain twisting in his shoulder and closed his eyes.
This made him feel better-seeing nothing, hearing nothing, and thinking of nothing.
His eyelids grew heavy, and slowly, he drifted off to sleep.
***
"Vasil? Vasilka... Vas!"
Vasil slowly opened his eyes. Everything was dark and blurry. He rubbed his eyes and looked toward the voice. "Hi, Irina."
Irina had laid her head next to him on the couch, her golden hair flowing like a waterfall around her tired face. "Hello, my darling."
Vasil rolled toward her with a sleepy smile. "When did you get here?" Irina shrugged her shoulders. "Not long ago."
Vasil said, "Good." He tried to sit up by leaning on his hand, but a sharp pain twisted in his wrist, making his face contort as he pulled his hand back.
Noticing the change, a small frown appeared on Irina's face. "What was that?"
Vasil quickly sat up with the help of his other hand and answered, "Nothing!"
Irina sternly ordered, "Vasil Devin! Show me your hand!"
Now fully awake, Vasil hesitantly extended his hands. Irina took one of them, pulled it toward her, and rolled up his sweater sleeve. Seeing the pink mark slowly turning purple, she muttered under her breath, "Yebat!" (A Russian word meaning: F*CK!)
In a quiet voice, Vasil said, "I just fell down!"
Irina gave him a sad, disappointed look. Vasil's lie was painfully obvious to both of them. Without letting go of his hand, she stood up. "Come on, let's go bandage it."
Without a word, Vasil followed her into the kitchen, which was really only a few steps away and consisted of a small rectangular space with damp tiles and faded walls.
Irina went to a cabinet, opened it, and took out a first aid kit. Vasil sat down at the small two-person dining table. The cabinet door closed with a quiet creak.
When Irina turned back to him, a gentle smile was painted on her lips. She sat beside him and opened the first aid kit. "You know, if you keep calling me by my name like that, no one will believe I'm your mother anymore!"
Vasil replied, "I know, but I love your name!"
Irina laughed. "You like my name that much?"
Vasil extended his bruised hand, and Irina began wrapping it in a bandage.
"I love the way it sounds when it's pronounced. It's like music!"
Irina: "Well, it's good that at least one of us likes it!"
Vasil asked, "You don't like it?"
Irina answered, "There are names I'd prefer."
The bandage was slowly wrapped around Vasil's wrist.
After a moment of silence, Vasil asked, "If you could choose your own name, what would you pick?"
Irina was quiet for a while, and Vasil couldn't tell if she was deep in thought or just didn't want to answer.
After a bit, Irina responded, "Sasha..."
Vasil quietly repeated the name "Sasha," as if tasting the word. "It's a nice name. Not as musical, but it's still nice!"
For a moment, the smile vanished from Irina's lips. Vasil noticed the same sad look in his mother's eyes that he occasionally saw when she thought he wasn't paying attention. But in an instant, her expression returned to normal. "Thank you."
The bandaging of Vasil's wrist was complete. He raised his hand and gently moved his wrist. "Thanks, Mom."
His mother softly called his name, "Vasil?"
Vasil looked at her.
She said, "I know other kids aren't always kind."
Vasil looked away. Irina continued, "And I know this probably isn't easy for you, but unfortunately, we don't have another choice. You just have to ignore them. One day, they'll get bored. Who knows? Maybe that day will be tomorrow?"
Vasil's gaze wavered slightly, but he managed to keep his smile. "Okay, Mom. I'll do my best!"
Irina gently ruffled Vasil's messy hair. "I know you will." She stood up and clapped her hands together. "Alright, let's go make some dinner! I'm starving!"