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"Katyusha!"

At the sound of her name being mentioned, Katyusha's pupils dilated. She thought she was looking at another of her old neighbor, but she didn't recognize the woman who stood before her. Perhaps when she last saw her, this woman was a teenager? No, she couldn't recall her teenage face either. And all of a sudden, she hugged the Ukrainian woman. Katyusha stumbled back a little, feeling confused, yet she returned her hug. It started to feel awkward because she still had no idea about this woman's identity.

Oh god, she seemed really enthusiastic about seeing her here. Like a little girl who went to a candy store for the first time and her parents let her buy anything she wanted. If they met in a private place, Katyusha was half sure she would really jump high in the air. "Ah, I see," was all Katyusha could say after the hug was over. The question who are you was sitting on her tongue, waiting to be launched, but she held it still. Sooner or later, hopefully, she would learn her name from the person herself.

“I was the girl with the white mask! I used to steal stuff!”

The white mask. Her name was barely remembered, although Katyusha did remember that white mask. And... used to? So she had stopped stealing now? The blonde woman stayed silent, letting the former thief continued.

“Well I don’t steal stuff anymore.”

"That's good," Katyusha commented, beaming. "I am glad you finally leave stealing. Hopefully you will never return to that path again." She's always happy if a former criminal decided to leave their illegal job. If only her siblings could do the same...

"You were...? Ah, for how long?" Katyusha didn't remember when she tended her injury. Certainly more than a couple years ago. "Is that why you decide to stop stealing?"

"No... ah, I don't live here anymore," the nurse smiled sheepishly. "I already moved years ago. Maybe you don't know it because you stop stealing. I'm still live at Aylesbury Estate, in a house not far from here." Dang, she even brought a gift for her.

"I don't think the guy who lives here will return soon," she added.

It had been a long time since Katyusha last visited her old place in Winterbush Complex. She remembered only going there twice, but that was because she had to take some of her stuff to her new house down in Aylesbury. But it was years ago. Some of her old neighbors remained, some had moved out. Most of the former ones still remembered her face, and they greeted her when they saw her walking in the hallways.

The building itself hadn't changed much in the past years. The doors still had rusty hinges, creaking loudly every time they opened. She smiled at that thought. Other tenants often had problems with pests, broken heater and holes on the roof. Once Katyusha started to work for Kasem, she never had those problems. Money solved them all. But then she had to move into her current house, mostly because it was easier for her patients to sneak into it than into an apartment. As for the landlord, apparently he's still not a nice person to talk to. His wife, on the other hand, was really nice. She wondered sometimes how they got married.

Since she didn't have work today, Katyusha decided to go to Winterbush Complex. She heard that the elderly woman, Mrs. Arabella Thompson, who lived three doors from hers had passed away. Katyusha used to be close to her and visited her often just to talk or bake together. She was quite wise and the Ukrainian regarded her like her own grandmother. Mrs. Thompson lived with her granddaughter, Rosie, and her great-grandson, Hugh. Because Rosie always busy with work, in her spare time Katyusha used to babysit Hugh. He might have started school by now.

But when the nurse arrived at the Thompson's, it was already empty. The landlord's wife, Lydia, told her that Rosie and Hugh already moved out this morning. Katyusha missed them just by two hours. Because she was already there and didn't want to leave yet, Katyusha agreed to Lydia's invitation for lunch. After catching up to news for an hour or so, she excused herself.

An idea suddenly popped in her head. She was curious to see her old apartment. Lydia had informed her that five other tenants lived there, and the current tenant, a guy named Mark, probably would not return until past midnight. She also added that thieves often broke into that particular room, which made the previous tenants moved away. Hearing Lydia complained made Katyusha grinned sheepishly.

Katyusha walked up on the stairs and take a left turn. Then she saw something unusual. A young woman crouched down in front of her old apartment door. Maybe she was a friend of Mark? When she stood up, Katyusha felt slightly familiar. Like she had met her before, and not just as some random passerby. So when she walked even closer, the Ukrainian greeted her.

"Hello."

"Ah, yes, you are right."

The Ukrainian nurse beamed, happy she still remembered his name. It was always good to meet old acquaintance - though their meeting only happened once, started with tears and ended with smiles. She was glad they met on that night. Otherwise... otherwise she might not have enough strength to face what her job brought to her.

She gestured at him to take a seat - mildly embarrassed with the stark contrast between Francis and her living room. The room was so plain, making him look like a pearl sitting on top of second-hand clothes. But he seemed to be comfortable enough. She dashed to the kitchen and made two cups of tea quickly, not wanting to make her guest waiting too long. Katyusha returned and set the tray on the table.

"It has been a very long time, mon oiseau. I trust you have been well? Your occupation has not been giving you any trouble?"

"Yes, it's been a very long time," the nurse leaned back in her chair. "And I've been well, thank you for asking." She sipped her tea, pausing a bit before answering his next question. "The only trouble I have so far is the lack of bandages in this house, or when the cake I've been saving for myself mysteriously disappeared from the fridge." Katyusha ended her answers with a chuckle. Sure she had let everyone who stayed in her house to eat from her kitchen, but sometimes someone took too much. It suddenly crossed her mind whether Francis still remembered what her job was, but she didn't show her doubt and asked him instead, "how about you? Everything has been well?"

Nevertheless, it was strange for a man she only met once years ago suddenly showed up at her front door. Did she give her address to him? That was unlikely.

"So, Francis... what brings you here?"

The longer she spent time thinking, the more confusing it became. Katyusha had been estranged too long with her sister, and even though they now live in the same city, they rarely saw each other. In the end, Katyusha decided to just make dinner and bake something for her. She dialed Natalya's phone, and while she waited for her to pick it up, she heard knocking on the door. Holding her phone on close to her ear, the nurse rose and opened the door.

A man was standing there, shouting something in Russian at her. He carried another man; a larger, taller one. She didn't need to listen to him, one glance to the apparently unconscious man was enough to explain everything. Katyusha moved a bit to the side so he could carry him to the spare bedroom. When they passed her, the light from her living room illuminated the bleeding man's face. Pale blond hair. The roundish face. And among the words he cried out, Katyusha recognized a name. A name that she screamed in horror and panic.

"IVAN!"

He was undoubtedly her brother -- her beloved brother whose face had been away from her sight and whose whereabouts had been shrouded in mystery. How long had it been...? Why was he bleeding? Who did this to him?

Thoughts and questions flashed quicker than lightning in her mind, but she didn't realize that she was screaming them all to the man who carried her brother here. She felt like watching a movie; sitting down while images and sounds came into life before her motionless body. In reality, she was in the movie. She was the one who screamed and cried, barely noticing the phone that slid off her grasp and bounced on the floor. The other man appears to be confused, his jaw opened widely; but he quickly regained his composure and brought Ivan to one of her bedrooms. He returned shortly after, grabbing her hand to drag the shocked nurse.

She knew what she had to do. She knew she had to move now to save Ivan's life -- he's bleeding bleeding bleeding someone goddamn shot him on the back the bullet might take his life move move MOVE NOW--

How grateful she was to let this unknown person guided her back to her brother. Tears streamed down her face, pooling at the base of her neck and soaking her shirt wet. He had set Ivan's body to a sitting position on the bed -- oh God, he looked older and so pale -- and showed Katyusha where the bullet had entered and left his body. Muscles were definitely damaged or torn, although it didn't seem too harmful. Her shaking hands pulled open Ivan's shirt to check the wound-- he had grown bigger than the last time she saw him and when did that happen? -- then the man gave her a towel. She closed the wound with the towel and pressed it firmly. Katyusha felt her lips move, automatically forming commands with her sobbing voice.

The nurse was barely aware of what she was saying or what the situation she had before her really was. Her instinct kicked in, reminding her that she had a wound that needed to be closed. So when the man returned with the items she asked, Katyusha began to work.

It was a long night. When she finally finished, tears and blood had smeared on her shirt. Katyusha thanked the man -- a friend of Ivan, apparently -- for helping her. She glanced one last time to Ivan's bandaged shoulder and then his face, which she gently lifted a little. Leaning down, Katyusha kissed his forehead before sitting on the edge of the bed. She tried to say something -- he was still unconscious and probably wouldn't hear it, but who knows it might help him heal, right? Right? Right?

"Y-you will be okay," Katyusha managed to whisper between her muffled weep, her hand grasped his -- like so long ago when he cried after falling and hurting himself -- and the other caressed his cheek. "You'll be f-fine."

"Sestra is here."

"Well clearly your job is sssomething..." Katyusha returned with her kit box, feeling a little disoriented. She leaned on the kitchen counter, placing the box on top of it. "We both know your job is no ordinary, everyday commoner will do."

The nurse observed Kasem's shirt intently. 'Nothing happened' would not produce so much blood like that. 'Nothing happened' meant someone wasn't killed by his hands. She doubted anyone would be able to walk away after losing so much blood. Katyusha opened her lips, as if she wanted to say something, but she closed it again. Even when she was drunk she knew it's not good to ask Kasem about his job or the person who... just died. Didn't she take a vow not to do so?

"Maybe you didn't realize if... if you get wounded." Katyusha prepared bandages, wrapping her own hands in the process. "If it's that messy, you might fight with him, I still need to check--oh..." The bandage roll fell from the counter and ran across the room. Sighing, she went to fetch it back.

"Shower, hm? Yes, it's on the corner, take a right turn and you'll find it..." Katyusha was busy trying to re-roll the bandage. She forgot Kasem had been coming over several times and certainly had remembered the layout of her house.

Tossing the bandage roll back in its box, she opted to prepare something for her boss. She set a kettle ready and boiled some water. She was unsure about what drink she should make; tea or hot chocolate sounded not good enough for someone who just killed a person. She left the water in the kettle and went to check the fridge. Thankfully she still had some food.

"Kasem, would you like to drink something?" she raised her voice a little, not sure if he's still in the shower or not. "Or maybe you're hungry?"