His wife

>playing stops<

The kiss he now softly presses onto my lips is so very different from our first one.

No one is watching us, therefore this isn't happening to please others. There is even some emotion behind it, at least from his side because I am so surprised by this that I just close my eyes and let his lips dance with mine.
His warm lips. And I think if he kisses me longer, I will lose all control over my thoughts which are alright going wild again.

But he ends the kiss and waits patiently for my reaction while his eyes focus on watching what is happening in mine. And all he can find there are my doll-like eyes staring back at him softly and a little helplessly.

While he looks at me so carefully, I am in utter loss of words. This afternoon I knew why he was kissing me, now I don't.

''Goodnight.'' My words sound abrupt and yet somehow honeyed but still shy as I softly lift my head up to kiss his cheek but because I can't get my head up high enough, I instead kiss the corner of his mouth.
''Goodnight.'' He whispers into my ear before kissing my lips very gently, so gently that it barely feels like he did, before he lies down next to me and yet not too close.

While he falls asleep, I stare at the ceiling as if up there I could find an answer to my question. And maybe it is up there, but I have a feeling that praying now won't help to calm this storm. So I'll have to at least attempt to sort my thoughts out myself.

He didn't seem mad that I responded to his kiss with goodnight. Somehow I think he also knew that I was too surprised to react in any other way. Though how else would I have reacted? Thank you? As I turn my head to stare at him and watch him breath calmly, I realize that maybe I shouldn't be otherthinking this. After all I have to still find some peace of mind with the fact that they'll send me to a place of which I only heard bad things.

8th of August 1942
Moscow, Soviet Union

''Please don't kill him.''

''I hate to disappoint you but I don't think that would convince him.'' Vasily notes with a quite sarcastic tone while he watches me write the letter to my brother. Due to me wanting to hear his opinion I have been reading it aloud to him for the past five minutes and despite his comment I choose not to change this sentence.

''With best regards your little sister, Anastasia Maximowna Stalina.'' It has been some weeks since I have this new last name but I still haven't gotten used to it and considering how others now react to hearing my name, I probably could never. Even with my maiden name some people turned their head when they heard it but now they turn pale and show so much respect and fear all at once that I further more question what this head of state does.

Carefully I now fold the paper and together with a picture of us at the wedding I put it into the envelope and close it as softly as I can.

''But I must admit that I am very grateful you ask him not to kill me.'' Once again there is a hint of sarcasm in Vasily's sentence but by now I learned to notice when he still means his words and as I glare up at him, he smiles kindly at me with his head tilded. He does mean it.

After I give the letter to a servant I get inside the car with Vasily and stare out of the window the whole drive. We are driving to the place outside of Moscow where he used to be in pilot training because the new round of students are having a football game and Vasily got invited to play there like he did in the 'good old times'.

Shortly after he received that call he timidly asked me if I would be interested in coming along and watching. I said yes, though not because I care about the sport, not even because it is my duty to join him on such occosiouns, but because of the way he asked. It just made it seem like it would mean a lot to him if I watched, therefore I agreed and as a 'thank you' I received an enthusiastic kiss with a smile from him.