Generation Antihero - Shorts

~Ilus' story~

The two young brothers sat on the wooden fencing of their wide garden. Even during the summers with sunny weather it was quite fresh in the mountains, yet both wore a t-shirt and some shorts. They shared the leftovers of last evening's meal and watched the farm animals running around in the enclosure. Mitya suggested: "Let's play barashka. Loser has to do the dishes tonight". "Agreed", eagerly Ilus nodded and they prepared the game. In the meantime they heard the doorbell of their log cabin ring.

As the older one, Mitya had the responsibilty to open the door whenever their parents were out of the house - He was 16 already after all. As always curious the younger one followed, but hid behind another door to peek. The house's main door swung open, an older man with darkened sunglasses and a briefcase appeared. He greeted Mitya with a wide grin: "Hello there, boy. Are your parents home?". "No, they're with friends. Do you have an appointment?", he asked courageously. -"Yes, I do. Is it alright if I wait inside in the meantime?". Since the older brother thought that his parents had to be home soon then, he let the stranger in.

~~~

A few months later, it was still winter, Ilus sat in his room and listened to the unbearable fights of his family - His mother's yelling and his brother's crying. When the cold, dark night started and the house got quiet, the 8-year-old rocked back and forth barely breathing, his knees pressed against his chest. At last, he got up and walked through the snow towards the stables. He had a special bond with one of the cow cubs. He seeked protection by the little Olga, while running his hand through her curly and soft fur. Her mother let him be and laid down beside them, protecting both from the cold.

Just a short time later the gate opened again and Mityas face meagerly appeared around the corner: "What are you doing here?". "I couldn't sleep", he whispered. "Me neither", as he stepped into light, his eyes swollen from crying got visible. He dropped down beside him and closed his eyes trembling: "I can't sleep here anymore. I think, mom doesn't love us anymore". Saddened Ilus looked up at him: "Do you think she'd miss us?". -"When?". -"If we would disappear". -"...I don't think she would. She doesn't seem to miss dad either".

Thinking more about it, Ilus worked out a plan. Though it seemes unrealistic in his young child-mind, he suggested: "Should we leave?". -"Where to?". -"America, Los Angeles". -"What is there?". -"Warm weather, cool clothes, famous and rich people". -"What do you want with celebreties?". -"We'll become ones ourself. We'll sing a few songs or make our own movie and then we'll get rich. And then we'll have loads of people who love us. We don't need mom then anymore". -"This is never ever going to be this easy, Ilus". -"But not impossible".

And just a handful of days later they slaughtered the piggy bank in the living room, grabbed a big travel-bag full of clothes and durable food, and jumped onto Mitya's bicycle. In the basket upfront they put Olga as a third traveller. The tour together on the small saddle quickly got uncomfortable and the chain constantly jumped out of it's bracket. Because of the circumstances they just made it to the closest harbour. They took the chance of sneaking onto a freighter on which the flag of the USA danced in the wind. Through conversations they heard that the crossing would take about a month, so they shared their food sparingly with Olga.

On their travel Ilus started learning some English with an old dictionary, lying around in a dusty corner. When rations got tight and they just wanted to get on dry land again, they looked out of one of the windows and saw the skyline of a city. In their young eyes that could have very well been Los Angeles, so they took their stuff and stormed off the ship. The huge sign with "Welcome to Seattle" they couldn't read back then.

But Mitya noticed early on: "I thought Los Angeles was also during the summers warm". They stomped through a thin layer of snow, but it didn't bother Ilus: "A winter without snow would probably confuse me". And just as confused were the city residents by the look of a hairy cub wandering around. From their money they could just barely afford new rations and one night at a hotel. As they were broke, they searched for a warm place in an alley way.

It didn't take long until the younger brother got sick. What started out as coughs and sniffles, turned into an unseen lung infection with fever. That didn't keep him from continuing with learning a new language. Meanwhile Mitya went through the streets to beg for money. And one day at the end of winter Ilus took a close look at the regional newspaper, twisting his look. When the older one returned with a few dollars, Ilus mentioned: "Mitya, I think we're not in Los Angeles. We are in Se- a- att- le". After totally butchering the pronounciation, he coughed up. Mitya was irritated: "Sounds French". -"But Los Angeles doesn't seem to be far".

They went on their way to the busy central station. At the ticket machine Ilus tried his luck with the English alphabet. Mitya rather asked once more: "Is that the right city? Can you read that?". "It looks right", but he couldn't be for sure of course. They bought the tickets from their hardly saved money and got on the bus line written on the tickets. In Sacramento they had to transfer lines, where two other children without parents got on. They were brother and sister.

When they too noticed that Ilus and Mitya were travelling alone, the boy went over to them: "Hi". Hardly Ilus waved back: "Hello". "Where are your parents?", he asked, though his English was much better than of the Russians. Ilus didn't really understand the question and could only blink at him puzzled. But he recognized them being alone anyway and offered a hand: "I am Zachary". The younger one accepted his hand: "Ilus". The older one kept his hand to himself: "Mitya". Zachary's sister waved: "Emily".

Zachary was with his age right in the middle of Ilus and Mitya, Emily was just a little older than Ilus. Even though there was a clear language barrier between them, Zachary and Ilus played several rounds of tic-tac-toe - Also during the night, where Emily and Mitya slept. Sometimes they switched over to rock, paper, scissors or Uno. After a while Zachary found the hidden cub in the large sports bag and was allowed to pet her. Ilus proudly pointed at he, but whispered, so the bus driver wouldn't hear: "Olga". The dark-skinned boy laughed lightly.

They also slept another round, since especially Ilus was drained with his fever. Arrived in Los Angeles, they immediately felt the warmth on their skin. Yet the youngest was freezing and trembling. His excitement took part in it. Now the sibling pairs looked at each other without a plan. Emily took the Russian's dicitionary and bit by bit build a sentence: "Let's be a team". Though the grammar didn't arrive correctly, they understood the message. Ilus exchanged looks with Mitya, who hesitantly nodded.