Half Sister

Russia

"Mama, who is my father?" Katrina asked her mother during one of her visits.

"My love, I have told that isn't something I want to discuss." Her mother, Martha, replied.

"Please? I'm seventeen years old, almost eighteen, and I don't even know who he is."

"No, Katrina. I refuse to talk about him. Please just drop it."

"But I-" Katrina was interrupted by her mothers sharp tone.

"Enough! Drop. It." Her mother ended it with a fierce glare. Katrina knew better than to question her mother after getting that look.

"Okay." Katrina dropped it. She knew her mother would tell her eventually, but she just didn't understand why she couldn't know now. "Have you been taking your medicine?" She said instead.

"Yes, of course. Everyday. You know I should be the one worrying about you."

Katrina's mother was taking medicine to help her sleep. During her last visit, she confessed to Katrina that she has been exhausted more days than not, but that she couldn't sleep. Katrina had suggested that she take a day or two off from work that way she could catch up on her sleep but her mother refused and said she needed as much money as she could get so she could bring her home.

Katrina had been living in an orphanage since she was three years old. Her mother had a lot of debt and had fallen into more debt when she got pregnant. When Katrina was born, her mother tried to provide for her while also paying off her debts but eventually she couldn't even afford formula for her. Her mother had reached out to an old friend who had happened to work at an orphanage. Her friend, Vera, was more than happy to help. They agreed that Katrina would live in the orphanage until her mother paid off her debts and could properly provide for her. Vera insisted that she didn't have to pay for anything.

The orphanage offered schooling, so Katrina's mother didn't have to pay for school. Katrina had been living there for almost her entire life. She felt bad for her mom. Her mother never complained much, but she knew that working two jobs to pay for her house, food, and basic necessities while also putting money into a weird account that her mother also refused to tell her about, was stressful. " Just in case." Her mother would tell her whenever she asked about it, but she never elaborated further.

"Katrina, dear, it's time to come inside." Vera said, then disappeared back inside after waving to Katrina's mother.

Katrina stood so she could hug her mother. Her mother stood as well and engulfed her in a hug. They always hugged each other like one of them was going off to war even though they would be seeing each other next week.

"I love you." Katrina said.

Her mother smiled but it seemed a little sad. "I love you more." She said after a few moments.

"Mama-" Katrina started, but her mother cut her off.

"Go inside. There is a hockey game tonight and I know you'll want to watch it on the television." Her mother was right. She really wanted to watch that hockey game, but she also wanted to know why her mothers smiles have been looking sadder and sadder each time Katrina saw her. But her mother left before Katrina could question her further.

Katrina retreated back inside the huge building that was the orphanage. Vera was waiting by the door when Katrina walked inside.

"How's Martha?" Vera asked as she walked beside Katrina down the narrow hallway.

"She seems okay, I guess." Katrina was staring at the floor.

"What's wrong?"

"I feel like she's not telling me something."

"Why do you say that?" Vera knows Martha better than Katrina did despite the fact that Martha was Katrina's mother. But Vera and Martha had been friends forever so she supposed it made sense.

"She's been quiet and she keeps avoiding my questions. I just feel like she's not telling me something and I want to know why. Does she not trust me?" Katrina was starting to spiral. She was raising her voice and unintentionally started walking faster. Vera stopped her furious strides by gently grabbing her shoulder and stepping in front of her.

"Katrina," she said softly, "Is this about your father?" Vera was giving her the look she gave her every time she found out she was fussing over her father's identity again. Katrina had seen that look way too many times.

"Maybe. . ." Katrina muttered.

Vera sighed, "Katrina, I know you want to know who he is but your mother has said that she doesn't want to talk about it. I think you need to respect that."

"I know, but-"

"Respect her decision, Katrina." Vera interrupted. There was silence for a moment then Katrina said, "Okay. I will. I'm sorry."

Vera smiled. "It's okay, my dear. Go freshen up. We will have dinner soon and then I will turn the hockey game on in the living area."

Katrina smiled back and headed for her dorm. She got a quick shower and changed her clothes. She walked down to the living area because her mother really was right, she didn't want to miss this game. Ottawa was playing tonight against Montreal. Her two favorite players were Shane Hollander and Ilya Rozanov. Rozanov was the captain for the Ottawa Centaurs and Hollander was the captain for the Montreal Voyageurs. They were rival teams and rival players but they both were amazing players. Katrina loved watching them play against each other. No matter who won, she was never left disappointed. She supposed they weren't much of rivals these days. Early in the year, they announced their charity they were starting called the "Irina Foundation." Apparently the foundation was inspired by Rozanov's mother, Irina, who committed suicide. Both Hollander and Rozanov thought that mental health was important so they joined forces and started the charity. They were friends off the ice and rivals on the ice.

Katrina was very happy when she found out about the charity for more than one reason. For one, mental health is not a very popular concept among Russians, so it was nice to see Rozanov, a very popular Russian idol, was involved in a charity for mental health. She also loved that her two favorite players were joining forces for a better cause. Katrina wondered if she herself might have mental health issues, she was often sad, but she chopped it up to her being sad about not living with her mom yet.

Gosh she must have watched the video of Hollander and Rozanov announcing their charity and their friendship about a hundred times. She remembered telling her mother all about it when she visited. She also remembered her mother being extremely upset by Rozanov's story about his mother passing away due to losing her battle with depression. Of course Katrina was upset about it too, but her mother was really upset.

The Montreal Voyageurs won the game! Katrina had stayed up way too late just so she could finish watching the game. Technically there was a scheduled bedtime in the orphanage but Vera understood that Katrina really didn't have much to look forward to other than hockey games, her language classes, and her mother's weekly visits. Also Katrina technically wasn't even supposed to be there since she wasn't actually an orphan. But Vera was a friend doing Katrina's mother a really big favor. So every game day Vera will let Katrina stay up and watch the game with her.

"Time for bed." Vera helped Katrina up off the floor and walked with her to her dorm. "Goodnight, Katrina." Vera said as they reached her dorm room.

"Goodnight." Katrina replied.

***

Katrina woke up early the next morning even though she didn't have classes today. Today was Saturday, so most of the kids and staff were sleeping in. Katrina put on some shoes and began walking to the library that was next door to the orphanage. The orphanage was technically three separate buildings but they were all owned by the same person. The main building was the orphanage that consisted of a small cafeteria, dorm rooms for the children to sleep, dorm rooms for few staff members to sleep in, and a living area that had a few bookshelves, tables, a tv, and a smaller room that had toys for some of the younger kids in the orphanage. The second building next door on the east side of the main building was the school. The school was very tiny and it only had room for the kids in the orphanage. On the west side of the main building was the library. While there were already some books in the living area in the main building, they didn't have the books that Katrina was looking for. The library had all types of genres and it had a section for textbooks and general learning dictionaries.

Katrina didn't leave the orphanage much. She wasn't even eighteen yet and the orphanage was all she knew. She knew all the kids, all the staff, and she was completely familiar with all the rooms. She was also a bit intimidated by the idea of walking around Russia by herself despite the fact that it was her home, so whenever she left the orphanage, she was only right next door in the library or at the school. There was also the rare time her mother would come over for her weekly visit and take her to a restaurant or a coffee shop. One time, she took her for a walk at the park. That was very lovely. Katrina hoped they would go for another walk soon.

Katrina rounded the corner of the hallway and walked to the big doors that connected into the library. She made a beeline toward the "Language Arts" section of the library. Other than hockey, Katrina loved languages. She always loved going to the library but she only got into languages a few years ago. She had been learning English for about three years and she had to admit, she was pretty excellent at it. Her voice was still a little boxy around the English words, but she knew that any English speaker would still be able to tell what she was saying. Katrina thought about learning French, but she ultimately decided against it. That look way too complicated, and she wanted to master English before she attempted to learn another language.

Many moments passed when the librarian, Sofiya, walked in. Sofiya was an older woman with light brown hair with specks of gray through it. Katrina was barely taller than her with her 5'6'' frame. She'd say Sofiya had to be about 5'4'' but she walked like she was 7 feet tall. Katrina really liked Sofiya. She was sassy and beautiful and generally just a fun person to be around.

"My god, Katrina! You scared me!" Sofiya yelled when she walked by Katrina with her books scattered on the ground.

"I am in here every Saturday morning! How are you not used to this after fifteen years?" Katrina said after she finished laughing.

Sofiya adjusted her glasses and put her hand over her heart and muttered, "This child is going to give me a heart attack one day."

After Sofiya got her breathing back to normal, she sat down with Katrina on the floor. She picked up one of the books and proceeded to quiz Katrina on her English words. Sofiya was fluent in English and has been helping Katrina with learning it for three years. This was their little tradition on Saturday mornings. Katrina would come in and study, scare the life out of Sofiya, then they would study the language together until the library officially opened for the day at noon.

A few long moments went by and Katrina glanced at the time. It was 11:32AM, the library would be opening soon. Sofiya had gotten up about twenty minutes ago so she could return books to the shelves and vacuum the floor before the library officially opened. Katrina stood and began to gather and put away her books. She then turned and said, "I think I am going to get some breakfast."

"Done studying?" She asked as she was turning the vacuum off.

"For today, yes."

Sofiya smiled and said, "Okay, hon, see you later."

Katrina smiled at her and left the library. As she was turning the corner, she saw Vera.

"Katrina, Martha is here to see you." Vera sounded confused and a tad worried. Katrina didn't really blame her. It was definitely unusual for her to visit two days in a row.

"Oh, alright. Thank you." She replied and went to go find her mom.