His hands were around her waist, making sure she didn’t fall. He felt the crease of her bunched-up dress, the soft padding of her nappy, and the pull of her body as she leant fearlessly forward to try and dive to the floor. He quickly closed his eyes and opened them again, and she was gone. Just like that.A few minutes passed before he was able to sit up. He felt dreadfully cold and utterly hollowed out. Why? Why? As soon as the shock slid away, the tears streamed forth. Peter suddenly appeared beside him. He bent down, clumsily placing his arms around his friend, as far as they would stretch, as Yuri sobbed into the crook of his mucky little neck. ‘She’s gone, isn’t she?’ murmured Mrs Karmanova from the other side of the room.In his confused state Yuri thought she was talking about Anna. ‘Y-yes …,’ he stammered, as he gently released Peter’s arms back to him, gesturing that he was okay now. ‘I just had a bad dream,’ he said.
