The man had not spoken yet when the little girl began on her own. "I'm Nia... I have seventy copper coins. Forty-five for my mother, five for Little Jack, five for Ham, five for my grandmother, five for Aunt Falin, five for Aunt Rama, and five for Uncle Rudo."
"Give my Annie to Little Lina. Tell her to take good care of Annie. My clothes can go to the other children."
"Your mother, your grandmother, and Aunt Rama are already dead," the man said.
"Then... I'm Nia. I have seventy copper coins. Fifteen for Little Jack, fifteen for Ham, fifteen for Aunt Falin, and fifteen for Uncle Rudo." The little girl made her bequests again.
"What about you?" the man asked.
"I don't want to leave..." The little girl bounced on her feet. "I like it here."
The soles of her shoes had worn away earlier on the road. The uppers hanging around her ankles covered feet rubbed raw and bloody by the gravel path.
The tundra Moss was soft and springy. That night, the little girl had a good dream for the first time in ages... The next day, she saw that many people had not gotten up. She wanted to be like them and sleep here forever.
The little girl's innocence seemed to touch the man. "I'll carry you," he said, tossing her onto his back as if she were a bundle of firewood.
The little girl wrapped her arms around his neck, as though her father were still alive.
"What about my will?"
"You'll die before I do."
The man continued on his way, the little girl clutching her Rag Doll as she held on to him. Two lost souls had found shelter in each other.
News of the tragedy on the Astra Tundra reached Free