Chapter 99

[NADIA]

Throughout my life, I always knew what I wanted: to become someone who mattered, someone who did things that mattered to others; someone who wasn’t afraid of the world; someone who lived their life on their own terms.

But, as they say, you don’t always get what you want. And in my case, I hardly ever got what I wanted—what I really, really wanted.

I was only five when Mom and Dad passed away in an accident. My brother, who wasn’t older than ten, took it upon himself to take care of us. Of course, he didn’t get to make all the big decisions until our uncle kicked us out of his home as soon as my brother turned eighteen. It was only after we became homeless once again that he actually got the chance to become what he really wanted.

Anatoly, my brother, wasn’t even that much older than me. We were maybe five years apart. That means when he turned eighteen, I was old enough to make tea and sandwiches and pack a lunch for both of us.

My brother never really got the chance to actual