– Mommy, can I have some water?
Katya and Sasha were instantly silent, exchanging glances. Katya was the first to pull herself together.
– Let's go to the kitchen, she said with a degree of annoyance at the interrupted conversation.
When she returned to the study, Sasha was hurriedly shoving some papers into his briefcase.
– What is it? – Katya asked, feeling everything inside her clench.
– Nothing. Work documents. I have to leave, – Sasha zipped up the briefcase and headed for the exit.
In a fit of desperation, Katya grabbed the briefcase. "Tell me, where are you going? No, you're not going anywhere until we talk!"
Sasha yanked the briefcase toward him; Katya wouldn't let go. At some point the clasp failed, and the contents of the briefcase scattered on the floor. Among the scattered papers Katya saw a glossy booklet with a Hebrew inscription and a picture of Tel Aviv.
There was a heavy silence. Katya stared at the booklet, unable to believe her eyes. Sasha, quickly coming to his senses, began to pick up the scattered papers.
– It's not what you think," he muttered, avoiding Katya's gaze.
– What should I think? – she asked quietly, feeling tears coming to her throat, that you don't think you should inform me about the impending move?
Sasha silently gathered his things, including the unfortunate booklet, and quickly left the apartment, leaving Katya alone among the scattered papers and shattered illusions.
She slowly sank down on the sofa, feeling her legs fill with lead. She was losing her balance. Around her, the silence of the empty apartment was frozen, broken only by the ticking of the second hand of the old clock. They were beating the rhythm of her drowning in hopelessness. Katya looked around the room, where every thing kept the memory of their life together. An old armchair, bought with Sasha's first paycheck. A fancy floor lamp given to her for her birthday. All these objects, once symbolizing their common future, now seemed like mute witnesses to the collapse of their family.
Katya went to the window. The headlights of cars passing at breakneck speed, trying to cross the intersection on the flashing green light, flickered behind the glass. Somewhere out there, far away, among those lights of the city, immersed in sleep, was Igor. There was another world, full of possibilities and hopes. For the first time in a long time, Katya felt not only fear of the unknown, but also a strange, pinching sense of anticipation. Perhaps this night was not the end, but the beginning of something new in her life.