Apples Out the Window

Svetlana’s story could fill a whole novel, thanks to how her life played out. Svetlana was born in Odessa, a glorious Ukrainian city in the country’s south. To understand the soul and flavor of Odessa, you’d need to read a dozen books, watch a dozen films, and be humored by a few hundred well-told anecdotes about Odessa. Sveta is a real home-grown Odessan; she’s kind, risk-taking, humorous, and sociable! As it turned out, it was her collection of lively people from all walks of life that eventually led to that beautiful moment when she happened to marry an American! Now, Sveta has a pair of wonderful children and a dreamy husband to settle into a suburban American town with.

She lives with her family in a small, intimate, apartment, with a view overlooking a shady garden of apple trees. They live modestly, but tastefully. Of course, in the future, Svetlana dreams of her own house but, while the children are still small, this works as a compromise. When considering the current events in Ukraine, living without their own house in America doesn’t even seem like a problem, especially if you look at it with the inherent humor and optimism of all Odessians!

Trans. by Barrett Ziegler