Page 2 of Born into Darkness

Wallace wags his tail at the mention of his name, keeping his eyes firmly locked on mine. The intense stare of a border collie is not something I was aware of until after I’d gotten him and experienced it firsthand. It’s all the more dramatic with his heterochromia—one eye is a vivid blue while the other is more of a golden brown. Both are glued to me right now with a hyper-focused intensity that’s not often found in animals. I think he’s a genius, and when I ask him if he wants me to throw the ball for him, he instantly takes off running to find it.

Dima looks at his phone and says, “Everyone’s here.”

My mom hops up and looks out the wall of windows that give a clear view of the beach that extends as far as the eye can see behind our house. She turns back to us with a big smile on her face. “Volodya and Valeri are docking their boats.” Looking at Allie, she says, “Text your parents and tell them to get over here.”

Allie grabs her phone and sends off a text before looking at Dima. “Come on. Put all those muscles to use and help me carry the food down.”

My dad laughs at the look my brother gives Allie and then stands to help them. When I hear the unmistakeable sound of a motorcycle, I grab the ball from Wallace’s mouth and say, “I’ll get Bran.”

I run for the door with Wallace right on my heels, and as soon as I open the door, he bolts out so he can race around the driveway. When Bran’s black bike turns the corner, I swear Wallace tries to herd him to the garage. My brother’s dark helmet obscures his face, but I know he’s grinning.

When he looks over at me, I raise a hand and signCrazy dog,laughing when I see him nod in agreement. Bran and I are the same age. We were both three when Mom and Dad adopted him. He was left at the women’s shelter our mom runs, and as soon as she saw him and realized that not only was he scared to death and alone but also deaf, it was a done deal. He’s been a member of our family ever since. We were never able to find out who his birth parents were, and the only sign language he knew was the four letters to spell out his name. None of that mattered to any of us, though, and as soon as the paperwork went through, he became a Medvedev. He’s my brother, just like Dima is, and Bran and I have always had a special bond.

He pulls his helmet off and runs a hand through his light brown hair before turning his hazel eyes to mine, signing,Everyone here?

At the beach,I sign back, laughing when he gets off the bike and Wallace whimpers with excitement until Bran squats down to pet him.

Joining them, I meet my brother’s eyes and ask,How was the ride?

He shrugs a broad shoulder and signs,Peaceful.

Bran’s always loved his motorcycle. He’s used to a world of silence, and he’s always come off as bit of a loner because of it, but when our parents got him a motorcycle when he turned eighteen, it opened up a new world to him—one of speed and danger and excitement. My mom was terrified the first few times he went out, but my brothers and cousins all have motorcycles, and as crazy as they are, they aren’t stupid. They know how to handle themselves on a bike, and I know that for Bran, especially, it helps calm some deep part of him, and he’d be devastated if this pleasure was ever taken from him.

“Is my granddaughter down there?”

I look up at the sound of Katya’s voice while I fingerspell her name to Bran. He turns his head and gives her a wave that she quickly returns.

“Yeah, she’s bringing food down with Dima,” I holler to her.

Soon our grandma,babushkaTatiana, steps out too and gives us a big smile. They both share the large apartment above the four-car garage since it’s huge and easily fits the two of them. Plus, I think they like the companionship of having a roommate. Katya used to cook for my dad and uncles when they were young, and then she followed them to America with her daughter, Allie’s mom. She’s in her eighties now, though, so they’ve convinced her to retire.

Our grandma moved here after we were born. My dad said it took them years to convince her to come here, but after she arrived, she fell in love with the place and with all her grandkids. I’ve always known her as the loving, happy woman she is, but from what I’ve heard it wasn’t always that way. She fell into a depression after my grandpa was killed, and it took her decades to crawl her way out of it, but I’m so glad she did, because I can’t imagine our lives without her.

She signs while she asks how we’re doing, and even though her hands are a bit arthritic and slow, she loves signing to Bran.

We’re good, Grandma,Bran signs.Heading to the beach. Want to walk with us?

“I’ll be down soon,” she tells him. “Katya and I made some dessert for later.”

Can’t wait, Bran signs, making her smile even bigger.

We keep telling the two of them that they don’t need to keep cooking so much, but they both genuinely love it and insist that we need to remember our Russian roots and a good bowl of borsch is the best way to do it. The food tastes too good to argue.

Katya yells that she’ll be down soon, and when they’ve gone back inside, I wrap my arm through Bran’s and pull him around to the side of the house so we can take the path to the beach. As soon as there’s space, I throw the tennis ball and laugh when Wallace takes off at a fast sprint. He quickly brings the ball back, and this time Bran throws it, putting it way further down the beach than I’d been able to manage.

I squeeze his arm. When he looks down at me, I sign, Showoff.

Using both his hands, he smiles and signs,You throw like a girl.

I try to look pissed, but he’s not buying it. He smiles and chucks me under the chin, a playful gesture that he’s done since we were kids. When he sees my mouth open in a laugh, he knows he’s won. Grabbing my arm, he leads me towards the beach, stopping to toss the ball for Wallace every time he brings it back.

“There you two are,” my mom calls, signing the words as she says them before pulling Bran in for a hug. He pats her back and uses his other hand to wave to the rest of our family.

My Uncle Volodya looks over and signs,How was the ride?

While Bran answers him, I walk over to the large bonfire that my cousins are setting up. Allie’s overseeing from a distance and when they keep stacking logs and making it bigger, she laughs and says, “Wow, trying to compensate for something?”

Misha lifts a dark brow at her while Yuri, his younger brother, laughs and Aleks scoffs out a breath.

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