Death Comes to Moscow

The Centaurs were improving but not shining. Shane watched Ilya stress out even as he got to count his wins. The media pointed out how far off he was from where he was from where he had been the season before. Ilya smiled but said, “We are not talking about last year’s Ilya. We’re not talking about the Raiders’ Ilya. The Centaurs are coming from another place. So, let’s talk about where we are this season. Last year is done. Different team, different country.”

Shane thought everything was on track. At least Ilya’s sponsorships were picking up speed. When he watched ESPN or the MLH Channel, every fourth ad was either his or Ilya’s. The hottest one was his Diesel ad, where he was just lazily stretching in different tank tops.

But Ilya got a call from Russia that left him shaken. Shane was in Ottawa and could only hear one half of the conversation. Ilya was talking fast, so Shane had a hard time following it. He gathered that Ilya’s dad had gone outside without his shoes in the snow. He recognized the words for hospital and doctor, but there were words he didn’t know.

Ilya settles into his new life in Canada. But the death of his father sends him back to Russia.