Raising a daughter alone was no easy task, Mikhail would readily admit.
Was he a widower? No, Mikhail was not. Alisa, his daughter, had both a mother and a sibling, but a certain conflict had forced the small family to separate.
"Почему Аля должна переехать, папа? (Pochemu Alya dolzhna pereekhat', papa?) / Why does Alya have to move, Papa?" Alisa asked, hugging her favorite brown teddy bear.
Mikhail didn't answer right away. His eyes remained fixed on the road, surrounded by wooden houses.
"Папа? (Papa?) / Papa?" Alisa called out, her voice filled with anxiety.
"Извини, дорогая. Папа пока не может оставить Аля одну дома. Есть дела, которые нужно уладить, (Izvini, dorogaya. Papa poka ne mozhet ostavit' Alya odnu doma. Yest' dela, kotorye nuzhno uladit') / I'm sorry, honey. Papa can't take care of Alya alone at home right now. There are some matters I need to settle," Mikhail replied.
"Какие дела? (Kakie dela?) / What kind of matters?" Alisa asked, rubbing the black nose of Visha, her teddy bear.
Mikhail slowed the car as they went around a bend. "Когда папа закончит все дела, он сразу заберет Аля, хорошо? (Kogda papa zakonchit vse dela, on srazu zaberet Alisu, khorosho?) / The point is, once Papa's matters are settled, I will come back for you right away, okay?"
Gently stroking Alisa's head, Mikhail said, "Позже, когда все закончится, мы сможем вернуться в Россию вместе с мамой и Машей. (Pozzhe, kogda vse zakonchitsya, my smozhem vernut'sya v Rossiyu vmeste s mamoy i Mashoy.) / Later, after everything is resolved, we can return to Russia with mama and Masha."
Hearing that, Alisa lifted her head and saw her father's hopeful face. An expression of joy shone in her blue eyes.
"Правда, папа? (Pravda, papa?) / Really, Papa?" Alisa asked, full of excitement.
Mikhail smiled softly. "Да, дорогая. Папа сделает все, чтобы мы могли вернуться к маме. Но папа не может пообещать в ближайшее время. (Da, dorogaya. Papa sdelayet vse, chtoby my mogli vernut'sya k mame. No papa ne mozhet poobeshchat' v blizhayshee vremya.) / Yes, honey. Papa will do everything Papa can so we can be with mama again. But I can't promise it will be anytime soon."
Alisa nodded, a sign that the sixteen-year-old girl would not ask any more questions.
As he drove, Mikhail took Alisa to a house not far from a tea plantation.
...
"Папа, чей это дом? (Papa, chey eto dom?) / Papa, whose house is this?" Alisa asked, standing in front of a house that was about 12x5 square meters.
The house was made of teak wood and stood on a small hillock. Half of the house's foundation was supported by concrete, while the rest rested on the sloping side of the hill.
"Друг папы, которому папа доверяет, Аля. (Drug papy, kotoromu papa doveryaet, Alya.) / A friend of Papa's, someone Papa trusts, Alya."
"Но дом меньше нашего, папа. (No dom menshe nashego, papa.) / But the house is smaller than ours, isn't it, Papa?"
Her beautiful eyes scanned the surroundings. Most of the area was dominated by a few trees and a meadow. A thin white mist limited Alisa's view, reminding her of winter in Vladivostok.
"Правда Аля будет жить здесь? (Pravda Alya budet zhit' zdes'?) / Alya... will really live here?"
Mikhail understood his daughter's question. Alisa had almost never accompanied Mikhail on a visit to his male friends, in any sense of the word. His daughter tended to be an introvert when it came to socializing. It was partly Mikhail's fault. The man was afraid his daughter would fall in with the wrong crowd. Mikhail even forbade her from doing group work if there were boys in it.
"Да. Познакомимся с хозяином дома, хорошо? (Da. Poznakomimsya s khozyainom doma, khorosho?) / Yes. We'll get to know the owner of the house, okay?"
"Папа уже знает. Это должна быть Аля, которая познакомится," (Papa uzhe znaet. Eto dolzhna byt' Alya, kotoraya poznakomitsya.) / You already know him, Papa. Alya is the one who needs to get to know him," the girl corrected.
"Да, Аля. Извини, папа ошибся. (Da, Alya. Izvini, papa oshibsya.) / Yes, Alya. Sorry, Papa misspoke."
Mikhail was so patient dealing with Alisa's childlike behavior.
Alisa could see the green of the not-so-large front yard. The house's colors were dominated by gray and black.
"Мне не нравится этот дом, папа. Страшно. (Mne ne nravitsya etot dom, papa. Strashno.) / I don't like this house, Papa. It's scary."
"Аля... не говори так. Аля нужно научиться уважать то, что есть у других. (Alya... ne govori tak. Alya nuzhno nauchit'sya uvazhat' to, chto est' u drugikh.) / Alya... you shouldn't talk like that. You need to learn to respect what others have."
"Да, папа. (Da, papa.) / Yes, Papa." Alisa lowered her head and continued to rub Visha's nose.
Mikhail rang the doorbell. The door opened shortly after, and the handsome figure made Alisa gasp. The man was almost as tall as her father.
"Господин Михаил, (Gospodin Mikhail) / Mr. Mikhail," the man greeted.
"Молодой Нао. Это моя дочь, Алиса. (Molodoy Nao. Eto moya doch', Alisa.) / Young Nao. This is my daughter, Alisa."
"Привет, Алиса. Я Нао. (Privet, Alisa. Ya Nao.) / Hi, Alisa. I'm Nao."
Instead of answering, Alya, who had snapped out of her daze, blurted out her thoughts.
"Папа сказал, что мне нельзя близко с мальчиками. Почему папа сказал Аля жить с этим красивым мужчиной? (Papa skazal, chto mne nel'zya blizko s mal'chikami. Pochemu papa skazal Alya zhit' s etim krasivym muzhchinoy?) / Papa said I'm not allowed to be close to boys. Why did Papa tell me to live with this handsome uncle?"
...