Status Updates From Return

‘It was a twenty-kilo bag of mashed potato flakes. Is that all you eat? I asked. She—said yes—sometimes she ate other things—but mostly when she went out to a bar/restaurant. At home it’s—mashed potatoes—That way there’s always something to eat. She didn’t put milk in it—only water—she didn’t even wait for the water to boil. She mixed the flakes with warm water—because she hated milk—Are you taking something? Valium’

'Her reply completely stunned me, I swear. She said the flowers were self-explanatory. It was—so hard—so cold—you know what I mean: she was Russian & I was Chilean—it was like a chasm was opening in front of me & I burst into tears right there & then. I often think about that afternoon of crying and how it changed my life. I don’t know how to explain it—all I know is—I felt all the cold of Moscow for the first time—'

‘Misha—built like—Buddha—obese even by Russian standards—I began to—work for him—he’d give me a bundle of cash & send me to see a player I knew—On one occasion I managed to bribe half a football team—one by one—he sent me to persuade other gamblers to withdraw their bets or not to make waves. But most of the time my work consisted of providing reports on athletes—one after another—without any evident rhyme or reason’