Last witnesses : an oral history of the children of World War II / Svetlana Alexievich ; translated by Richard Pevear and Larissa Volokhonsky.

He was afraid to look back... -- My first and last cigarette... -- Grandma prayed... -- She asked that my soul come back... -- They lay pink on the cinders... -- I still want my mama... -- Such pretty German toys... -- A handful of salt... -- All that was left of our house... -- He was afraid to look back -- My first and last cigarette -- Grandma prayed, she asked that my soul come back -- They lay pink on the cinders -- I still want my mama -- Such pretty German toys -- A handful of salt, all that was left of our house -- And I kissed all the portraits in my schoolbook... -- I gathered them with my hands, They were very white... -- I want to live! I want to live!... -- Through a buttonhole... -- All I heard was mama's cry... -- We played, and the soldiers wept... -- In the cemetery the dead lay above ground... -- as if they'd been killed again... -- I realized -- this was my father... -- My knees trembled... -- Close your eyes, sonny... -- Don't look... -- My little brother cries, because he wasn't there when papa was there... -- That girl was the first to come... -- I'm your mama... -- We ask: can we lick it?... -- ...an extra half-spoon of sugar -- Dear house, don't burn! Dear house, don't burn!... -- She came in a white smock, like mama... -- Auntie, take me on your knees... -- ...and began to rock her like a doll -- They had already bought me a primer... -- ...neither suitors nor soldiers... -- If only one son could be left... -- He wiped his tears with his sleeve... -- He hung on the string like a baby... -- You'll be my children now... -- We kissed their hands... -- I looked at them with a little girl's eyes... -- Our mama didn't smile... -- I couldn't get used to my name... -- His army shirt was wet... -- As if she had saved his own daughter... -- They carried me to the unit in their arms... -- I was all one bruise from head to foot... -- And why am I so small?... -- They were drawn by the human scent... -- Why did they shoot her in the face? My mama was so beautiful... -- You asked me to finish you off... -- And I didn't even have a scarf on... -- No one to play outside with... -- I'll open the window at night... -- And give the pages to the wind... -- Dig here... -- Grandpa was buried under the window... -- ...And they tamped it down with the shovels, so it looked pretty I'll buy myself a dress with a little bow... -- How did he die, if there was no shooting today?... -- Because we're girls, and he's a boy... -- You're no brothers of mine, if you play with German boys... -- We even forgot that word... -- You should go to the front, and you fall in love with my mama... -- In the last moments they shouted their names... -- All four of us pulled that sledge... -- These two boys became light as sparrows... -- I was embarrassed to be wearing girl's shoes... -- I screamed and screamed... -- I couldn't stop... -- We all joined hands... -- We didn't even know how to bury... -- But now we somehow recollected it... -- He gathered them in a blanket... -- They took the kittens out of the cottage... -- Remember: 6 Park Street, Mariupol... -- I heard his heart stop... -- I ran away to the front following my sister, First Sergeant Vera Redkina... -- In the direction of the sunrise... -- A white shirt shines far off in the dark... -- On the clean floor that I had just washed... -- Did God watch this? And what did He think?... -- The wide world is wondrous... -- They brought long, thin candy... -- It looked like pencils... -- The little trunk was just his size... -- I was afraid of that dream... -- I wanted to be mama's only child... -- so she could pamper me... -- But, like rubber balls, they didn't sink... -- I remember the blue, blue sky... -- and our planes in that sky... -- Like ripe pumpkins... -- We ate... -- the park... -- Whoever cries will be shot... -- Dear mama and dear papa -- golden words... -- They brought her back in pieces... -- The chicks had just hatched... -- I was afraid they'd be killed... -- King of clubs... -- king of diamonds... -- A big family photograph... -- At least let me pour some little potatoes in your pockets... -- A is for Apple, B is for Ball... -- He gave me an Astrakhan hat with a red ribbon... -- And I fired into the air... -- My mother carried me to first grade in her arms... -- My dear dog, forgive me... -- My dear dog, forgive me... -- And she ran away: 'That's not my daughter! Not mi-i-ine!' -- Were we really children? We were men and women... -- Don't give some stranger papa's suit... -- At night I cried: where is my cheerful mama?... -- He won't let me fly away... -- Everybody wanted to kiss the word 'Victory'... -- Wearing a shirt made from my father's army shirt... -- I decorated it with red carnations... -- I waited a long time for my father... -- All my life... -- At that limit... that brink....

Translated from the Russian.

"Originally published in Russian as Последние свидетели : книга недетских рассказов by Molodaya Gvardiya, Moscow, in 1985."