published in The Atlantic
Maksim, a sixteen year old boy and the narrator of the story, lives on a farm in the most eastern coast of Russia, northwest of the Sea of Japan across from the island of Sakhalin. The farm is full of poor immigrants from all over the region, all speaking different languages. He was left alone with his uncle, who has just died - or rather, murdered under suspicious circumstances. Maksim sets off on a journey to find his father, now a guard at "the camp" at Sakhalin, and to say two things: to tell his father that he doesn't need him and to ask if there is anybody else in his family.
1418 days ago