A Taste of Home - Short Affair - Nov 2nd

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Prompts – Gather/Red
Word Count (approx.) – 350


Illya stepped into his apartment and locked the door behind him. He leaned against the wood, closed his eyes and let go a long deep sigh; alone at last. His arrival home would have been half an hour ago, if he hadn’t had to go shopping to gather the things he was going to need. He placed his bag full of purchases on the coffee table and unpacked each one.

First came the borscht, followed by the pirozhki* and pelmeni*. After this came shaslyk*, blini and a portion of syrniki*, with sour cream and honey. Illya carefully arranged the food on the table, before going into the kitchen for a plate and some cutlery. He also extracted his vodka from the freezer, but didn’t get a glass. He wasn’t in the mood for small measures. All these items were put onto the table, which left him with only two more things to do before he was ready to eat.

The first of these was music. Illya decided to forgo on his beloved jazz and chose instead to listen to Stravinsky. As the music filled the apartment, he went into his bedroom to fetch the finishing touch. It was something he was very aware would cause him issues if were ever to be seen. Instead, Illya kept it hidden, apart from at times such as this. The little red flag on a stand wasn’t much bigger than the palm of his hand, but as he unfurled it and revealed the hammer and sickle, his breath caught in his throat.

Despite what many people seemed to assume, Illya Kuryakin was not a defector. He was a loyal Soviet citizen, though he had to admit that he preferred his life in the west. Every so often, however, Illya longed for his homeland. There was nothing and no-one there for him, but that didn’t stop him from missing it.

Sitting down, Illya cracked the top open on the vodka and raised the bottle to sky.

“Doma. (home)”

He took a long slug of the vodka before he was faced with the decision of what to have first.



*Pirozhki – Baked stuffed buns
Pelmeni – Filled dumplings
Shashlyk – A form of shish kebab
Syrniki – Fried Curd Fritters

Comments

[pactnmmt.livejournal.com]

Wow, so poignant. I think I would have been terribly homesick if I were living in a different country for an extended period of time!

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I know I would miss home if I was gone for a long time.

[laurose8.livejournal.com]

Thanks for sharing this touching scene with us. (Mysterious rush on Russian foods across the States!)

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you for enjoying it. I really like the thought of the syrniki. I may have to Google how to make them.

[jkkitty.livejournal.com]

We all need to belong, his background is what made him. Very nicely written. Simple but says so much.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much. I agree, we all need a place to belong.

[glennagirl.livejournal.com]

What a touching scene, and especially the care with which he sets each component in its place before fetching his final piece. It is a brilliant approach to the prompts.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-)
I like the idea that he has a little ritual when it comes to alleviating homesickness.

[mrua7.livejournal.com]

You just made me very hungry. Have the vodka, have the Pirozhki so that will have to do. Need the cabbage, though I have a borscht concentrate,and sound cream. lol.

Nice little vignette cuz. "D

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much :-)
I got quite hungry myself while I was looking into the various Russian foods.

[lindafishes8.livejournal.com]

All of it sounds delicious. It's Illya's comfort food. Well done story.

[jantojones.livejournal.com]

Thank you :-) I may have to give some of these things a try.