Naked May Day In Odessa Instant

Lev froze. The cold returned, but it wasn't the honest cold of the sea. It was the cold of a police station waiting room. Of a fine. Of a record. Of having to explain to the library director why he was detained for “petty hooliganism.”

The spell shattered. The accountant yelped and dove behind a rock. The weightlifter just stood his ground, arms crossed, the faded Brezhnev on his bicep glaring back at the law. Naked May Day in Odessa

No one cheered. There were no spectators. The old Soviet sanatoriums above them were empty, their windows like dead eyes. The only witness was the Black Sea, grey-green and indifferent. Lev froze

And Lev ran.

And he smiled. A small, secret, ridiculous smile. It was a good day to be alive in Odessa. Of a fine