"There were three of us — Grishka, Kanatai and me. We were sitting on a flat boulder near the mill and talking lazily for nothing to do. The youngest of us is Kanatai, a pale, thin boy. He's two years younger than me, and he looks like he could get a couple more years. Grishka is red-haired and thick-lipped. He is already in his thirties, and this puts him at the center of our random company. In addition, he occupies the highest, in our understanding, official position, commanding the local mill. And the flour dust covering him from crown to toe always reminds us of this."