A Constellation of Vital Phenomena

When Sonja returns to the hospital after visiting Akhmed’s village, for the first time in a long time, there are no patients. Sonja tells Havaa that they will probably never see Akhmed again. She also explains that the same thing happened to her sister Natasha because “she wanted a share of the national suffering, to blame the Feds for the fact that her sister didn’t love her enough to say good-bye” (369). Sonja takes Havaa back to her apartment even though Sonja has been living at the hospital and hasn’t returned to the apartment in a long time. Sonja shows Havaa to Natasha’s old room and tells Havaa she can stay there. Havaa opens her blue suitcase for the first time and starts to unpack. Along with her clothing, Havaa has souvenirs from the dozens of refugees who stayed at her house. One of the items is the Buckingham Palace Guard nutcracker, which Sonja recognizes as the one she gave to Natasha.

Over the years, Sonja raises Havaa. Havaa eventually attends college to study science, gets married, and has a son. She dies at the age of 103 in the same hospital where she was born.