MEET

I'm Carl, the landlord.

Krista-Maria Dreiman.

What an interesting name.

I was named after my grandmothers.

Were their names Krista and Maria?

No. But they really liked these names.

That sounds weird. I've never heard of such a tradition. Where are you from?

Far away, Carl. Best talk about this with my husband.

How do you like the weather?

It's no resort here. That dust is from the mines...

It was incredibly cold where we lived before. Almost everything we earned went to pay the heating bill.

So the local weather is nothing to complain about.

As I understand, your husband used to be an immigration officer. How did you like it there?

It was awful! There were constant raids and emergencies, and we were always broke...

And once, a terrorist attacked the checkpoint, and my husband had to shoot him!

It's horrible!

That's horrible, indeed. We often have to choose between food and heat.

My son was always sick, and then my husband started having troubles at work. That scared us.

That place is no paradise, either, but at least it's warmer than here.

I hope we'll be safe here.