They called her Xxb Ulyana because names in that part of the map meant less than the marks you left on the snow. She arrived one January night when the village lights had long since been swallowed by the white, when breath fogged like prayers from the mouths of people who still believed the world could be bargained with. Ulyana moved through the streets with a coat two sizes too large and a satchel of things she refused to explain. Children followed at a distance; elders watched from doorways as if waiting for the day the cold would finally tell its secrets.
