Summary

In Chapter 15, Anya’s fairy tale continues in this chapter: The next day, Vera arrives at the moat bridge, where she is supposed to meet Sasha and sees two black carriages parked in front of it. A man tells her: “They’ve taken him away. You shouldn’t be here” (217). Vera believes that he is talking about Sasha. As she walks away, her eyes are full of tears. Looking through the tears, she thinks she is imagining things when she sees a man she believes is Sasha standing below a streetlight. As she gets closer, the man begins running toward her. It is Sasha.

Sasha takes Vera to the Royal Theater, its roof adorned with a lyre and crown. They sneak into a box that is closed for maintenance and watch Galina Ulanova, a great ballerina, dance. They have sex in the box...