To my dear Alexei
I got your letter; I hope you're holding out okay up there. I wanted to tell you about a little surprise I had today, you won't believe it, but I managed to get some lemonade! Just like the kind we enjoyed on the cool spring evenings at the Barmaley fountain. One of the ladies working at the aid station brought some for all of us. For a moment, it almost felt like the war had gone away.
The tractor plant keeps me busy, and the work is hard, but I like doing my part to help. Whenever I'm not there, I've increased my hours at the aid station. It's tough too, but it feels right to help out with the motherland, it's like I'm lifting the burden off of everyone that has been thrown into the war machine.
We've heard bombs daily, they're attempting to destroy the tractor plant and other locations, one barely missed our apartment building, luckily it fell into the street. Occasionally we hear gunshots around the city, The war is getting closer to Stalingrad, I pray that they never get here.
I wish that you'll stay strong until the war ends, and we can be together again. I gravely miss you, but it's the little things like that lemonade that remind me of you and all the moments we shared together. Stay safe, for me.
With all my love, Marina