Winter Garden

Back on the ship, Anya, Meredith, and Nina eat dinner and celebrate Anya’s 81st birthday. Afterward, they attend a magic show, and Meredith is amazed at how happy her mother looks. The women return to their staterooms after the show, and Meredith sits on her balcony contemplating how her mother is changing.

Suddenly, Anya speaks from the balcony to Meredith’s right. Meredith asks her for advice on her marriage. Anya tells her not to turn away from love, or she will regret it. They talk a little longer before Anya tells her daughter to come inside so she can resume the story. Meredith and Nina go to Anya’s room, where she continues.

Vera says goodbye to her children again, giving little Anya the jeweled butterfly Mama gave her when Papa died. She asks Anya to hold onto the butterfly for her and promises to return. Vera and Olga leave the apartment and travel in a cramped truck with a dozen other women. They reach the Luga line, where other women and girls dig trenches and fortifications to keep the Germans at bay. The girls grab pickaxes and go into a trench. They dig day after day, spending each night huddled in a barn with the other girls.