I Read Stories: Head Of The Household by Kristina Ten

 

Head Of The Household by Kristina Ten in F(r)iction Lit (Art By Daniel Reneau)

Ira will marry Koschei The Deathless. Her family moved to America so he’s coming there – visa problems easier that way though even for Koschei The Deathless not simple to overcome.

Koschei The Deathless is immortal, ruthless, and has 12 wives in the cellar of his mansion and 12 more in the wine cellar of his dacha out east. This is the nature of Koschei The Deathless. This is the tradition.

There is another wedding tradition. Khleb y sol. The bride and groom both take a bit from a loaf of bread, and the one who takes the largest bite becomes head of the household. Ira is practicing with every Russian bread the local bakeries make. Training herself to bite larger and larger, to eat more and more. Because to be subordinate to Koschei The Deathless will doom her to be like the other wives.

One of whom is her friend.

Read This: Folk lore and loving descriptions of the history and nature of types of bread
Don’t Read This: A lot of ridiculous ancient mythological beings interacting with modernity, also death and slavery
This Is The Last Short Story I Read In 2025 That I Wrote Up: This post clears up all reviewing from last year