Are we marriend?
MEG: No, we are not married. Same sex marriage in Canada is simply for show. It doesn’t bestow any rights or advantage above those granted to civil partnerships or cohabiting couples. We could get married and wave the pride flag and Canadian maple leaf flag while boosting Canada’s trademark optics with absolutely no benefit to ourselves. But frankly, after what happened to us at the hands of the Canadian government, I wouldn’t desecrate our love for one second, by asking any Canadian official body to approve/recognise our relationship.
What is Elena’s Parallel about?
Elena: Imagine, one day I was living a life of your typical young Russian woman, the next, I was gone from it. At times, I can’t believe that I am no longer in Russia. That I am actually very far away from the people who hurt me, from the world of hopelessness and dread that they preserve. It is a world where, now more than ever, the choice between doing as you are told and being true to yourself is followed by the harshest of consequences.
In Parallel, I speculate what would have happened to me have I not met Meg. I answer my own questions: Would I survive? What would be the way out? Would I stand up for myself? Is there a way to go on in a society where you are always on your own and can trust no-one. When the Russian history itself tells you there is no hope.