I think of Maksym. In six and a half years of war, wounded, shell-shocked and lacking a part of his leg, he deserved a better life.
Today Maksym's wife Julia Hromova told me that he is on the battlefield again. Again. And I do not doubt that he went there as fast as possible.
He brought his wife and daughter to a shelter and rushed off. And I pray for him to come back.
I pray more than ever before. Now, there is more than one woman, but three, waiting for Maksym.
And now Maksym will definitely be entitled as a Hero. Alive.
And I'm thinking of another Maksym - Maksym Gryschuk.
His daughter was born while her dad was fighting in the Battle for Donetsk Airport… He deserved a better life. He should have directed his knowledge and skills to the development of Ukraine, but today Maksym wrote that he will defend Ukraine.
Again.
I think of Ivanna Chobaniuk.
A girl who doesn't like to talk much and always keeps everything under control.
She joined the Hospitallers as a student and saved people during the war.
She had the right to live a better life, but she rushed into the war zone to save lives.
Again.
I think of a little girl who was walking with her mother today in a funny panda-hat between a long corridor of cars.
The cars weren't moving anywhere. At the same time, there were columns of our military vehicles driving in the oncoming lane. I waved them and cried like a fool.
And Bohdan (husband) scolded me, "Why the hell are you crying, they're not going to their funeral!"
I went away with the children to my parents.
And we are safe here. One can live in the village without gas, electricity, or sewage.
And we have a cellar with potatoes. I don't have the courage, like both Maksyms or Ivanna, but I will work on the information front in a relatively safe place… because there's a lot more mom in me than anything else.
And I think that we all have the right to live a better life.
But today we have to fight for it.
That's why the military enlistment office has my name and phone number written down in a big notebook.
I hope that I will be able to open the door of my Kyiv apartment, where I left my wedding album, icons, children's baby teeth in boxes, hundreds of works and books. There is no other option!
So I want to believe!
26 Feb 2022, 00:01
Ukrainian Text by Khrystyna Kotsira, journalist. Translated into English by Ukrainianvancouver team – Mar 05, 2022
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