Chapter Five

24th of February arrived suddenly, just like a twinkle in an eye. I was in school. Suddenly, gunshots were heard when we were having physics practical. I couldn't believe that it was the sound of a gunshot that I heard echoing like an exploded bomb. Our physics teacher continued explaining the voltage-current capacity used in electrical appliances. The gunshot became so severe that I couldn't concentrate on what our physics teacher said. Eventually, the lecture stopped. Our physics teacher went out of the class. Then suddenly, our window shook as if the glass had shattered. Kenny ran to where I was immediately. He held my hands tightly.

"I think the war has started," he said.

My heartbeat increased rapidly as tears rushed out of my eyes.

"Please stop creating fear in me," I replied in a husky tone.

"Oh, are you crying?" he said.

I couldn't answer because our physics teacher ran back to our class with brims of sweat on his face. "Everybody lie down flat on the floor; bullets are roaming around." He ordered with a fearful voice, although it was loud enough for everyone to hear.

His response brought fear into us immediately. We laid down on the floor immediately. Torrents of tears rushed out of my eyes. A lot of thoughts ran straight through my mind. I had thought of where my brothers and my dad could be at this present time. I wished they would be at home.

"Brianna, the war has started." Kenny said, looking straight at my face.

"It can't happen," I responded.

"Brianna I would miss you, because it seems this might be the last time I might see you again." He said this in a scary tone.

"Kenny, please stop this scary statement," I spoke out.

He nodded his head in a quite sorrowful way. I was about to say something, but I got interrupted by the school siren. The siren was pressed five times, which indicated an emergency assembly. I became scared, standing up to my feet, and my other classmate stood up gently. The manner at which they sluggishly stood up suggested that they were very scared. It showed in their faces and their movement. I stood up. The upper half of my school uniform was soaked with tears. Kenny stood up alongside me. We held each other's hands as we walked out of the classroom. I pondered within me if I should run or walk. Although the gunshot had lessened. I could still smell the pungent Nitroglycerin of the fired bullets, which left me pondering if the gunshot incident had happened very near our school. I and Kenny walked to the hall, where we gathered for either morning assembly or emergency assembly. The hall was looking quite dull, almost surreal. We sat on the chairs that had been arranged. The teachers sat at our backs. I looked back and screened each of the educators' faces. I might know what had happened just by looking at their faces. Unfortunately, I couldn't interpret the expressions on their faces.

Immediately, I heard the voice of our principal. A fair-looking man, tall in height and robust in size, with a protruding stomach. His voice, which was audible and so bold that you'd imagined him killing someone, had become panicky. I'd earlier thought of him as a retired soldier, but today I realised that his voice took to a sling. He said school would be closed and everyone might do virtual classes, but didn't know when it would reopen.

As I heard the principal statement, tears rolled down uncontrollably.

God, please let it not be war. I don't want to experience war. This was the thought that ran through my head.

The principal called the drivers to take students home and said no one should leave on foot. He ordered us to line up and walk down to the school bus. I'd imagined how five coastal buses could take up to five hundred students at a time to their various destinations. I kept on wondering how it would be possible to take on five hundred students at a goal. Then the principal came nearer to our queue and said a bus would take a hundred students. I was shocked at his statement, but we had no option other than to obey. I was two hundred in the queue, while Kenny was two hundred and one. We got separated. I entered the second bus while he entered the third bus. I became sad, but at the same time I was happy. I wanted Kenny with me for comfort, but his talk of "war" made me cry.

I looked at the back to see if I could see Kenny at the other bus, but I couldn't because of how jam-packed we were in the bus. Some of us stood on our feet. We were all soaked with sweat. We shouted at the driver to put on the AC (Air Conditioner). The driver was adamant.

After a while, the engine of the car started; I could hear the engine, and then the bus started moving.

The road looked weird and was sparse with people. The few I saw were in distress and also panicky. They were either walking fast or running. Little stalls were shut down immediately. Smoke filled the air, but I couldn't tell where it was emanating from. The remaining of us in the bus looked dejected and deserted with what we were seeing going on the road. I had been on my feet for more than two hours because of the tight gridlock on the road, and yet my limb never hurt me. Tears welled up in my eyes, but I restrained them from falling. My brain couldn't articulate if it was truly war or something else tragic, forming out of the blues. But what I knew for sure was that there was a commotion somewhere, but I couldn't figure out the specific place where it happened at the moment.

Eventually, the road got freed up gradually as cars started moving slowly after several minutes of staying in a spot. The car continued to move, even though it was slow, and we eventually reached the roundabout. There was a sign board on the left side, directing naïve drivers to their destination. The sign board had four axes, and in front of us was the regional city of Kherson. On the left side, it showed Antonivka, and on the right side, it showed Hola Prystan City. The direction to my house was straight towards the regional city of Kherson. I was not the only student who lived in the regional city. We were a group of up to ten people who shared a bus and lived in the same regional city. The driver headed in the direction of the regional city. My house was the first house before the others. The driver had to shout to be sure if it was my house that was the first. He drove down to the gate of my house and then stopped. I came down from the bus as fast as I could and then knocked on the gate gently. I heard someone unlocking the gate. Within me, I prayed that it would be my dad or one of my brothers. Unfortunately, it was my mum. I was disappointed. I screened her face immediately to know her mood. The first screening test I observed was that she was tense. Her voice says it all. She told me to move into the house very fast. I tried asking about my brothers and dad, but she became muted. When I got inside. I observed that the house was surreal compared to the morning. Everywhere was cleaned up. My mum summoned me to sit down on the sofa. I sat down and was eager to know what she was about to say. But the more I expected her to say a word, the more she kept disappointing me with her dumbness.

"Mum, you aren't saying anything; what of dad?" I asked, being fed up with the silence that inhabited the room.

She didn't say a word.

I looked at her fluffy hair, down to her eyes, to know what was really going on in her mind. Her eyes were a little bit misty. I couldn't tell if she wanted to cry or if it was the normal water that stays up in human eyes.

"Mum, talk to me. Where is dad…. Are they at home…. I mean, my brothers... This suspense is unbearable for me…." I said it anxiously.

I saw her hands moving down to the bag that was on the sofa, which I had earlier pushed slightly aside in order not to sit on it. She brought out a folded piece of paper and dropped it into my hands.

"Open it up and read it," my mum finally spoke out.

I stared at my mother's face for a while, trying to read the reasons behind her dropping the paper into my hand. I gradually unfolded it, and I became scared of what I might see. Hopefully it wouldn't be anything relating to war. Finally, I opened it fully and read it out.

My dear daughter, I know you would be surprised to see no one in the house except your mother. We have to be prepared to face the challenges ahead, and fight with all our might to protect our land and our people. It won't be an easy battle, but we are ready to face it with courage and determination. We hope to come back victorious and bring peace and stability to our beloved nation. For us to get that, we have to fight for our sovereignty with our last blood on this earth.

My dear daughter, please don't cry; we the soldiers are fighting for our children's rights in the future. We want our kids to live in a peaceful country, where they can vote and not be ruled by other country's bad laws.

We assure you and mum that we will come back home to celebrate our victory. We don't want you to allow evil imaginations to crop up in your mind. Always be positive. We'd assure you that we would come back with our national flag soaring high in the sky.

Our country is ours. Ukraine is ours; no invader can rule our land.

We would be in the regional city for five days before going to the capital city. We aren't sure if it is a war, but I can assure you and your mother that we would come back singing a victory song.

I, Dan, Ivan, and Pylyp would miss you guys more than you guys would miss us. Be strong! Be courageous! Be bold!

We would see you soon. Love You!

I finished reading it immediately. Tears gushed out of my eyes uncontrollably. I folded the paper and gave it back to my mum.

God, please protect my dad and my brothers. This was the prayer that went through me.

I and my mum broke down in tears. In my tears, I consoled her, and she consoled me back. I couldn't believe that all these events were happening in reality. It played like a movie in my head, but it was real.

"Mum, God would take control. Please stop crying." I consoled her, putting my hands on her fluffy hair.