War. How it all began…-1
The first day
There was a car on the side of the road. A young girl was driving it. She was crying.
This was probably the longest day of her life.
February 24, 2022.
It was morning. The front door suddenly opened. Her husband, Bohdan, stood on the threshold. He was breathing heavily from running fast. He was holding an assault rifle, and magazines with ammunition were sticking out of the pockets of his warm winter jacket.
— What is this? Where did you get this? — Maria was shocked by what she saw.
— They’re giving them away on the square! To everyone!
— What do you need it for?
— What do you mean why? We’re going to defend ourselves!
Imagining her husband firing a machine gun, Maria’s legs gave out and she sat down heavily on her knees.
— Bohdan, you don’t know how, you’ve never done it before!
— I’ll learn, and we’ll all learn! We have no other choice.
— Bohdan, there’s an army, they’ll figure it out! It’s their job! — the girl tried to convince her husband.
But he didn’t seem to hear her.
— Dear, gather the children, and take the most necessary things with you, money, documents, warm clothes, and food! You have a maximum of an hour to leave Kyiv! Do you hear me?
Maria was completely exhausted.
— Bohdan, how? I’m alone, without you?
— Get ready, my love, please. There’s no time. They might be coming into town soon.
— What about you? Are you going to stay here alone? I’m not going anywhere without you!
— Honey, I’m not alone! I’m with the guys, we formed a squad,
territorial defense unit.
— Bohdan, you can’t do this to me! - Maria was running out of arguments, but her husband was adamant.
— My girl, you have to take the children and yourself to the West. It’s calm there. I’ve filled the car with gas. We will be in touch all the time!
An hour later, despite all her pleas, Maria and their two young children were already stuck in a traffic jam on the way out of Kyiv. All lanes of the road were clogged with traffic. There were a lot of cars. Mostly there were women and children in the cars. There were also older people.
Many of the cars had stickers with the words “Children” on them.
— What good are these stickers - Maria thought, looking at it all.
The convoy was moving very slowly.
After about three hours, she was able to leave the city. But the road did not get any clearer. A constant stream of cars. In one direction. To the West. And military vehicles were coming to meet them.
— Oh, God, where am I going? Who will take us in, and where will we spend the night?
Mariia looked in the mirror, and the children were sleeping peacefully in the back seat of the Honda.
Bohdan asked her to fill up the car at every opportunity. But there were huge lines at every gas station.
The girl was afraid to turn on the radio. What if they said something unbelievably bad? So she turned on the music lightly. The calm melody relaxed her a little, but not for long. Her thoughts were buzzing in her head. She was very worried that Bohdan was not answering his phone. Fear drew horrible pictures in her mind.
The children woke up.
— Mom, we want to go to the toilet!
— Let me park somewhere, darlings.
Maria pulled off the road onto a side road. She led the children to some small bushes.
— Mom, where is the toilet? - asked the youngest, Diana.
— My girl, there’s no toilet, we have to go here somehow.
Mark, the eldest son, like a real little man, reassured the younger one.
— Mom, will the war last long? When will dad come to us? Where will we sleep? And where are we going? - Mark bombarded Maria with questions.
— Son, everything will be fine, it won’t last long, and dad will come to us soon! You will be my dad for a while, right? Will you help me?
— Yes, mommy! I’m a man! I will protect you!
A tear ran down Maria’s cheek, but she quickly wiped it away so that the children wouldn’t see.
— Let’s get in and go!
Maria started to move, but the car did not start. The rear wheels were stuck in the mud and stalled. She tried a couple more times, shaking the car. It was no use. The wheels were deeply buried in the hole.
— Okay, we need to calm down. I’ll make it, I’ll think of something. I need help.
The girl put the hazard lights on.
— Kids, stay in the car, we’re stuck, I’ll call someone. Mark, watch your sister!
She stepped out onto the road. The frantic flow of cars did not stop. She raised her hand to stop the cars.
— Oh, God, there are only women and children there, who will help me? - Maria waved stubbornly, but the cars kept passing her.
People wanted to get as far away from the capital as possible. Everyone realized the danger. Maria heard explosions somewhere in the distance. At first, she did not understand what these sounds were.
— God, help me, I’m begging you.
No one stopped. People in cars did not understand what the lone woman standing on the roadside wanted.
But then she saw a military truck on the road. It was big, green with yellow camouflage on the body. The girl raised both hands and started waving. The truck turned to the right and stopped.
— What are you doing here? What happened?- an elderly gray-haired man with an assault rifle got out of the cab.
— I’m stuck in the mud, I can’t get out, please help me. Please!-
Maria uttered these words exhausted.
— Don’t worry, daughter, we’ll figure something out. Guys, come here, let’s help the girl!
Several guys jumped out of the truck. She was struck by the fact that they had only weapons. They were dressed in tracksuits and sneakers.
Five minutes later, Maria was already sincerely thanking the military. Everything was fine with the car.
— Take care! - she managed to say, as the truck abruptly took off.
The phone rang. It was Bohdan! Finally!
— Darling, why don’t you answer? Did I call so many times?
— My baby, I’m fine! Are you okay? How far are you?
— Bogdan, I’ve traveled 200 kilometers in 6 hours! It’s hard here. There are so many cars!
— Hold on, my darling, go to the Ivano-Frankivsk region! The guys say they help refugees there!
Maria has just now realized that she is a refugee.
— I’ll call you back as soon as I can! That’s it, I’m off! The guys are calling -and the connection was broken.
Oh well. Now she at least had a direction to go, but she didn’t want to think about what would happen next.
— Kids, are we going? Aren’t you hungry? Mark, take the container with sandwiches in the back and eat something.
— Okay, mom, I’ll do it! - her son said so confidently that Maria felt better and smiled for the first time that day.
They moved on.
It seemed that the flow of cars had increased even more. Very soon night came and the girl saw only an endless number of red car lights in front of her. The children were asleep.
Suddenly, all the lights on the dashboard came on and the engine stopped.
— Oh my God, what is this? Not now!
She rolled to the side of the road. The car behind her honked its horn because they hadn’t expected her to do that. Several attempts to start the engine failed.
— This must be the gasoline I bought right in the field from a canister from a passerby - Maria thought.
— What to do? - she had almost forgotten how she had recently gotten stuck in the mud, and now she had a new challenge.
Not far away, about 200 meters away, she saw the lights of houses. She had to go there. What to do with the children? Leave them alone in the car at night right in the middle of the road? It’s impossible.
— Kids, wake up, we have to go! - she dressed the still half-asleep children in warm clothes and went out with them on the road.
The February night greeted them with a sharp and cold wind.
— Mom, where are we going? I’m cold! - Diana cried.
It was hard for Maria to look at her daughter and she took her in her arms.
— Now, dear, it’s not far.
Mark was silent and confidently walked along the winter road. It was as if he had grown up several years during these hours.
They came up to the house.A dog barking in the yard. They stood at the gate.
A woman stepped out onto the threshold of the house.
— Good evening! We are from Kyiv, maybe you have some men to look at my car, it broke down!
The woman silently opened the gate.
— Come in the house! Don’t freeze here. I will call my husband.
Maria and the children went inside. It was warm and smelled deliciously of coffee.
— I will make you something warm to drink, would you like coffee? And maybe some warm milk or cocoa for the children?
— Thank you very much, no need, don’t worry, we just need to get to the car…- she didn’t have time to say anything as someone entered the house.
It was a tall and very thin man, dressed in overalls. His hands were dirty with grease.
— Wow, we have guests! Hello, I’m Mykola! And this is my wife Nadezhda, - he knelt down and turned to his daughter.
— Who was crying here? You are such a princess! Princesses are not supposed to cry!
Diana looked at him with her big eyes and instantly forgot about the cold outside and the fact that she was crying. She must have really imagined herself a princess.
Nikolai patted Mark’s shoulder and asked:
— What happened to you?
Maria explained the situation to him as best she could.
— It’s like this. You give me the keys, I’m going to see what’s going on. And you sit there, warm yourself and drink tea! Okay? Nadiia, treat our guests!
Within ten minutes, Maria was talking to Nadiia as if they had known each other all their lives. Women always find common ground, especially when there is trouble. The children ate delicious homemade buns with jam.
Mykola came in.
— Well, well. There’s a problem with the car. I can’t fix it here at my place. I need an electrician. And he lives in the neighboring village. And it will probably take a long time.
Maria lowered her head in despair.
— Where are you going? How far are you going?
— To Ivano-Frankivsk.
Mykola was silent for a while and then said.
— Let’s do this. No one knows what will happen here tomorrow. Maybe it will be dangerous here too. And you have small children. We have two cars. I’ll give you one. Take the kids away. I’ll fix your Honda in a couple of days and we’ll call you later. We’ll figure something out.
Maria stared at him dumbfounded. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.
— How? You don’t know me at all… and maybe you’ll have to run away from here too…? — she couldn’t find the words to express her emotions.
— You, girl, don’t worry about us. We will manage. And we will not leave here. This is our land. And people have to help each other.
Maria started to cry. The children ran up to her and began to stroke her.
— I am so grateful to you. I will never forget this. I don’t know how to thank you…
— Thank God, a girl! God willing! — Mykola smiled and hugged his wife.
To be continued…
P.S. sorry for my English
