2022-2023
15 kilometers
I could walk 15 kilometers to reach Kharkiv, but it took me, 5454 kilometers to come back to Ukraine. I went through 5 countries, with russia among them, to get back to my homeland. I could have walk 15 kilometers before the full-scale invasion.
I was walking down the side street, avoiding the central road with blockhouses. Snow was melting under the sun, small streams were running down the black soil. It was around noon. With the first column that had passed us at 6 am, it was a temporary lull. People had thought that everything was over, but it was an illusion. When I had almost left the village, I heard a noise coming from the road. Another column was coming. I went to look at it. That time it was the national guard of russia. There were no Z letters on tanks, only a sign “rosgvardia”. The last hope that these were not russian soldiers had gone, and we sank into despair.
The sound of explosions started to come from a circular road. The fight for Kharkiv had begun. I had nothing left then to come back home. I would walk 15 kilometers in 4 hours, and I would drive it in 15 minutes, but it was too late.
274 days
That’s how long I haven’t been at home. That’s how long I haven’t seen my grandparents. The last time we saw each other, a bomb flew into our yard. When I returned home, they did not know that I would come because there is still no communication in that area. Grandma cried for a long time when she saw me… 274 days, 5 countries and 5454 kilometers
