It girl, my light

by Mary Hovorukha (Ukraine)

I didn't expect to find Ukraine

Today is March 9th. I lived yesterday. Direct evidence of this is a new experience. This will not be an adventure story with a loved one. This is a story about romance and love for your favorite business. Last month, my friend sent me statistics of the places, where he had been for a year by Google Maps. Invisible stimulus made me compare us. That is natural, like breathe. Indeed, I was appalled. There was a yawning gap between us. By and large, I have not been anywhere. ANY-WERE, except my town for the whole year. Missing all the details and troubles, in the morning of March 8th and I was going to the cultural capital of my country. That moment clears up to me. My team and I arrived in Kiev and I am delirious with joy. In contrast, the faces of the rest are grim - we have slept a bit, together with, we didn’t eat or even drink, because weights were in the morning, and the road was long. The morning comes up early, although I consider me to be a stoic. I have put a lot of effort and can be proud of myself. I look a little ridiculous with this smile and enthusiasm at the gray gloomy station. A neat woman is walking nearby. She yells into the telephone receiver, she is annoyed with the calls of some old woman. I guess this is her mother on the other end of the phone. A neat woman is yelling louder and louder. We have never heard such screams. It wasn’t even a matter of voice, but of cyclically repeated, painful words. We see her body with peripheral vision, I think none of us dared to look at her face. All her elegance has evaporated. The woman curled up like a string of beans trying to squeeze more anger out of herself. After half a minute I looked up at the window. The air outside was white as chalk. High skyscrapers are alluring. City of opportunity. City of cold. Quite a nice visit. I meant to render the impressions of the day and keep them in my memory quite vividly. I amazed my she-friend with wide-open eyes at my optimism. I, usually a mature and serious team captain, looked in that city like a child who was interested in everything. For many of them that city was home, but for me it was so unknown or forgotten. Moreover, there were things to see Another quirky case took place in the subway. You can hardly imagine. A large and spacious carriage, where we have seats. I look inside and see their faces, they are exhausted, but having seeing my emotions, they winked and seem to forget about tiredness. Locals do not look at anyone’s eyes at all. We are in the tunnel. If the set of screens broadcasting advertisements was not illuminating the space, then it would be dark. Admittedly, the advertisement was supposed to be everywhere. When the metro was about to go outside, Amina said that the most beautiful view would be at the next stop, and she usually hung out on the phone at that time. I hesitated nevertheless I approached the door. The moment has begun. The gates slowly opened. I seemed to have touched the paradise. Great height, everything is totally white in front, as if one step separates you from the pillow of clouds. My heart fluttered so much that it seemed like if my blood was milk, it whipped into butter. I wanted to breathe more air. I took a step forwards, and my horizon expanded. The inconceivable scene was going on: it was stronger than the impending victory; it shone brighter than a gold medal. I did not expect to find beauty in dust and haste. I did not expect that the seen paintings would be stamped in my memory. Great people made mistakes, not people, but experience is the measure of everything. Now I know how cool it is to travel, how much your consciousness expands. I encountered my soulmate at that moment. “It girl, my light” – I thought. Having tasted it once, you will never agree to less.