Amidst all the chaos

February 24, 2022| Photo by Javad Parsa / NTB / AFP

Soon after the military operation was announced, I knew it was time. My student visa was due in a few months. Why now? In almost 80 years of what we all knew was coming, has finally exploded. No, really EXPLODED! The windows of my apartment fractured into pieces and alarms buzzing right into my ear drum. I immediately grabbed my windbreaker, phone, wallet, and rushed out of my apartment. There was so much bawl amongst all my neighbors; some grabbing their kids, pets, luggage, everyone being pushed around as if they didn’t matter -I close my eyes shut and took a deep breath. The crowd seemed to be heading towards the Kyiv underground metro to shield themselves from the background of extreme barrage of explosions. In my head, I wanted to see the Oslo City Hall for one last time. This felt like a scene from a movie, where the protagonist walks in the rain rethinking all she could have done or thought of doing. The only difference is, instead of rain, its explosive residue.

My battery is almost about to die, and I haven’t even informed my parents. Maybe they are watching the news and panicking almost helpless back home in India. This was a bad idea; I need to walk all the way to probably never make it alive anyway. The feeling of emptiness sinking into your heart, lot of unanswered thoughts, desires, and wonders is unexplainable. All I could do was curse the entire political system drowning into an enduring pain at the cost of human lives and destruction.

As I got closer, I noticed the symbol of WWII built of red bricks, two towers illuminated with the colors of the Ukrainian flag as a symbolic act of solidarity. I grabbed the arm of a bench as my body felt numb. What would be my last words if this was it? Am I dreaming? Please don’t let this be it. 

The building did not just stand there lifeless now, it gave a sense of hope to the hopeless. A couple stood in front of me hugging each other tightest. They looked as if they were in awe of the structural giant. Just as I took a minute to look around, all I could see is humanity coming alive. A mother kissing her child as if reunited after years of separation, an older woman sharing her last bread with a street dog, people calling their loved ones perhaps stranded in another location, and everyone just doing their best – helping each other out. Maybe it was the uncertainty that made us all feel the seconds most valuable. 

Amidst all the chaos, simply surrendering, shared love in silence, a powerful, magical feat lingers hope to repair the world.

-oishmortal

*this is a fictional story*

Is it really World War III??? I am honestly not surprised… post a pandemic, the only rational thing we as a reformed species could do, is go to war ensuring end-game transcribed annihilation. All this anxiety and helpless screaming at a wall came to a halt when I came across this haunting yet tender picture of a couple standing in the Kyiv Oslo City Hall as time stood still for them, sharing a quiet moment for love to surface. I decided to calm myself down by doing the only thing I know – write! I couldn’t help but wonder what they must be feeling amidst the chaos.


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