Читать книгу Through the Horizons. Part 1. Escape - - Страница 3

The morning started like any other – easy and calm. There was no trace left of yesterday's anxiety and worries. Today, my shift was scheduled to begin at 12 noon.

Everything was going well; I was working quietly and hardly recalling the events of the previous day. As evening approached, information appeared on the internet that Ukrainian hackers had hacked the website of the military draft office, and lists of people subject to partial mobilization were exposed. My anxiety began to shake my inner state slightly.

My colleague Alexander found a link to this file on Telegram and started searching for me and other guys who could potentially be subject to partial mobilization. After they didn't find me, I regained peace of mind for myself.

After a short period of time, I asked them to look for my friend Egor. He was not on the list either. Out of curiosity, I asked them to check the list for the city where I was born and where my school acquaintances and relatives lived. I didn't find any acquaintances there, but I saw my younger brother and his best friend on those lists.

In that same second, I experienced a wide range of negative emotions. Anger, resentment, outrage, horror, fear, and irritation overwhelmed me. He couldn't possibly be on those lists, and in that moment, I made a decision for myself: if it so happens that he gets called, I will volunteer to go with him. I cannot let him go there alone.

I was once again thrown off balance; I couldn't focus on work because my worry for my brother was overwhelming. After a short while, we had the idea to find those people whom we knew had received summons or were already there. Out of five people, we couldn't find a single one. In that moment, I stopped worrying about my younger brother, and a slight sense of unease for myself resurfaced. It was clear that these lists were fake, created to induce panic, and to some extent, they succeeded.

I worked through the rest of the evening, trying to isolate myself from these thoughts, and somehow I managed to do so. Upon returning home, I exchanged a few words with Egor and went to sleep.