Concrete Jungle

Chapter 23

       The three weeks before the issue was released passed in the blink of an eye. Sasha had literally nothing to do but mentally prepare herself for the reactions of those closest to her especially her parents. She went to see them and her brothers often; her parents again noticed a massive shift within their daughter. If before her eyes were fighting a battle, now they were at peace. She explained that the April issue would be double the size and she was immensely proud of it. She gave them the date it was set to drop and cryptically mentioned that she would give them a few days to digest it before she would visit them and they could talk about it. They both did a double take at that as she half-smiled. All of the secrets would be revealed soon.

     The day the issue dropped, Sasha had woken up early and walked to the South Street Seaport and looked out at the water as people walked all around her. The sky was a crisp blue, without a single cloud. She always wondered just how her simple words impacted a populous and yet she knew it was because of the strength of her words, that she could engage as many people as she did. From where she was standing, she noticed a man in a business suit sitting on a bench with a copy of that same issue in his hand. When he saw her looking at him and at it, he smiled at her and she smiled back. As he was thumbing through the pages, he suddenly froze and looked at her again. She knew exactly where he was and what page he was looking at without even needing a reference. She didn't look at him again but just gently smiled and walked away. Her anonymity even in NYC was about to decrease.

    A copy of the issue was waiting in her mailbox when she returned home and she picked it up, walking inside. She sat by the window and looked the issue over carefully and professionally. The editors didn't change a single thing from what was decided upon and she was happy with that. The poem went first, followed by the main piece, then Rahel's photojournalism, and lastly came 'Witness'. The documentary would release in just a short week on the actual anniversary. Two days later, she finally went to see her parents. The moment she stepped into the apartment, her mother got up off the couch and ran over to her daughter. Her eyes were red and face was swollen from crying. Both Ekaterina and Feodor spent the entire day and night sobbing as they read 'Witness'. They tried to keep as quiet as possible to not wake or worry the boys. The day before they met with uncle Vlad and aunt Nadya, who also were emotional wrecks. No one went to work, essentially they were in almost an entranced state of mourning. The sheer horror of the story and that their daughter and niece had endured it alone at the age of just 6, was mind boggling.

"Oh my God, Sashenka. I--"

      Ekaterina sobbed as she held onto her daughter with all of her strength. Sasha also had tears in her eyes. She was more worried about her parents then herself. She knew that this shock might be dangerous to her father's heart. By then Feodor had also joined the two of them in a group hug, also sobbing, almost losing control. The boys were at school so they could have time alone without issues. For endless moments, they just stood together grieving silently. Then Sasha slowly pulled them both to the sofa.

"It's ok, mama, papa. I'm ok. I'm more then ok. I'm sorry I never shared any of it with you. Back then, I knew had I told you, you would have forbidden me from going back to see him." To which her parents both nodded emphatically as Sasha smiled sadly and continued:
"Afterwards, I just wanted to run away from everything but at the same time, I couldn't lose him. He's been in that journal and in my soul all of these years and if it hadn't been for Ben and Rahel's intervention, I would have taken him to the grave. But Vasya didn't deserve that. His story had to be told. He was so young, to die so horribly, without any knowledge of why. I was the only living witness to him and I have the power to bring him to life again with dignity. I had to do it. He was guiding me the entire time."

   As she finished speaking, she reached over and took the blue journal out of her bag and slowly extended it to her parents as their eyes went wide.