Black & White

Chapter one

For those whose lives weren't fair...

The sound of my alarm is waking me up. It's Tuesday, the end of February 2022. February 24th, with COVID still active in this world. There are no rays of sunlight coming through my grey curtains like it did for the first days of the week. I interlace my hands together to make my every morning prayer and stand up joining my little family in the kitchen.

The pleasant smell of breakfast is waking up my senses. My parents seem so weird, and my little sister is not knowing what is going on more than I am.

"We were waiting for you, Alexei."

This is the scariest sentence that a parent could tell his child. I don't know what it could be, yet I don't remember doing something bad.

"Russia today declared war on Ukraine", my mom says, looking sad.

This is not good news. We might not be living in Ukraine or Russia right now, but I still feel bad about this. Even if my family and I are Russians, we still have close friends from there.

"So what will happen?" My sister is asking.

"Ukrainians live in misery and we won't be able to see our family for a long time. It will be hard for all of us, children, and especially for them" my Dad is telling her after sitting on one of the wooden chairs.

I didn't expect all of this in the morning. I didn't think Russia would do such a thing.

"I guess that means we won't go to Russia until the war is over right?" I ask, having a slight hope that we could even if it's illogical.

My mom nods, slowly. What has he done? What has Putin done, again? My mom has been silent for a bit.

"We'll pray for them, okay? They need our God to protect them."

I do believe that God makes miracles. I strongly believe He will protect them at all costs. My parents, my sister who barely pays attention, and I are making a long and sincere prayer, to ask our God to protect Ukrainians from misery. My sensible little sister is starting to cry so my mom is. My dad, who is known for not being sensitive, is coming to hug them but with dry eyes and I am staring at the floor, feeling very upset.

"Why is Putin still president, huh? What kind of person can be so heartless and decide to pour crap on the whole country and his neighbours?" I now stand up, letting all of this out of my lungs.

My mom is looking up to my face and is trying to calm me, but this, without any success.

"Alexei... You may be right, Putin is a terrible president, but you should know that we are not to blame for anything."

"He was the main reason we left the country, son", my dad says, who waited for my mom to finish her sentence.

" I understand way better now", I mumble.

My empathy is making its whole role this morning. Having no control over something is one of the most upsetting things. Many people would agree with this. Ukraine is like our brothers, and they are not enemies to my family.

The sound of the silence is too heavy right now, and I want to break it. "I hate this president so much. Because of him, it is so embarrassing to be Russian. Now that the war has begun, we will never want to mention my nationality again!"

"I agree with you" sobs my little sister.

As if I didn't say enough, my speech kept on.

"I don't care if I get tortured or even killed while saying this. Putin is a terrible person and it's true!"