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It’s Fine to Never Meet IRL
January
The missile strike on the apartment block in Dnipro that left 40 dead and dozens more injured came as many were observing the traditional Old New Year and Orthodox New Year.
Widely condemned internationally, it came amid a wider barrage of Russian cruise missiles across Ukraine.
“Purgatory, it’s purgatory,” my friend Anton says.
He looks at the rubble and then at me as I stare at the thread that has sewn up his face wound. I carefully ask how his relatives are. “All good, no worries,” he replies.
Questions like this to a survivor can be like pulling a thread from a wound.
It feels like I am inside a hurricane – volunteers, firefighters, journalists, rescuers, territorial defense, politicians, dog walkers, the smell of soup, the smell of death, the smell of construction debris, the smell of tea, the smell of those who survived.
Next to the shell of this building in Dnipro there is a consensus among my colleagues — victory seems a long way away.
A young guy in uniform carries dusty toys found on the first floor. He holds them like a child.
“I wanna go to a playground.”
“It’s dirty there, debris landed there, dear,” the woman tries to explain to her son.
Half an hour later, volunteers start sweeping the playground.
All over the yard – memorial flowers begin to be laid.
Holes where windows once stood are covered with plastic and glowing.
You say “purgatory,” but why does it hurt so much?
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
