Page 18 - Publishing Inspiration Christmas Card 2022

Freedom and Peace
l
Olena sat in my class, staring straight ahead. Her eyes
seemed glazed. When I called on her, she didn’t respond. I didn’t
want to embarrass her, so I called on someone else, but I continued to
watch her. I could tell that something was dreadfully wrong.
After class was over, Olena moved slowly, as if she was in a
daze. I waited until most of the class had left before approaching her.
“Olena, is something wrong?”
She shook her head, but the tears that started coming told a
different story. Finally, she dropped into her chair, put her face in
her hands, and sobbed. After she had cried for some time, she wiped
away her tears.
“Professor Howard,” she said, “I don’t even know how to
explain what I’m feeling right now. There are so many thoughts
going through my mind.”
She seemed to want to visit, even if it was hard. Eventually,
she opened up and talked about it.
“As you know, I am Ukrainian,” she said. “I had just come
over here to school when Russia invaded our country. My father
went to fight while my mother took the rest of the children and fled
the country. Since then, I have had no word whether my father is still
alive.
“I just got an email from a neighbor telling me that two of my
good friends have been killed, and a third one is missing. I’m not
sure whether my mother and younger siblings made it out of the
country. I don’t know where they are.”
Olena began to cry again. Eventually, she wiped her eyes
once more and told me more.
“My grandfather is almost eighty years old. He lived during
much of the Soviet occupation of our country. He talked a lot about
the fear and the people that would disappear if they spoke up. He
said he would prefer to die than to live that way again, and even at
his age, he has gone to fight, too.
“In contrast, this week all my roommates are talking about the
Fourth-of-July celebration. They are going to flag-raisings, readings
of important documents, barbecues, and lots of firework shows.

15