meters by a strong explosion. After a couple of minutes, he opened his eyes, stood up, and quickly ran out into the yard to find Markha. His thoughts were: “Markha! You’re alive! You’re okay! I know! You just went out for water…”.
He ran around the small yard several times. His consciousness clouded, but, grabbing his head, he ran around the yard calling her.
– Please! Answer me! Where are you? Don’t leave me! We’ll still make it to the camp… We’ll make it… Where are you?! – he repeated in panic, slowing down his pace and looking around. But Markha didn’t answer, there was only silence.
Then he slowly turned into the backyard and saw a large pit in the ground, and there… were Markha ‘s remains… fragments of her body… Adam didn’t know what to do, it seemed fate had already tested him: he had buried his parents, friends, neighbours, but he wasn’t ready for such a blow of fate… Then he slowly sankdown to the ground and cried.
– This is a terrible dream! I’ll wake up soon, and it will all be over! You’ll return to me, and we’ll continue our long journey together. What should I do? I’m so tired… Tell me what to do… You just went out into the yard… you’ll come back, – Adam repeated, gasping for breath from tears.
His heart was breaking with pain. He wished this bloody earth open up and swallow him just not to feel the burning pain in his soul, to have everything turn out unreal, another cruel joke of war. But he had to endure this loss too. Then he suddenly jumped up like a madman and began searching for something.
– I won’t leave you here, do you hear me? You’ll come with me to your children, they’re waiting for you and love you very much! – Adam went on repeating that wiping away his hot tears,
Finding an old bag in the yard, he gathered the remains, wrapped the bag and gently hugged it. It seemed to him that he had gone crazy, that the whole thing hadn’t been occurring to him and he had got to hell on earth instead. But, unfortunately, all the inhabitants of the Republic were captured in this hell. The sky and the earth trembled from human cruelty day and night.
Adam understood that he needed to reach the humanitarian corridor for refugees, bury the remains, and find the kids. Gathering all his willpower, Adam quickly set his feet on the path all alone, without Markha. He no longer cared whether he would make it alive or dead.
After a couple of hours, he didn’t even notice that he had reached the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia. Noticing a large stream of refugees, with many people and cars, he stopped next to a car with a family inside. Suddenly, he thought he saw Markha sitting in the car. He approached the partially open window and said to the woman inside: “Markha, I told you we would make it! We reached the border!”.
Having uttered this, Adam fainted. When he came round, he found himself sitting in that car, next to the woman he had spoken to. She had a snow-soaked bandage on his forehead.
– Boy, what’s your name? What happened to you? Why are you alone? Where are your parents? – the woman asked, worriedly.
– I’m Adam… They’re gone… They’re all gone… I’m alone… with Markha, – Adam replied calmly.
– Where is she? With you? We didn’t see her here, – the woman replied.
– She’s nearby. Here… in the bag… I need to bury her… and take her children from the camp with me. I promised, – he stuttered, holding the bag close to him.
– What are you talking about? Poor boy, he’s completely lost his mind. Have a short rest, you’ll come with us. We’re also going to the refugee camp. We’ll find the children, – the woman replied, tearfully.
– Leave him alone! Why are you bothering him? Can’t you see he’s in pain? There are really human remains in the bag. When I put him in the car unconscious, I saw what was inside the bag… He’s telling the truth. We’ve all lost our minds because of this damn war, – the elderly man sitting behind the wheel cried out.
– And you, hold on! In any difficult situation, we are not alone. Our Creator is always with us! He sees and hears everything, even what we don’t say. He knows our souls better than we do. He loves us more than our own mother. Everything will be okay! This is coming from a man who buried his three brothers, parents, and two little children. My little son was also named Adam. He was blown up by a landmine right in front of me, – he added, barely holding back tears.
Adam knew what it was like to lose the loved ones. He covered his face with his hands, and the harsh events of the recent months passed before his eyes like a movie. Raising his head, he said:
– I’ve experienced so much pain that I don’t know why my heart is still beating so treacherously.
– It’s not up to us to decide, son. It will beat until its time is up. We, men, must bear the blows of fate stoically, for the future of our nation is behind us, and we are responsible for our children so that they grow up to be real people! – replied the man.
– Kazbek, look, all the cars have started moving, and we will finally go, – said the woman happily, holding her sleeping eight and ten-year-old children close to her. Her name was Amina.
– Praise be to the Almighty! We will get out of this, – Kazbek sighed in response.
It was already getting dark when they set off. There were a lot of people. After a while, they crossed the border between Chechnya and Ingushetia. Passing through another village, Kazbek stopped the car at the side of the road and said:
– There’s a cemetery over there, we need to bury the woman’s remains. Amina, you stay in the car.
– Okay, – she replied.
Kazbek got out of the car, opened the trunk, took a small bottle of water, a piece of white and green fabric, and a wooden board. Adam followed him, holding his bag tightly in his hands. Then they quickly headed towards the cemetery.
After a while, they returned to the car and sat in silence for a few minutes.
– When all this chaos is over, we will bury her in the family cemetery, don’t worry, Adam. The most important thing is that her soul will find peace after the burial, – Kazbek said in a tired voice.
Adam just nodded and fell asleep in the car. They kept going until they reached the house of Kazbek’s old friend, Islam, who was Ingush, and Kazbek knew he wouldn’t refuse them a place to stay. And indeed, Islam not only let them stay, but also forbade Kazbek from seeking other accommodation, saying that he wouldn’t let them go anywhere.
– Kazbek! How could you think that I would let you go, my brother? Amina! Quickly set the table, our brothers have come to visit! – he shouted to his wife.
After dinner, everyone was very tired and went to bed early. The next morning, Kazbek, Islam, and Adam set off to the refugee camp to search for everyone who was with Adam in the basement. When they arrived at the camp, they began asking people in the tents where they could find certain individuals, calling out their names and surnames.
Then, looking into another tent, Adam saw Magomed sitting sadly by the window, with Makka sleeping next to him on a wooden cot. He slowly walked inside and sat down next to him. Magomed, sensing someone nearby, turned around and, recognizing him, exclaimed:
– I knew you would come! I knew you would take us out of here! I have been waiting for you! I have been praying every day to the Almighty to bring you back!
He gave Adam an affectionate embrace and burst into tears, that ran down his rosy white cheeks.
– Magomed, everything is fine, I promised, and I am here! Now I will never leave you and Makka! – he said, hugging him reassuringly.
– And Mom? Where is Mom?! She came with you too, didn’t she? – Magomed asked through tears.
– Everything