Chernobyl’s Revenge

VIII*

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Lutsenko; sorry for not being courteous, but I need to know if your husband is home."

"Good afternoon, Mr. Burakov. My husband arrived a few hours ago but left again. He should be back soon, but if you need something from him, you can tell me without any problem."

"Excuse me, madam, but this is something I can only discuss with your husband." My mother went silent for a moment while Mr. Burakov's breathing showed his great anxiety.

"Mr. Burakov, as soon as my husband arrives, we must leave immediately for Moscow, you are surely already informed..."

"Madam," he interrupted abruptly and continued pleadingly, "I wouldn't be looking for your husband if this matter weren't extremely urgent, please..." My mother remained silent while thinking about what to do, then sighed and continued.

"I will inform my husband that you came to see him, please tell me where he can find you. I must warn you that whatever you have to say should be brief, as we need to leave as soon as possible."

"Yes, madam, I will be at my sister's house, which is just two houses to the right of this one." They both said their goodbyes and my mother began walking nervously around the living room.

She looked once more at the door and then headed to the kitchen. I had seen Mr. Burakov before; he was known for his work at the nuclear plant, and even two of his younger children continued in his profession—both were operators, and their father was already a supervisor. The only one who didn't follow the family legacy was his eldest son, who decided to pursue another dream: studying medicine. He left Pripyat many years ago and had not returned even to visit his family, so people no longer remembered his face and even forgot that he was part of the Burakov family. However, I had recently heard that he was about to return, and now I remembered seeing someone who resembled Mr. Burakov… yes, the man who spoke to us about the Mothman. Could he be the son that no one remembered?

A couple of hours passed. I stayed in my room, trying to focus on something other than the terrifying figure I had seen earlier. I could still feel its gaze; I started sweating cold just thinking about it. At first, I thought it was just my imagination, that my mind was playing tricks on me. This made more sense than thinking there was a humanoid figure with moth wings in the city. However, I wasn’t the only one who had seen it… all my friends were just as stunned as I was. We all felt the same terror and knew it wasn’t a simple illusion. If so many people had seen it, it couldn’t be an illusion, could it? It’s impossible for so many people to see exactly the same thing. And not only that, this figure even had a name… Mothman. I was really intrigued. If it was true that it only appeared as a symbol of bad omen, then the question was, what was going to happen in the city? Despite my fear, I tried to find a logical reason. I hoped it was just another myth created by humanity over the years, but if that wasn’t the case… we were all in serious trouble.

I also thought about all the coincidences that had happened that day. First, my mother, a calm woman who always prioritized reason, had told me in the morning that she had a bad feeling. Second, the sighting of the Mothman, which, according to the stranger at the park, signified bad omen. Finally, the visit of Mr. Burakov, who wasn’t exactly a friend of my father. They were just work colleagues; their relationship wasn’t strong enough for him to come by for social reasons.

What did he want to tell my father? He knew my father had stopped working at the plant several years ago when he was transferred to Moscow. Later, he was offered further studies and a new job. My mother and I hadn’t followed him immediately because of my nanny, but now that she had passed, there was no reason to stay here.

Thousands of doubts swirled in my mind. Meanwhile, I kept sitting on my bed, trying to piece together my memories to find an answer that would bring me peace. Soon, I felt a knot in my stomach; my head was spinning, my eyes glazed over, and I had a deep urge to cry. Not only was I leaving the city that had seen me grow up, but now I felt like it was in danger, that a shadow of destruction was slowly approaching, and I… couldn’t do anything. I could only sit, wait, and watch.

I heard the doorbell ring, pulling me out of my trance. My body quickly left the room and ran down the stairs. When I reached the bottom, my mother saw me, looked at me with concern, and said:

"...You know we have to leave here quickly. Your father is going to start his studies outside of Pripyat, and you haven’t packed your bag at all. Or do you not want to live in Moscow?" I wanted to argue. I had told her in the morning that I only needed a few things to be packed, but I decided not to speak. For one, I hadn’t made any progress since the morning, and secondly, we heard someone knocking at the door. My mother, focused on scolding me, had forgotten that there was someone waiting outside. She looked through a small window beside the door, smiled cheerfully, and opened it. On the other side was my father. He… was the same figure from the dream I had before. The difference was that now I could distinguish the insignia on my father’s clothing; it said "peaceful atom."

"Darling, the bus leaves in two hours. I hope… and you have your bags ready, or else you’ll have to take the morning bus."

"You’re going to do it right now, aren’t you? Ky... don’t make your father scold you too." My mind tried to complete the memory, to finally hear my real name. Little by little, it was becoming clearer, but so far, I could only hear the first two letters, Ky. I didn’t really care whether I knew my full name or not. Right now, I needed to figure out more important things, and if curiosity swallowed me, I could ask my "parents."

I followed the same path as in my previous dream. I turned and went up the stairs, but now there was a slight change. This time, I didn’t head to my parents’ room. I kept walking until I reached my room’s door. But before I entered, I heard my parents talking in very low tones. They only did this when they wanted to hide something from me, which only made the flame of my curiosity grow. So, I got as close to the stairs as I could and tried to listen.

"Inha, you should have told me this immediately. What time did Mr. Burakov come?"

"Andriy, he didn’t say what he came for, so I assumed it wasn’t urgent." My mother’s tone showed irritation. My father sighed, thinking about what to say. He knew that when my mother got angry, it was like waking up a demon, and he didn’t want to start a discussion he wouldn’t win.

"Inha… Mr. Burakov and I have an important matter to discuss. I think I have an idea of what it is, so I need to take care of a few things before we leave. We won’t be able to leave the city today. We’ll leave tomorrow as early as possible, but for now, I need to go out."

"But Andriy, since you arrived, you haven’t stopped leaving..."

"This is more important than you or me. Just make sure everything is ready for tomorrow."

My father quickly left the house, and I could hear my mother’s hurried breathing. She was completely surprised. My father had never spoken to her in such an authoritative tone, and this worried her. She stood staring at the door for a few minutes, then sighed and returned to the kitchen. For my part, I also went back to my room, picked up the bag I had left on the floor in the morning and finished packing. It was then that I realized my room was full of moving boxes. The only things left were my clothes, a few toys, and my bed. While I was doing the task my parents had given me, I heard my father come back into the house. He called my mother, and she came out of the kitchen to head into the living room. I immediately left my room, went back to the stairs, and listened to them clearly.

"Andriy... I need to know what's going on."

"I can't tell you, Inha, you know my work isn't something I can discuss. All I can say is that we need to return to Moscow as soon as possible. I had to take care of a few things here, but there are still some processes I need to delay. I won't be home all night; I'll come back in the morning to pick you up. Bring only what's necessary, then I'll return to bring what we missed, but we need to leave as soon as possible."

"Andriy! If you don't tell me what's going on, I can't help you, and you're just making me worry more."

"Inha..." My father sighed, thinking about what to say next. If he didn't say anything, my mother would keep asking and wouldn't let him finish his work. After carefully choosing his words, he continued: "It's sensitive information; if I discuss it with you, I could be accused of treason. All I can ask is that we leave as soon as possible. I need to get to Moscow, and only there will I be able to solve this problem."

"Alright, Andriy, we’ll be waiting for you tomorrow." – My mother's voice showed defeat, if my father wasn't telling her anything, it was because it was truly a delicate matter that could get us into trouble. Once again, I heard my father leave the house while my mother nervously paced around the living room. Suddenly, she spoke, and my heart stopped for a few seconds…

"I know you're on the stairs; come down right now.”