The curse of the sunflower seeds!

The Russians had been advancing in Ukraine. The battle was raging on all fronts. The Russian helicopters were bombarding the cities of Ukraine. Igor Agafonov, the Russian soldier was standing still at side of the sentry gate of the makeshift Russian camp. Igor was apprehensive to what happened to his bother Dmitri who was stationed at Kyiv as a reconnaissance agent for the Russian military. It was around 9 p.m when Aleksander Andreyev, their captain, called in Igor inside the Russian camp. Aleksander made Igor sit in front of him and said, “Well, I have some bad news to give you!”

Igor’s sulked look said it all. He mumbled, “What now?”

Aleksander said, “We have news that Dmitri is no more! I was as you know on national duty and he was stationed in Kyiv. Unfortunately the Ukraninan facility that was supposed to be hit by the artillery was missed was by and it landed on the apartment where he was stationed to monitor the hit. He along with how wife Olena Agafonov are no more!”

Igor didn’t know what to say. Memories came flooding back of the days when he used to play basketball with his son Boris and his brother Dmitri. He knew that his family had to pay such a heavy price due to the whims and fancies of politicians like Putin. Yet he was a patriotic fellow and he kept mum. After all people who go to war do not want war and people who never go to war want war! Igor went and stood guard of the facility of the Russian soldiers.

Suddenly large tears came rolling down his white cheek, as memories came flying back of his father and Dmitri. Suddenly out of the blue he noticed a small girl probably aged between ten-twelve was walking towards to facility. He cautioned her loudly in Russian but had no effect on the girl whose face was covered in a mask. He walked up and stopped her.

She said, “I am giving you these sunflower seeds. Please accept them!”

Then she extended her hand and on her outstretched palm were some sunflower seeds. She handed them to Igor and said, “Please keep them in your pocket and when you die fighting, on the lands on Ukraine, my country, these seeds would sprout on the nourishment of your decomposed body and sunflowers will prevail and look at the sun when it blossoms. The sunflowers will follow sun and your evil deeds will be ended, as the sunlight will take away the darkness of your deeds that has killed my parents.”

Igor was dumbfounded as the girl was speaking in Russian. Then a shot was fired and the girl collapsed. Igor didn’t know what to do but his instinct made him jump behind the sand bags protecting the facility.

The girl kept quivering and then there was a deadly silence. The next morning when they tried to clear the body of the girl, the identity proof on the girl had Igor devastated. The girl was none other than Dmitri and Olena Agafonov’s only daughter Ruslana Agafonov. Igor never knew who had shot Ruslana. He didn’t even want to know. After all they use the term collateral damage I guess, to describe these instances.