I served then in the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
A man comes to me in the temple and says,
«Can I talk to you?»
Nodding.
We sat down at the bench and he started:
“I served in Afghanistan, and I want to tell you how I came back alive.
We went as a group on a mission.
We’ve come a long way.
When they passed through a narrow valley in the mountains, they ran into an ambush.
We’re back, and there’s fire.
Well, we did. Mousetrap.
We’ve got a circular defense, let’s shoot back.
Of course, the base was contacted, reported, the turntables flew to us.
And the place is narrow, around the mountain.
We’re still fighting back, waiting for ours.
The turntables arrived, let’s go down, and on them from all heights such a hurricane fire was opened that they barely managed to get back up.
It became clear, to decline them without a chance.
Well, the guys helped us as best they could, and when the ammunition was shot, they flew away.
As the spirits get closer, we fight back.
It got dark and they stopped shooting.
We all knew there would be an attack in the morning and it would be over by lunchtime.
And ammunition, and water, and us.
Nobody wanted to be captured, we left grenades for self-explosion.
Waiting for morning.
I haven’t slept all night, and neither have the guys.
I changed my mind all my life.
My mother was very religious, already dead by that time.
I am a Soviet officer and I understand how we were brought up.
In the morning, like a little nap.
I see my mother, clearly standing in front of me, showing me a map and saying,
“Here, son, you are here, but here (shows) a slide of stones is laid, you go to the guys with flashlights, you will find it.”
You lay stones, and there’s the entrance to the tunnel.
Everybody leave.
I woke up, I didn’t sleep, I remember the place on the map.
Crawling up to the commander, telling me, believe it or not, but here’s the thing.
He pulls out the tablet, I show you the location.
Sent a scout with flashlights.
The guys are back, they say, all right, stones are laid.
We crawled the whole group, quickly the stones were dismantled, and there really was a tunnel.
That’s how I came back alive.
Since then, I have known for sure that there is a God.”
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