Quote by Володимир Шабля

“The doctor delivered a devastating diagnosis: a severe stroke with paralysis of the right side of her body, brought on by prolonged starvation. In the days that followed, Irina’s condition steadily deteriorated. The family took turns caring for her, carefully following every medical instruction, yet the decline was obvious. Within days, her left leg failed as well. She could no longer speak—only stare ahead in silent resignation. Whenever one of her loved ones approached her bedside, tears streamed soundlessly down her face. Now, sitting beside his grandmother’s pillow, Peter watched the boundless sorrow in her eyes as she looked at him. “Grandma, everything will be all right. You’ll recover,” the boy lied with all the gentleness he was capable of. “I love you.” He pressed his face to her chest and kissed her. Heavy tears rolled down Irina’s cheeks. A lump rose in Peter’s throat. He could not drive away the terrible thought: How could it be that only yesterday someone so alive, loving, and active—though ill—could so suddenly become a helpless ruin? It felt unnatural. It felt unjust. With each passing day, life faded from Irina. A week after the stroke, she died quietly in her sleep. At his grandmother’s funeral, Peter wept as he never had before—and never would again. He did not hide his tears. He kept kissing her cold lips, cheeks, and forehead. But each kiss only made the grief heavier. — Volodymyr Shablia, Stone. Book Three Context note: Set during the Holodomor of 1933 in Ukraine, this scene portrays one of the famine’s most tragic realities: the rapid decline and death of the elderly and the sick often among the first victims of starvation. Malnutrition weakened the body’s ability to survive illness, and strokes, infections, and organ failure became fatal in a society stripped of food and medical resources. Behind the statistics of millions dead were intimate family tragedies like this one.”

Quote by Володимир Шабля