ODESSA. A Story Written with Closed Eyes

20.06.2025

    Today I published a new story: "ODESSA. A Story Written with Closed Eyes." And to be honest — it became a true challenge for me.

    I had wanted to write it for many years. But I couldn’t. It turned out that to do it, I just had to… close my eyes.

    The image of Odessa as a Mother is too complex. Sometimes almost elusive. And not just for those who don’t know Odessa, but even for those who have lived in it their entire lives.

    Once I asked the locals: How do you imagine an image where the city and the mother are one? The answer was almost always in the heart, but not in the words. It was harder to describe than to feel.

    I hesitated for a long time. I was afraid that the symbolism born in my lines might clash with the images that live inside each of us. I feared that my Odessa might not match yours.

    But one day I allowed myself to write not what was “expected”, but what I truly felt. And at some point I realized: this very story is the one I was meant to write a long time ago.

    It is a nameless story, but with deep respect — for Her. The heroine remains unnamed, but every reference to Her is capitalized. Why so? You’ll understand only by reading to the end.

   It consists not of lines. It consists of the whispers of streets, the scent of rain, of memories kept not by walls, but by hearts.

    And one more thing — the meaning of the story lies in the final lines. But they will say nothing unless you read them all.

(c) Anatoliy Kavun