The Arrest — Chapter from the Novel "Stone" by Volodymyr Shablia
The Arrest Stone — Book One: First Steps Toward the Light and Back — Chapter 6 by Volodymyr Shablia August 1941. The village of Tomakivka. Late on an August evening, an anxious, restless mood hung over the Shablia household: his parents were preparing Peter for his journey. “Your work assignment?” his father asked for what seemed like the hundredth time, briskly checking everything. “Your passport? Money? Your military registration certificate? It’s wartime now—they could mobilize you at any moment. You need to have all your documents with you.” Peter's work assignment. Peter checked his papers once again. Everything was in order. Meanwhile, his mother brought a bundle from the pantry. “Take some more pork fat, just in case. It may come in handy.” The woman looked at her son with a mixture of love, pity, and a strange sense of resignation. She held out the food wrapped in parchment paper, but could not hold back her tears. Then, realizing that he...