The Believer
Natalya Zavizistup, 45, Near West Side
“Each morning I hope to realize that this is just a bad dream.”
“In February, my horoscope showed a big danger in my city of Kharkiv. I decided to come to Chicago and spend my birthday with my son, who studies at UIC. Now I believe that protected me from war.
and going back and caring for him. Every day While I stay here under temporary protected status, my 84-year-old father refuses to join me. He is trying to survive winter while he teaches online classes at Kharkiv National University of Radio Electronics. He lives alone, has health problems, and his apartment doesn’t have enough heat. It’s so hard to choose between protecting my life I call him and wonder if this may be our last conversation. Friends have told me that when they drive or wait at a bus stop, they never know where the bombs may fall.
When I was little, my grandmother used to tell me stories from World War II. It was so strange to hear about hunger and destruction. Now I see
