Locket full of Secrets

by Dana Burkey

  “No one told you anything?” I asked, the question slipping out before I could stop it.

  “Of course not,” she said, a sarcastic smile on her lips. “The Soviet Union was too proud to admit anything was wrong. For two days we went on like nothing happened. When my dad came home later the day of the accident he was feeling sick. He was dizzy and his head hurt. My mother thought he was just tired or had a cold. My dad told her over and over that it was nothing to worry about, but she knew he was lying when the police announced everyone in Pripyat needed to evacuate. The officers told everyone that we were only leaving for two days, so my parents had me pack a small case. They said it was just a short trip to see my aunt and uncle. And they seemed so calm that I did not even worry that something worse was happening.

  “My dad had to work the morning we were leaving,” Olena continued slowly. “But when he came home to get on the bus with us he was feeling sicker than ever before. It was clear now that he had been suffering from radiation poisoning, and by going back that morning he was once again exposed to lethal doses. We still had to evacuate though, so we got on one of the busses and rode to Kiev where we stayed with my Aunt Anna and Uncle Maksym and my cousin. My Aunt Svetlana was already there, and when we arrived she told my parents she did not know where Uri was. She showed my dad the photos he had given her to develop. They were mostly of the new Ferris wheel in town, but the last few revealed the weapons that were being moved from reactor four to reactor five. As soon as he saw them my dad knew Uri was taking more photos the night of the test. He and Uncle Maksym left to go back to Chernobyl immediately.

  “By the time my dad came back the next day he was even sicker than before. He went right to the doctor in Kiev.” Olena’s voice was now just above a whisper. “But they could do nothing for him. It was too late. He died two days later, the radiation too much for his body to handle. My mother did not tell me then, but later explained that my father and Maksym went to the power plant. They found Uri’s car and the film he had left there. Maksym took the photos and hid them where they would be safe in Pripyat, while my dad searched for Uri’s body. He found only his smashed camera in the debris. It was proof that there was more going on than most people knew.

  “Once my father died, Maksym was afraid that we were in too much danger in Ukraine and told my mother we all needed to leave,” Olena pushed on, all emotion gone from her voice. “He said if they were storing those weapons in Pripyat, then it meant there might be something bigger happening that was even more dangerous for us all. He believed we were going to start a war, using the nuclear weapons to take over the world. My mother feared he was right, so we left immediately. We did not even have a real funeral for my father. On the way to the airport, all my mother told me was that we had to go somewhere safe from the sickness that my father had died from. I was too young to understand just what that sickness was. We all left except Svetlana. She said she was going to move back to Pripyat as soon as she could so she would still feel close to Uri. I do not know where is she is now, only that she can never go back.

  “We moved to England then, my aunt and uncle and cousin in a house with my mother and me. My cousin was a few years older so he thought something more was going on than just what we had been told. We started trying to listen when the adults were talking so we could learn something, but never heard much. As the months and years passed the adults stopped talking about Ukraine and Chernobyl. Then one night we heard them yelling about the photos. Maksym was shouting after coming home drunk. My mother and aunt fought with him through the night, then finally our house was quiet again. The next day my uncle did not come home from work. We waited all night for him, but when he did not call by morning my mom said we needed to leave. We were on a plane to Canada a few hours later.

  “I now know that Maksym showed Uri’s photos to someone. He thought he could trust this man he worked with, but clearly he could not. Maksym was chased down after work one night and was shot five times. The photos he had with him was gone, and we had no way to know if he told anyone that we had more. So, we stayed in Canada and waited. When the Soviet Union fell we rejoiced. It was clear my mom and aunt thought we were safe now. They did not tell me anything still, but I could tell that they were no longer living in constant fear of the men who killed Maksym.

  “Living in Canada, we really were safe for a long time,” Olena paused to again refill her glass. “They found us one day, when my mother was the only one home. They shot through the windows and lit the house on fire. She barely made it out, but came to the school to get my cousin and me. We picked up my aunt at work and went right to the airport. We did not know how they found us, but we knew all of us staying together was too dangerous. My aunt decided to move to Texas, and my mom chose Ohio. When we said goodbye, my aunt gave me the locket. I did not know what it was yet, but it was the only link to my aunt, so I took special care of it.

  “You know the next part Claire,” Olena said with an attempt at a smile.

  “On the way to Ohio my mother told me a little bit about what was really going on,” Olena explained. “I knew about Chernobyl from the news, but she told me about Uri and the photos and the truth about how my father died. It all scared me so much. I decided right then that I was not going to talk to anyone at school. I figured it was not worth it to get close to anyone, when I would probably just have to leave soon anyways.”

  “I sure ruined that one for you, didn’t I?” I frowned.

  “Claire, you ruined nothing,” she insisted. “I needed a friend more than anything, and sitting next to you in homeroom my first day was like fate stepping in to help. Without you Ohio would have been nothing but another scary place I had to run from. Instead I got to be a kid for once. I got to be happy, and have a friend, and not worry about who might be looking for me. For a while I forgot we were in trouble, so when my mom told me we had to leave I did not understand. I told her it was a lie, we were still safe. But somehow we had been found once again. I begged her to at least let me say goodbye to you. It was so hard to do, but I hoped that by giving you the locket you would know just how much your friendship meant to me.”

  I wanted to move to Olena then and hug her, but I found my body frozen. Hearing her story was breaking my heart. Tears were running down my cheeks freely now, her story too much to take in all at once.

  “When we left Ohio we went to Washington State to live with my Aunt and cousin,” Olena continued. “They moved there as well, deciding that being together might not be safe, but was a comfort all the same. It was more important than ever to stay secret, so my cousin and I went to school while my aunt and mother went to work, and then we all stayed at home each night praying no one would find us. We did not make friends or even talk to people. Sharing the photos we still had was not worth the risk of getting caught, so we just hid.”

  Olena paused then, taking a long drink of her champagne. She opened her mouth as if to continue, then took another drink. Clearly she was in more pain that she was outwardly showing, as was usual for her.

  “Then one day it happened. I was watching the news and saw my aunt’s car. There had been an accident. The car had slid off the road and into a ditch where it blew up. My aunt and mother were killed, and my cousin-”

  Olena stopped suddenly, looking between Steven and I.

  “I was the only one left,” she mumbled, before downing the rest of her drink.

  I reached out to the table and grabbed my drink as well now. I tried wiping my tears with the back of my hand but they were quickly replaced. Steven pulled me closer to his body for comfort, his arms locked tightly around me. Without him I felt like I would crumble with the sudden rush of emotions.

  “My only plan then was to get safe, get ready, and head to Pripyat. But first I needed to get the necklace from you.” Olena held the necklace away from her body now, staring at it while she continued speaking. “If my aunt had not given it to me it would have been destroyed in the crash. And by giving it to you it was never in
danger when we had to leave in a hurry. I knew you would have it still, so I headed to Ohio immediately. But I did not know that I had been followed. I did not know that they had been watching me since my mother died, hoping I would lead them to any other photos we may have been hiding. Since I went back to Ohio, they must have assumed I was going to get the other photos and would then expose the truth. If I did not kill Alexi in the bathroom that day, we both would have been dead. But, as you know, I was able to take him out and get away before that could happen. It was perfect that the police next door started keeping an eye on you more after everything. If there was anyone following you they likely got scared away or figured you were not a threat at all at that point.”

  “I should have helped you,” I said, my voice strained through the tears.

  “No, you gave me time. The necklace was still safe with you while I got things in order,” she corrected me. “I knew I would need to be completely ready to leave for Pripyat once I had the necklace so I set my plans in place until I could get it from you finally. That was how I found someone in New York to get help making me a passport, and also to get money ready for the trip. I am just sorry I had to bring you through all of this these last few days.”

  “Could you really have made it this far alone?” Steven asked. I noticed his voice was a little husky with emotion. Clearly Olena’s story had gotten to him as well.

  “I do not know,” Olena admitted. “At first I was afraid to get help in case it put more people in danger. But, I think it might come to our advantage tomorrow.”

  “What exactly is the plan for tomorrow?” I was still struggling to control my emotions, and doing a rather poor job of it.

  “We are going on a tour of Chernobyl, just like all the other college kids do when they are in Kiev,” Olena smiled, the gesture actually reaching her eyes. “I told the woman at the office today that my mother was from Kiev but we lived in the US since I was little. I told them I want to see some of the country where my mom grew up. Once we are in Pripyat, we are going to sneak away from the tour group and find the film Uri has been hiding all these years.”

  So that was it? We were going to be tourists that wander off and stumble upon photos that would prove that Chernobyl was caused by a delay while hiding nuclear weapons? Wrapping my head around everything was tough to say the least. Combine that with my jet lag from two days of traveling from Michigan all the way to the Ukraine and it was a bit too much to take in.

  “How can we be sure we won’t meet up with those guys when we are on the tour?” Steven asked. Great, another thing to worry about that had not crossed my mind yet.

  “We will be safe,” Olena assured us. “They will not attack us around a whole bus full of tourists. When we go to leave from the tour, if anyone looks questionable we will wait and try another option.”

  I could feel all control beginning to melt away now. The last few days had been a lot for me to process, and I knew it was nothing compared to what Olena had been through. Every member of Olena’s family had either died or was killed thanks to the very film we were now in search of. Olena told us all about it without crying, no doubt from years of being forced to hide her emotions and simply survive. That fact just made it worse. Here she was, hurting inside over so much loss in her life, and I had the nerve to be mad at her for leaving for a few years?

  Standing up quickly I stumbled to Olena and plopped into the chair next to her. Leaning closer to fill the gap, I wrapped my arms around her in a tight hug. She tensed for a minute before wrapping her arms around me in return, allowing me to cry on her shoulder. It felt good to comfort her, although she was comforting me more than anything. I wished I could blame some of my crying on the alcohol, but I knew it was likely a lack of sleep mixed with being way too stressed.

  “I’m sorry for everything,” I said into her ear, the words coming out as sobs. “I wish I could have been there for you more with all of this.”

  “You did more than you can know,” she replied, leaning back to look me in the eyes. “You held onto this necklace when it could have been destroyed so many times by the people after me. Between that and being such a good friend for me when I was in Ohio, I could not image you doing any more. Being my best friend was more important than anything else in the world.”

  Her words opened the floodgates in me once again. After another hug Steven was at my side as well. With both of them so close I realized that this experience was truly bittersweet. I was seeing the world with two people that were so important to me, enjoying delicious food and an amazing hotel. If I could just get the plans for tomorrow out of my head, it might be almost perfect.

  “Mind if I join you?” Olena asked me, sitting on the couch after I gave a quick nod.

  After our emotional dinner, Olena headed to take a shower, giving Steven and me some time to snuggle up and cry. Okay, I was the only one crying, but Steven held me until I was ready for some silly jokes to get me back in a good mood. A little kissing helped as well, but did not last long. Steven decided he wanted to also shower and change before it got too late. So, alone in a Ukraine hotel I did what any 18 year old would do. I watched MTV without subtitles, giggling at all the funny music and dubbed over commercials. It was helping me adjust to all of Olena’s news a little better.

  “So, how are you holding up?” Olena asked, sipping at the glass of champagne she was holding.

  “I’m feeling better, now that I’m all cried out,” I joked.

  “Are you scared for tomorrow?” she asked, leaning back on the arm of the couch to face me.

  “Yeah, of course,” I admitted easily. “But I know it will be worth it to help you and get this all figured out. I want it to be easy, but I don’t think it will be.”

  “What if you just stayed here tomorrow?” Olena offered then. “I could go and get the film and make it back here without you being in harm’s way again.”

  “You know,” I began with a sigh. “I would really love that. But at the same time, I don’t think I could live with myself if I made that choice. If something happens out there tomorrow, Steven and I could help you. But back here, all we would be doing was worrying nonstop the whole day.”

  “Okay, but when this is over I owe you big,” she smiled, before turning her attention to the TV.

  “What time do we leave tomorrow?” I asked, taking a sip of hot tea. I had found it in the kitchenette after Steven headed off to take a shower. My hope was that it would make me start to settle down and get tired enough for sleep.

  “The tour leaves at 9, so we want to get there just before then,” Olena explained. “I already asked room service to bring breakfast at 6:30 so we will have plenty of time to eat before we go.”

  Glancing at my watch I was surprised to see it was only 10 o’clock. The last few hours had felt like much longer. In fact, the last few days were like that as well. Jumping time zones did not help to ease the problem, but I was hoping once we got the film Uri had hidden then we could get back to the US and life would go back to normal.

  “What are you watching, sunshine?” Steven asked, suddenly standing behind me with his hands on my shoulder. The TV was currently showing a pop song by a Ukrainian artist I had naturally never heard of.

  “MTV of course,” I smiled up at him, resting my hands on his.

  “Alright then,” he laughed before moving to the chair next to the couch. “And what are you drinking?”

  “It’s just tea,” I assured him with a laugh. “See?”

  Holding my cup towards him, Steven held my hand to steady it while giving the content a quick sniff. The chamomile smell was obviously strong enough to satisfy him. Letting go of my hand he gave me a quick wink before getting up and walking to the mini bar to grab a bottle of water.

  “And what are you drinking?” I asked, mimicking his tone as he sat back down.

  “Vodka,” he shrugged. “They put it in water bottles here so guys can still look good for their prying girlfriends.”

  “Haha,”
I smirked, before going back to watching the TV and drinking my tea.

  “We should get some sleep,” Olena announced then, setting her empty glass on the table harder than was necessary and standing up quickly. I had a feeling her reaction was related to Steven’s last comment, but did not feeling like pointing it out just then.

  “Okay, you girls get the beds and I’ll take the couch,” Steven smiled, taking a drink of his water.

  “No, you take one bed, and Olena and I can share the other,” I offered, looking first at Steven and then at Olena for confirmation.

  “I need to get some things done in the morning, so it might be good if I have my own room,” Olena said slowly. “Steven will be fine on the couch.”

  It was clear that Olena had more secrets she had not yet revealed, but after all she had told us so far I did not let it get to me. That being said, I was not going to make Steven sleep on a couch when the beds were big enough for two people.

  “No, Steven can sleep with me,” I said, before my words registered and my face turned red. “In the same bed I mean. Not with me, with me. Like, he can sleep next to me and I will be asleep on the other side of the bed.”

  I shut my mouth then, not sure why I had said as much as I did. Once again I had made a big deal about something most girl my age did not even bat an eyelash at. Steven must have been used to it though, since he was just smiling at me. Olena however, made a grunting noise and mumbled a “whatever” before walking out of the room. For now my mission was to help her get those photos. Once that was done, I would have tons of time to get her to like Steven.

  “So, ready for bed?” Steven asked, after Olena had walked away and shut the door to her room.

  “I think so,” I replied, my face returning to its natural color. “I don’t know how well I’m going to sleep thinking about tomorrow.”

  “Well, we will just have to get you more tired then,” Steven said, getting up and walking into our room.